I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3218 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize certain 

water pollution control programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2021 

Mr. ROUZER (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize certain water pollution control programs, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wastewater Infrastruc5 ture Improvement Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE IN7 VESTMENT. 

8 Section 104(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Con9 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1254(g)) is amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘manpower’’ 

2 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘workforce’’; and 

3 (2) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PUBLICLY

6 OWNED TREATMENT WORKS WORKFORCE DEVELOP7 MENT.—Not later than 2 years after the date of en8 actment of the Wastewater Infrastructure Improve9 ment Act of 2021, the Administrator shall submit to 

10 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

11 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

12 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a 

13 report containing— 

14 ‘‘(A) an assessment of the current and fu15 ture workforce needs for publicly owned treat16 ment works, including an estimate of the num17 ber of future positions needed for such treat18 ment works and the technical skills and edu19 cation needed for such positions; 

20 ‘‘(B) a summary of actions taken by the 

21 Administrator, including Federal investments 

22 under this Act, that promote workforce develop23 ment to address such needs; and 

24 ‘‘(C) any recommendations of the Adminis25 trator to address such needs.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3218 IH

1 SEC. 3. STATE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

3 106(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

4 U.S.C. 1256(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

6 (1); and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(3) such sums as may be necessary for each 

10 of fiscal years 1991 through 2021; 

11 ‘‘(4) $240,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

12 ‘‘(5) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

13 ‘‘(6) $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

14 ‘‘(7) $270,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 

15 ‘‘(8) $275,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;’’. 

16 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 106(e) of the 

17 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1256(e)) 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘Beginning in fiscal year 1974 

19 the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’. 

20 SEC. 4. WATERSHED, WET WEATHER, AND RESILIENCY 

21 PROJECTS. 

22 (a) INCREASED RESILIENCE OF TREATMENT

23 WORKS.—Section 122(a)(6) of the Federal Water Pollu24 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1274(a)(6)) is amended to 

25 read as follows: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3218 IH

1 ‘‘(6) INCREASED RESILIENCE OF TREATMENT

2 WORKS.—Efforts— 

3 ‘‘(A) to assess future risks and 

4 vulnerabilities of publicly owned treatment 

5 works to manmade or natural disasters, includ6 ing extreme weather events and sea level rise; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) to carry out the planning, designing, 

9 or constructing of projects, on a systemwide or 

10 areawide basis, to increase the resilience of pub11 licly owned treatment works through— 

12 ‘‘(i) the conservation of water or the 

13 enhancement of water use efficiency; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the enhancement of wastewater 

15 (including stormwater) management by in16 creasing watershed preservation and pro17 tection, including through— 

18 ‘‘(I) the use of green infrastruc19 ture; or 

20 ‘‘(II) the reclamation and reuse 

21 of wastewater (including stormwater), 

22 such as through aquifer recharge 

23 zones; 

24 ‘‘(iii) the modification or relocation of 

25 an existing publicly owned treatment works 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3218 IH

1 at risk of being significantly impaired or 

2 damaged by a manmade or natural dis3 aster; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) the enhancement of energy effi5 ciency, or the use or generation of recov6 ered or renewable energy, in the manage7 ment, treatment, or conveyance of waste8 water (including stormwater).’’. 

9 (b) REQUIREMENTS; AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO10 PRIATIONS.—Section 122 of the Federal Water Pollution 

11 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1274) is amended by striking sub12 section (c) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 

14 608 shall apply to any construction, alteration, mainte15 nance, or repair of treatment works receiving a grant 

16 under this section. 

17 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall use not 

18 less than 15 percent of the amounts appropriated pursu19 ant to this section in a fiscal year to provide assistance 

20 to municipalities with a population of less than 10,000, 

21 to the extent there are sufficient eligible applications. 

22 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $110,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 

25 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (1) WATERSHED PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 

2 122 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

3 U.S.C. 1274) is amended— 

4 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘WATERSHED PILOT PROJECTS’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘WATERSHED, WET WEATHER, AND RE7 SILIENCY PROJECTS’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘pilot’’ each place it ap9 pears. 

10 (2) WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING

11 LOAN FUNDS.—Section 603(c)(7) of the Federal 

12 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)(7)) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘watershed’’. 

14 SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ALTERNATIVE WATER 

15 SOURCE PROJECTS. 

16 (a) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—Section 220(d) of 

17 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

18 1300(d)) is amended— 

19 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY.—A project 

22 that has received construction funds under the Rec23 lamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act 

24 of 1992 shall not be eligible for grant assistance 

25 under this section.’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating 

2 paragraph (3) as paragraph (2). 

3 (b) COMMITTEE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE; ASSIST4 ANCE.—Section 220 of the Federal Water Pollution Con5 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1300) is amended by striking sub6 section (e) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator shall use not 

8 less than 15 percent of the amounts appropriated pursu9 ant to this section in a fiscal year to provide assistance 

10 to eligible entities for projects designed to serve fewer than 

11 10,000 individuals, to the extent there are sufficient eligi12 ble applications.’’. 

