Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2023

To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding for water and sewer infrastructure, and for other purposes. 1. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2023 (b) Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. Sec. 3. Report on affordability, discrimination and civil rights violations, public participation in regionalization, and data collection. Sec. 4. Household water well systems. Sec. 5. State water pollution control revolving funds. Sec. 6. Use of State revolving loan funds under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Sec. 7. Drinking water grant programs. Sec. 8. Labor provisions. Sec. 9. Water operator jobs training grants. Sec. 10. Drinking water assistance to colonias. 2. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund (a) Establishment (1) In general Subchapter A of chapter 98 9512. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund (a) Creation of trust fund There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund Trust Fund (b) Transfers to fund (1) In general There are hereby appropriated to the Trust Fund such amounts as the Secretary from time to time estimates are equal to the increase in Federal revenues attributable to the amendment made by section 2(b) of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2023 (2) Limitation The sum of the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) during any fiscal year shall not exceed the larger of— (A) $35,000,000,000, and (B) one-twentieth of the sum of— (i) the 20-year need identified in the most recent assessment conducted by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with section 1452(h) of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–2(h) (ii) the 20-year need identified in the most recent needs survey submitted by the Administrator pursuant to sections 205(a), 516, and 609 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1285(a) (c) Expenditures Amounts in the Trust Fund are available, without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, for the purposes described in section 2(c) of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2023 . (2) Clerical amendment The table of parts for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 9511 the following new item: Sec. 9512. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. . (b) Increase in corporate tax rate (1) In general Section 11(b) 21 24.5 (2) Effective date The amendment made by this subsection shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2022. (c) Allocation of funds The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Labor shall allocate, for a fiscal year, the funds available, at the beginning of such fiscal year, in the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund, established by section 9512 (1) Clean water programs Of such amount, the Administrator shall make available— (A) 0.5 percent for making grants under section 104(b)(8) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (B) 1.5 percent for making grants under section 106 of such Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1256 (C) 2.5 percent for making grants under section 226 of such Act; (D) 2.5 percent for making grants under section 319 of such Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1329 (E) 42 percent for making capitalization grants under section 601 of such Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1381 (2) Safe drinking water funding Of such amount, the Administrator shall make available— (A) 0.5 percent for providing technical assistance under section 1442(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–1(e) (B) 42 percent for making capitalization grants under section 1452 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–12 (C) 3 percent for making grants under section 1465 of such Act; and (D) 0.5 percent for making grants under section 1456 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–16 33 U.S.C. 1281 (3) Household water well systems Of such amount, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make available 1 percent for making grants under section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1926e (4) Colonias Of such amount, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make available 0.5 percent for making grants under section 306C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1926c (5) Indian health services Of such amount, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service, shall make available 3 percent for making grants for the planning, design, construction, modernization, improvement, and renovation of water, sewer, and solid waste sanitation facilities that are funded, in whole or part, by the Indian Health Service— (A) through, or provided for in, a contract or compact with the Indian Health Service under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq. (B) pursuant to section 7 of the Act of August 5, 1954 (68 Stat. 674, chapter 658; 73 Stat. 267; 42 U.S.C. 2004a (C) pursuant to section 302 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act ( 25 U.S.C. 1632 (6) Water operators job training grants Of such amount, the Secretary of Labor shall make available 0.5 percent for providing job training grants under section 414(f) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1988. (d) Prohibition None of the funds allocated pursuant to subsection (c) may be used for any activity described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 203(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 ( 29 U.S.C. 433(a) 3. Report on affordability, discrimination and civil rights violations, public participation in regionalization, and data collection (a) Study (1) In general The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a study on water and sewer services, in accordance with this subsection. (2) Affordability In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall study water affordability nationwide, including— (A) rates for water and sewer services, increases in such rates during the ten-year period preceding such study, and water service disconnections due to unpaid water service charges; and (B) the effectiveness of funding under section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act and under section 601 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for promoting affordable, equitable, transparent, and reliable water and sewer service. (3) Discrimination and civil rights In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator, in collaboration with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, shall study— (A) discriminatory practices of water and sewer service providers; (B) discriminatory practices of State program administrators in allocating funding; and (C) violations by such service providers and program administrators that receive Federal assistance of civil rights under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with regard to equal access to water and sewer services. (4) Public participation in regionalization In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall evaluate efforts to regionalize public water systems, as defined in section 1401(4) of the Safe Water Drinking Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300f(4) (A) the decision