I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3224
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish a program to provide
assistance to small communities for use in carrying out projects and
activities necessary to achieve or maintain compliance with drinking
water standards.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 1, 2001
Mrs. WILSON (for herself, Mr. SKEEN, and Mr. GIBBONS) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to establish a pro-
gram to provide assistance to small communities for use
in carrying out projects and activities necessary to
achieve or maintain compliance with drinking water
standards.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Drinking
Water Assistance Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) drinking water standards proposed and in
effect as of the date of enactment of this Act will
place a large financial burden on many public water
systems, especially those public water systems in
rural communities serving small populations;
(2) the limited scientific, technical, and profes-
sional resources available in small communities com-
plicate the implementation of regulatory require-
ments;
(3) small communities often cannot afford to
meet water quality standards because of the ex-
penses associated with upgrading public water sys-
tems and training personnel to operate and maintain
the public water systems;
(4) small communities do not have a tax base
for dealing with the costs of upgrading their public
water systems;
(5) small communities face high per capita
costs in improving drinking water quality;
(6) small communities would greatly benefit
from a grant program designed to provide funding
for water quality projects;
(7) as of the date of enactment of this Act,
there is no Federal program in effect that ade-
quately meets the needs of small, primarily rural
communities with respect to public water systems;
and
(8) since new, more protective arsenic drinking
water standards proposed by the Clinton and Bush
administrations, respectively, are expected to be im-
plemented in 2006, the grant program established
by the amendment made by this Act should be im-
plemented in a manner that ensures that the imple-
mentation of those new standards is not delayed.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS.
(a) 
DEFINITION
OF
INDIAN
TRIBE.—Section
1401(14) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
300f(14)) is amended in the second sentence by striking
‘‘1452,’’ and inserting ‘‘1452 and part G,’’.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
PROGRAM.—The Safe
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘PART G—ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL PUBLIC
WATER SYSTEMS
‘‘SEC. 1471. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘In this part:
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible ac-
tivity’ means a project or activity concerning a
small public water system that is carried out by
an eligible entity to comply with drinking water
standards.
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘eligible ac-
tivity’ includes—
‘‘(i) obtaining technical assistance;
and
‘‘(ii) training and certifying operators
of small public water systems.
‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘eligible ac-
tivity’ does not include any project or activity to
increase the population served by a small public
water system, except to the extent that the Ad-
ministrator determines such a project or activ-
ity to be necessary to—
‘‘(i) achieve compliance with a na-
tional primary drinking water regulation;
and
‘‘(ii) provide a water supply to a pop-
ulation that, as of the date of enactment of
this part, is not served by a safe public
water system.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means a small public water system that—
‘‘(A) is located in a State or an area gov-
erned by an Indian Tribe; and
‘‘(B)(i) if located in a State, serves a com-
munity that, under affordability criteria estab-
lished by the State under section 1452(d)(3), is
determined by the State to be—
‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; or
‘‘(II) a community that may become a
disadvantaged community as a result of
carrying out an eligible activity; or
‘‘(ii) if located in an area governed by an
Indian Tribe, serves a community that is deter-
mined by the Administrator, under affordability
criteria published by the Administrator under
section 1452(d)(3) and in consultation with the
Secretary, to be—
‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; or
‘‘(II) a community that the Adminis-
trator expects to become a disadvantaged
community as a result of carrying out an
eligible activity.
‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means
the small public water assistance program estab-
lished under section 1472(a).
‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
through the Director of the Indian Health Service.
‘‘(5) SMALL
PUBLIC
WATER
SYSTEM.—The
term ‘small public water system’ means a public
water system (including a community water system
and a noncommunity water system) that serves—
‘‘(A) a community having a population of
not more than 200,000; or
‘‘(B) the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
‘‘SEC. 1472. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this part, the Adminis-
trator shall establish a program to provide grants to
eligible entities for use in carrying out projects and
activities to comply with drinking water standards.
‘‘(2) 
PRIORITY.—The 
Administrator 
shall
award grants under the Program to eligible entities
based on—
‘‘(A) first, the financial need of the com-
munity for the grant assistance, as determined
by the Administrator; and
‘‘(B) second, with respect to the commu-
nity in which the eligible entity is located, the
per capita cost of complying with drinking
water standards, as determined by the Adminis-
trator.
‘‘(b) APPLICATION PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—An eligible entity that
seeks to receive a grant under the Program shall
submit to the Administrator, on such form as the
Administrator shall prescribe (not to exceed 3 pages
in length), an application to receive the grant.
‘‘(2) 
COMPONENTS.—The 
application 
shall
include—
‘‘(A) a description of the eligible activities
for which the grant is needed;
‘‘(B) a description of the efforts made by
the eligible entity, as of the date of submission
of the application, to comply with drinking
water standards; and
‘‘(C) any other information required to be
included by the Administrator.
‘‘(3) REVIEW
AND
APPROVAL
OF
APPLICA-
TIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an ap-
plication under paragraph (1), the Adminis-
trator shall forward the application to the
Council.
‘‘(B) APPROVAL
OR
DISAPPROVAL.—Not
later than 90 days after receiving the rec-
ommendations of the Council under subsection
(e) concerning an application, after taking into
consideration the recommendations, the Admin-
istrator shall—
‘‘(i) approve the application and
award a grant to the applicant; or
‘‘(ii) disapprove the application.
‘‘(C) RESUBMISSION.—If the Adminis-
trator disapproves an application under sub-
paragraph (B)(ii), the Administrator shall—
‘‘(i) inform the applicant in writing of
the disapproval (including the reasons for
the disapproval); and
‘‘(ii) provide to the applicant a dead-
line by which the applicant may revise and
resubmit the application.
‘‘(c) COST SHARING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of carrying
out an eligible activity using funds from a grant pro-
vided under the Program shall not exceed 90 per-
cent.
‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive
the requirement to pay the non-Federal share of the
cost of carrying out an eligible activity using funds
from a grant provided under the Program if the Ad-
ministrator determines that an eligible entity is un-
able to pay, or would experience significant financial
hardship if required to pay, the non-Federal share.
‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT
AND
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
STANDARDS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
the Administrator shall not enforce any standard for
drinking water under this Act (including a regula-
tion promulgated under this Act) against an eligible
entity during the period beginning on the date on
which the eligible entity submits an application for
a grant under the Program and ending, as applica-
ble, on—
‘‘(A) the deadline specified in subsection
(b)(3)(C)(ii), if the application is disapproved
and not resubmitted; or
‘‘(B) the date that is 3 years after the date
on which the eligible entity receives a grant
under this part, if the application is approved.
‘‘(2) ARSENIC STANDARDS.—No standard for
arsenic in drinking water promulgated under this
Act (including a standard in any regulation promul-
gated before the date of enactment of this part)
shall be implemented or enforced by the Adminis-
trator in any State until the earlier of January 1,
2006 or such date as the Administrator certifies to
Congress that—
‘‘(A) the Program has been implemented
in the State; and
‘‘(B) the State has made substantial
progress, as determined by the Administrator in
consultation with the Governor of the State, in
complying with drinking water standards under
this Act.
‘‘(e) ROLE OF COUNCIL.—The Council shall—
‘‘(1) review applications for grants from eligible
entities received by the Administrator under sub-
section (b); and
‘‘(2) for each application, recommend to the
Administrator whether the application should be ap-
proved or disapproved.
‘‘SEC. 1473. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this part $1,900,000,000 for the period of fiscal years
2001 through 2006.’’.
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