13 (c) COST SHARING.—Section 220(g) of the Federal 

14 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1300(g)) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the Federal share’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) RECLAMATION AND REUSE PROJECTS.— 

22 For an alternative water source project that has re23 ceived funds under the Reclamation Projects Author24 ization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (other than 

25 funds referred to in subsection (d)(1)), the total 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3218 IH

1 Federal share of the costs of the project shall not 

2 exceed 25 percent or $20,000,000, whichever is 

3 less.’’. 

4 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 220 of the Federal 

5 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1300) is amended 

6 by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as subsections (j) 

7 and (k), respectively, and inserting after subsection (h) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of section 

10 608 shall apply to any construction of an alternative water 

11 source project carried out using assistance made available 

12 under this section.’’. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 220(j)(1) of the Federal 

14 Water Pollution Control Act (as redesignated by sub15 section (d) of this section) is amended by striking ‘‘or 

16 wastewater or by treating wastewater’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

17 wastewater, or stormwater or by treating wastewater or 

18 stormwater’’. 

19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

20 220(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (as re21 designated by subsection (d) of this section) is amended 

22 by striking ‘‘$75,000,000 for fiscal years 2002 through 

23 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3218 IH

1 SEC. 6. SEWER OVERFLOW AND STORMWATER REUSE MU2 NICIPAL GRANTS. 

3 Section 221 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

4 Act (33 U.S.C. 1301) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘subsection 

6 (b),’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘this sec7 tion,’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (d)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and 

10 inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

13 subparagraph (B), the Federal share’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘The non-Federal share’’ 

15 and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(B) FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED COMMU17 NITIES.—The Federal share of the cost of ac18 tivities carried out using amounts from a grant 

19 made to a financially distressed community 

20 under subsection (a) shall be not less than 75 

21 percent of the cost. 

22 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

23 share’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘section 513’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘section 513, or the requirements of 

26 section 608,’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (4) in subsection (f)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2020’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘2026’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out subsection 

6 (a), the Administrator shall ensure that, of the 

7 amounts granted to municipalities in a State, not 

8 less than 20 percent is granted to municipalities 

9 with a population of less than 20,000, to the extent 

10 there are sufficient eligible applications.’’. 

11 SEC. 7. NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION 

12 SYSTEM PERMIT TERM. 

13 Section 402(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution 

14 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)(1)(B)) is amended to read 

15 as follows: 

16 ‘‘(B) are for fixed terms— 

17 ‘‘(i) not exceeding 10 years, for a permit 

18 issued to a State or municipality; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) not exceeding 5 years, for a permit 

20 issued to any person not described in clause (i); 

21 and’’. 

22 SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

23 Section 516(b)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution 

24 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1375(b)(1)) is amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (1) by striking ‘‘, of the cost of construction’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘, of (i) the cost of construction’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘each of the States;’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘each of the States, and (ii) the costs to imple5 ment measures necessary to address the resilience 

6 and sustainability of publicly owned treatment works 

7 to manmade or natural disasters;’’. 

8 SEC. 9. INDIAN TRIBES. 

9 Section 518(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con10 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1377(c)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, the 

14 Administrator shall reserve, of the funds made avail15 able to carry out title VI (before allotments to the 

16 States under section 604(a)), the greater of— 

17 ‘‘(A) 2 percent of such funds; or 

18 ‘‘(B) $30,000,000. 

19 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—Funds reserved under this 

21 subsection shall be available only for grants to 

22 entities described in paragraph (3) for— 

23 ‘‘(i) projects and activities eligible for 

24 assistance under section 603(c); and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3218 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) training, technical assistance, 

2 and educational programs relating to the 

3 operation and management of treatment 

4 works eligible for assistance pursuant to 

5 section 603(c). 

6 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 

7 $2,000,000 of the reserved funds may be used 

8 for grants under subparagraph (A)(ii).’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

10 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘USE OF

11 FUNDS’’ and inserting ‘‘ELIGIBLE ENTITIES’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘for projects and activities 

14 eligible for assistance under section 603(c) to 

15 serve’’ and inserting ‘‘to’’. 

16 SEC. 10. CAPITALIZATION GRANTS. 

17 Section 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Con18 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (13)(B)— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

21 striking ‘‘and energy conservation’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘and efficient energy use (such as through 

23 the implementation of technologies to recapture 

24 and reuse energy produced in the treatment of 

25 wastewater)’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

2 inserting a semicolon; 

3 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(15) to the extent there are sufficient applica7 tions for projects or activities that are eligible for as8 sistance from the fund and are consistent with the 

9 State’s intended use plan under section 606(c), and 

10 with respect to which the applicant meets the min11 imum financial requirements to qualify for assist12 ance under this title, the State will use not less than 

13 10 percent of the funds received by the State in cap14 italization grants under this title in a fiscal year for 

15 projects or activities, or components thereof, to im16 prove the resiliency, including water and energy effi17 ciency, of treatment works, or to implement environ18 mentally innovative activities such as green infra19 structure.’’. 