to undergo such regionalization; and (B) decision making by the board of directors (or other governing body) of the entity that provides, or oversees or coordinates the provision of, water by the public water systems subject to such regionalization. (5) Data collection In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall collect information, assess the availability of information, and evaluate the methodologies used to collect information, related to— (A) people living without water or sewer services; (B) water service disconnections due to unpaid water service charges, including disconnections experienced by households containing children, elderly persons, disabled persons, chronically ill persons, or other vulnerable populations; (C) tax liens and foreclosures due to unpaid water service charges; and (D) disparate effects, on the basis of race, gender, or socioeconomic status, of water service disconnections, tax liens and foreclosures due to unpaid water service charges, and the lack of public water service. (b) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall submit to Congress a report that contains— (1) the results of the study conducted under subsection (a)(1); and (2) recommendations for utility companies, Federal agencies, and States relating to such results. 4. Household water well systems Section 306E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1926e(d) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 $348,500,000 for each fiscal year 5. State water pollution control revolving funds (a) Specific requirements Section 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1382(b) (1) in paragraph (2), by striking will be made to the State with funds to be made available were made to the State with funds made available for fiscal year 2021 (2) in paragraph (13), by striking and (3) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (15) the State will not provide financial assistance using amounts from the fund for any project that will provide substantial direct benefits to new communities, lots, or subdivisions, other than a project to construct an advanced decentralized wastewater system; and . (b) Projects and activities eligible for assistance Section 603(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1383(c) (1) in paragraph (11)(B), by striking and (2) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (13) to any municipality or intermunicipal, interstate, or State agency for— (A) purchasing from a willing or unwilling seller a privately owned treatment works; and (B) expenses related to canceling a contract for the operation or management of a publicly owned treatment works. . (c) Increasing the amount of additional subsidization by the State Section 603(i)(3)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1383(i)(3)(B) (B) Additional limitation A State may use not less than 50 percent of the total amount received by the State in capitalization grants under this title for a fiscal year for providing additional subsidization under this subsection. . 6. Use of State revolving loan funds under the Safe Drinking Water Act Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–12 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (2)— (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting publicly owned, operated, and managed community water systems (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking The funds under this section shall not be used for the acquisition of real property or interests therein, unless the acquisition is integral to a project authorized by this paragraph and the purchase is from a willing seller. The funds may also be used for purchasing from a willing or unwilling seller a privately owned community water system, or for the expenses related to canceling a contract for the operation or management of a community water system. (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (6) Exception to public ownership, operation, and management requirement Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A), public water systems that regularly serve fewer than 10,000 persons, and which are not owned, operated, or managed by any person who owns, operates, or manages any other public water system, may receive assistance under this section. ; (2) by amending subsection (d)(2) to read as follows: (2) Total amount of subsidies To the extent that there are sufficient applications for loans to communities described in paragraph (1), of the amount of the capitalization grant received by a State in a fiscal year, the total amount of loan subsidies made by the State in the fiscal year pursuant to paragraph (1) may not be less than 50 percent. ; (3) in subsection (e), by striking to be made to the State that was made to the State in fiscal year 2021 (4) in subsection (g)(3)— (A) in paragraph (B), by striking and (B) in paragraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following: (D) guidance to ensure affordable, equitable, transparent and reliable water service provision, to provide protections for households facing service disconnection due to unpaid water service charges, and to promote universal equal access to water services. ; and (5) in subsection (k)(1), by adding at the end the following: (E) Provide assistance in the form of a grant to owners of private property on which a lead service line (as defined in section 1459B) is or may be located, for the purpose of replacing the lead service line with a service line that is lead-free (as defined in section 1417(d)). (F) Provide assistance to a publicly owned, operated, and managed community water system for the purpose of updating treatment plants or switching water sources due to contamination from a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (as defined by the State in which the community water system is located). (G) Provide assistance in the form of a grant to owners of a household water well that has been contaminated by a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (as defined by the State in which the household well is located), for the purpose of purchasing and installing a household filtration system. . 7. Drinking water grant programs (a) School drinking water improvement Section 1465 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–25 (1) in the section header, by striking fountain infrastructure (2) in subsection (a), by striking fountains manufactured prior to 1988 infrastructure (3) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows: (b) Use of funds Funds awarded under the grant program may be used to pay costs associated with— (1) installing, repairing, or replacing the infrastructure necessary to ensure that drinking water fountains, drinking water coolers, and bottle filling stations at schools are lead free; and (2) monitoring and reporting of lead levels in the drinking water of schools, as determined appropriate by the Administrator. ; and (4) in subsection (d)— (A) by striking $5,000,000 $1,050,000,000 (B) by striking 2021 2025 (b) Tribal drinking water Section 1452(i)(1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–12(i)(1) (1) by striking 1 1/2 Three (2) by striking may shall 8. Labor provisions (a) Prevailing rate of wage Nothing in this Act shall affect the applicability of the requirements relating to labor standards of sections 513 and 602(b)(6) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1372 42 U.S.C. 300j–9(e) (b) Project labor agreements (1) Clean water revolving funds Section 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1382(b) (16) the State will— (A) permit recipients of assistance under this title to enter into agreements authorized under section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (commonly known as project labor agreements (B) ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, recipients of assistance under this title carry out such projects through the use of such agreements. . (2) Drinking water revolving funds Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–12 (A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following: (7) Project labor agreements Each agreement under this subsection shall require that the State permit recipients of assistance under this section to enter into agreements authorized under section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (commonly known as project labor agreements ; and (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A)— (i) in clause (ii), by striking ; and (ii) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (iv) with respect to projects for building or construction, will be carried out through the use of agreements authorized under section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act. . 9. Water operator jobs training grants Section 414 of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Water operator jobs training grants (1) In general Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Labor shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to provide job training (including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships) and related activities, which are coordinated with the public workforce investment system, for workers to assist such workers in obtaining or upgrading employment in the drinking water, wastewater (including stormwater), and related sectors. (2) Uses of funds Funds under this section may be used to provide jobs training services (including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships) and related activities that are designed to assist workers (including unemployed and employed workers) in gaining the skills and competencies needed to obtain or upgrade career ladder employment positions in the drinking water, wastewater (including stormwater), and related sectors. (3) Prioritization of funding Notwithstanding any other provision of law and to the extent that there are sufficient applications for this purpose, at least 50 percent of the funds awarded to eligible entities under this subsection shall be used to carry out the job training services (including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships) and related activities described in paragraph (2)— (A) for low- and very low-income persons residing within the geographical boundaries of the geographical area to be served by such services and activities, which shall include high-poverty, high-unemployment ZIP Codes; (B) for low- and very low-income persons residing within the metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan county to be served by such services and activities; (C) for low- and very low-income persons residing in a metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan county with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and indigenous communities, that experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects than another such area or county; or (D) for members of labor unions or worker organizations representing the individuals described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). (4) No match required The Secretary of Labor may not require the provision of specified levels of a matching share of cash or noncash resources from resources other than the funds provided under this section for projects funded under this section. (5) Performance accountability The Secretary of Labor shall require grantees to report on the employment outcomes obtained by workers receiving training under this section using indicators of performance that are consistent with other indicators used for employment and training programs administered by the Secretary, such as entry into employment, retention in employment, and increases in earnings. The Secretary of Labor may also require grantees to participate in evaluations of projects carried out under this section. (6) Definitions In this section: (A) The term eligible entity (i) One or more local governments. (ii) One or more State governments. (iii) One or more nonprofit organizations. (iv) One or more community-based organizations. (v) One or more labor unions. (vi) One or more labor-management organizations. (vii) One or more worker organizations representing the individuals described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (3). (viii) One or more education and training providers, including community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a Hispanic-serving institution, a Tribal College or University, and other minority-serving institutions listed in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(a) (ix) One or more local boards or State boards (as such terms are defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3102 (x) One or more Native American Tribal governments to provide job training programs for publicly owned community water systems (as defined in section 1401(15) of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300f(15) 33 U.S.C. 1292 (B) The terms low-income person very low-income person low-income families very low-income families 42 U.S.C. 1437a(b) . 10. Drinking water assistance to colonias Section 1456 of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300j–16 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: (2) Covered entity The term covered entity (A) A border State. (B) A local government with jurisdiction over an eligible community. ; (2) in subsection (b), by striking border State covered entity (3) by striking subsection (d); (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d); and (5) in subsection (d), as so redesignated— (A) by striking $25,000,000 $100,000,000 (B) by striking 1997 through 1999 2023 through 2027

Summary: Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2023 This bill increases funding for water infrastructure, including funding for several programs related to controlling water pollution or protecting drinking water. Specifically, it establishes a Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. The fund may be used for specified grant programs. The bill increases the corporate income tax rate to 24.5% to provide revenues for the fund. In addition, the bill revises requirements concerning the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) and the drinking water SRF, including by prohibiting states from providing financial assistance using amounts from the clean water SRF for projects that will provide substantial direct benefits to new communities other than projects for constructing an advanced decentralized wastewater system. It also creates or reauthorizes several grant programs related to water infrastructure, such as grants for removing lead from drinking water.