Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Act

To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants and contracts for projects that use emerging technologies to address threats to water quality, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Act 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Science, technology, and innovation are major cornerstones of the economy of the United States. (2) Throughout the United States, there is a growing momentum to address traditional and emerging threats to the Nation’s water resources through innovative technological approaches. (3) Water quality continues to negatively impact communities in the United States in a variety of ways. (4) Water quality improvement and protection efforts pose a unique opportunity for private and public innovators to develop lasting market-based solutions. 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Federal Government should support innovative solutions to address water quality in the United States; (2) forward-thinking applications of new and existing technologies will be vital for the ability of communities in the United States to treat and monitor vital aquatic and environmental resources; (3) supporting an innovative approach to addressing or avoiding water quality degradation will ultimately result in positive changes pertaining to water quality and environmental well-being; (4) utilizing emerging technologies will spur market-based innovation and will further amplify the ongoing efforts to resolve water quality degradation; and (5) the Environmental Protection Agency and State environmental agencies should prioritize the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum information science, distributed ledger technology, mechanical harvesting, aquatic muck dredging, living shorelines, living seawalls, robotics, nanotechnology, environmental DNA (eDNA), and cultivation of aquatic species, such as seaweed, seagrass, kelp, clams, oysters, and mussels, when creating programs and solutions to address water quality. 4. Establishment of the Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Fund (a) In general There is established a fund, to be known as the Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Fund. (b) Transfers to the fund On October 1 of each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, there shall be transferred from the special account described in section 6501(e) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 4370c(e) (c) Expenditures Amounts in the Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Fund— (1) shall be available, as provided in appropriations Acts, for awarding grants and contracts, and for other expenses associated with administering such awards, under section 5; and (2) shall remain available until September 30, 2028. 5. Awards for projects that use emerging technologies to address threats to water quality (a) In general The Administrator may award grants and contracts to eligible entities in accordance with this section. (b) Use of funds (1) In general An eligible entity may use a grant or contract awarded under this section to carry out a project— (A) that uses an emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, quantum information science, distributed ledger technology, mechanical harvesting, aquatic muck dredging, living shorelines, living seawalls, robotics, nanotechnology, environmental DNA (eDNA), and cultivation of aquatic species, such as seaweed, seagrass, kelp, clams, oysters, and mussels, to address threats to water quality; or (B) for the research, development, or design of such an emerging technology to be used to address threats to water quality. (2) Water quality threats Threats to water quality that may be addressed under a project carried out using a grant or contract awarded under this section include— (A) acidification; (B) the accumulation of plastics, trash, and microplastics; (C) hydrologic alterations, such as restricting tidal flow; (D) nutrient release and eutrophication, including harmful algal blooms; (E) sea-level rise; (F) waste carbon dioxide accumulations; (G) adverse soil health conditions; (H) erosion and sedimentation; and (I) karst, sinkholes, and land subsidence. (c) Eligible entities The Administrator may— (1) award grants under this section to any institution of higher education, nonprofit organization, or any other entity located or headquartered in the United States that the Administrator determines appropriate; and (2) award contracts under this section to individuals or private for-profit companies that the Administrator determines appropriate. (d) Requirement Any results, including data and statistics, from a project carried out using a grant or contract awarded under this section shall be freely accessible and useable by the public, including local, State, and Federal government entities. 6. Report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report describing— (1) additional benefits that may result from the use of emerging technologies, including emerging technologies described in section 5(b)(1)(A), to address threats to water quality, compared to use of existing technologies to address threats to water quality; (2) the recipients of the grants and contracts awarded under this Act; (3) the types and goals of projects carried out using the grants and contracts awarded under this Act; (4) the effectiveness of such projects in achieving such goals; and (5) any other information that the Administrator determines necessary. 7. Definitions In this Act: (1) Administrator The term Administrator (2) Artificial intelligence The term artificial intelligence 15 U.S.C. 9401 (3) Distributed ledger technology The term distributed ledger technology (A) are shared across a set of distributed nodes, including devices or processes, that participate in a network and store a complete or partial replica of the ledger; (B) are synchronized between the nodes; (C) have data appended to it by following the ledger’s specified consensus mechanism; (D) may be accessible to anyone (public) or restricted to a subset of participants (private); and (E) may require participants to have authorization to perform certain actions (permissioned) or require no authorization (permissionless). (4) Eligible entity The term eligible entity (5) Quantum information science The term quantum information science 15 U.S.C. 8801

Summary: Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Act This bill establishes and transfers funds to the Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Fund. Until September 30, 2028, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may use the fund to award grants and contracts to carry out projects (1) that use emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence or quantum information science) to address threats to water quality; or (2) for the research, development, or design of such technologies. Threats to water quality that may be addressed under a project carried out using a grant or contract may include acidification; the accumulation of plastics, trash, and microplastics; hydrologic alterations, such as restricting tidal flow; nutrient release and eutrophication, including harmful algal blooms; sea-level rise; waste carbon dioxide accumulations; adverse soil health conditions; erosion and sedimentation; and karst, sinkholes, and land subsidence. At the start of each fiscal year from FY2024 through FY2028, an amount of funding must be transferred to the fund that is equal to the amount that the EPA determines will be collected in such fiscal year from fees and charges under the Motor Vehicle and Engine Compliance Program of the EPA.