20 SEC. 11. WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING LOAN 

21 FUNDS. 

22 Section 603(i) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

23 Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(i)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by striking ‘‘, including forgiveness of prin3 cipal and negative interest loans’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘(including in the form of forgiveness of prin5 cipal, negative interest loans, or grants)’’; and 

6 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

7 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

8 by striking ‘‘in assistance’’; and 

9 (ii) in clause (ii)(III), by striking ‘‘to 

10 such ratepayers’’ and inserting ‘‘to help 

11 such ratepayers maintain access to waste12 water and stormwater treatment services’’; 

13 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(3) SUBSIDIZATION AMOUNTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may use for 

17 providing additional subsidization in a fiscal 

18 year under this subsection an amount that does 

19 not exceed 30 percent of the total amount re20 ceived by the State in capitalization grants 

21 under this title for the fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM.—For each of fiscal years 

23 2022 through 2026, to the extent there are suf24 ficient applications for additional subsidization 

25 under this subsection that meet the criteria 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3218 IH

1 under paragraph (1)(A), a State shall use for 

2 providing additional subsidization in a fiscal 

3 year under this subsection an amount that is 

4 not less than 10 percent of the total amount re5 ceived by the State in capitalization grants 

6 under this title for the fiscal year.’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(k) ADDITIONAL USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—A State may 

10 use for providing technical assistance to publicly 

11 owned treatment works serving 10,000 or fewer indi12 viduals in the State an amount that does not exceed 

13 2 percent of the total amount allotted to the State 

14 under this title for each fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(2) NEEDS SURVEY.—A State may use for ac16 tivities associated with the Clean Watershed Needs 

17 Survey conducted pursuant to section 516(b), in18 cluding data collection, an amount that does not ex19 ceed 0.5 percent of the total amount allotted to the 

20 State under this title for each fiscal year.’’. 

21 SEC. 12. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS. 

22 (a) FORMULA.—Section 604(a) of the Federal Water 

23 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1384(a)) is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 1989 and 1990’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘each fiscal year’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 3218 IH

1 (b) WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE

2 DEVELOPMENT.—Section 604 of the Federal Water Pollu3 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1384) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE

6 DEVELOPMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In each of fiscal years 

8 2022 through 2026, a State may reserve up to 0.5 

9 percent of the sums allotted to the State under this 

10 section for the fiscal year to carry out workforce de11 velopment, training, and retraining activities de12 scribed in section 104(g). 

13 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

14 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

15 the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

16 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

17 Representatives and the Committee on Environment 

18 and Public Works of the Senate a report con19 taining— 

20 ‘‘(A) a list of the States that reserved and 

21 used funds under paragraph (1); 

22 ‘‘(B) a summary of the amounts of such 

23 funds so used by such States; 

24 ‘‘(C) an identification and assessment of 

25 the types of efforts of such States, and the efVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 3218 IH

1 fectiveness of such efforts, in promoting and ac2 complishing workforce development, training, 

3 and retraining, including the number of treat4 ment works operators who are certified pursu5 ant to such efforts; and 

6 ‘‘(D) any recommendations of the Adminis7 trator regarding how States may improve the 

8 effective use of such funds.’’. 

9 SEC. 13. RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR TERRITORIES OF 

10 THE UNITED STATES. 

11 Title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

12 (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) is amended by striking section 

13 607 and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 607. RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR TERRITORIES OF 

15 THE UNITED STATES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

17 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION.—For each fiscal year, the 

18 Administrator shall reserve 1.5 percent of available 

19 funds, as calculated in accordance with paragraph 

20 (2). 

21 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION OF AVAILABLE FUNDS.— 

22 The amount of available funds shall be calculated by 

23 subtracting the amount of any funds reserved under 

24 section 518(c) from the amount of funds made availVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3218.IH H3218

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 3218 IH

1 able to carry out this title (before allotments to the 

2 States under section 604(a)). 

3 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds reserved under this 

4 section shall be available only for grants to American 

5 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is6 lands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands for projects and ac7 tivities eligible for assistance under section 603(c). 

8 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—American Samoa, the Common9 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the 

10 Virgin Islands may not receive funds allotted under sec11 tion 604(a).’’. 

12 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 Title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

14 (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 609. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

18 this title the following sums: 

19 ‘‘(1) $2,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

20 ‘‘(2) $2,600,000,000 for fiscal year 2023. 

21 ‘‘(3) $2,800,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

22 ‘‘(4) $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

23 ‘‘(5) $3,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 3218 IH

1 SEC. 15. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE BY MUNICIPAL OMBUDS2 MAN. 

3 Section 4(b)(1) of the Water Infrastructure Improve4 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 4370j(b)(1)) is amended to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(1) technical and planning assistance to sup7 port municipalities, including municipalities that are 

8 rural, small, and tribal communities, in achieving 

9 and maintaining compliance with enforceable dead10 lines, goals, and requirements of the Federal Water 

11 Pollution Control Act; and’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS