I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3906 
To establish centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control 
infrastructure, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2017 
Mr. HECK (for himself, Mr. KATKO, Mr. KILMER, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. MI-
CHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. DELANEY, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. MOORE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SMITH of 
Washington, Mr. CLEAVER, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish centers of excellence for innovative stormwater 
control infrastructure, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Innovative Stormwater 
Infrastructure Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) many water resources in the United States 
are declining, particularly in urban and agricultural 
areas; 
(2) the decline of water resources is the result 
of— 
(A) an increase in population, water con-
sumption, and impermeable surfaces; and 
(B) the negative effects of urbanization, 
commercial and industrial activities, and in-
creasing and persistent droughts; and 
(3) an October 2008 study by the National Re-
search Council found that some of the benefits of in-
novative stormwater control infrastructure include— 
(A) increased water supplies; 
(B) the creation of jobs; 
(C) cost savings; and 
(D) a reduction of stormwater runoff, sur-
face water discharge, stormwater pollution, and 
stormwater flows to protect and restore natural 
hydrology, meeting local conditions to the max-
imum extent feasible. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) CENTER.—The term ‘‘center’’ means a cen-
ter of excellence for innovative stormwater control 
infrastructure established under section 4(a). 
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a State, tribal, or local government; or 
(B) a local, regional, or other entity that 
manages stormwater, drinking water resources, 
or waste water resources. 
(4) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible in-
stitution’’ means an institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), or a 
research institution, that has demonstrated ex-
cellence in innovative stormwater control infra-
structure by— 
(i) conducting research on innovative 
stormwater control infrastructure to deter-
mine the means by which innovative infra-
structure reduces stormwater runoff, en-
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the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001)); or 
(IV) vocational schools; 
(vii) training students regarding inno-
vative stormwater control infrastructure; or 
(viii) providing information to the 
Federal Government or State, tribal, and 
local governments regarding the implemen-
tation of innovative stormwater control in-
frastructure. 
(B) ASSOCIATED
DEFINITION.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘research 
institution’’ means an entity that is— 
(i) described in section 501(c)(3) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
(ii) exempt from tax under section 
501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986; and 
(iii) organized and operated for re-
search purposes. 
(5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 518(h) of 
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1377(h)). 
(6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 
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(A) each of the several States of the 
United States; 
(B) the District of Columbia; 
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 
(D) Guam; 
(E) American Samoa; 
(F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands; 
(G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 
(H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 
(I) the Republic of Palau; and 
(J) the United States Virgin Islands. 
(7) INNOVATIVE STORMWATER CONTROL INFRA-
STRUCTURE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘innovative 
stormwater control infrastructure’’ means any 
green infrastructure stormwater management 
technique that— 
(i) uses natural systems or engineered 
systems that mimic natural processes to 
infiltrate, 
evapotranspire, 
or 
capture 
stormwater; and 
(ii) preserves, enhances, or mimics 
natural hydrology to protect or restore 
water quality. 
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(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘innovative 
stormwater control infrastructure’’ includes— 
(i) methods that promote absorption, 
uptake, 
percolation, 
evapotranspiration, 
and filtration by soil and plant life; and 
(ii) the preservation or restoration 
of— 
(I) natural topography, including 
hills, plains, ravines, and shorelines; 
(II) interconnected networks of 
natural land that protect essential ec-
ological functions critical for water 
quality; 
(III) ecological function, includ-
ing forests, grasslands, and deserts; 
(IV) bodies of water, including 
lakes, flood plains, headwaters, and 
wetlands; and 
(V) native soil characteristics of 
composition, structure, and transmis-
sivity. 
SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE FOR INNOVATIVE 
STORMWATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro-
vide grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible insti-
tutions to establish and maintain not less than 
three, and not more than five, centers of excellence 
for innovative stormwater control infrastructure, to 
be located in various regions throughout the United 
States. 
(2) 
GENERAL
OPERATION.—Each 
center 
shall— 
(A) conduct research on innovative storm-
water control infrastructure that is relevant to 
the geographical region in which the center is 
located, including stormwater and sewer over-
flow reduction, other approaches to water re-
source enhancement, and other environmental, 
economic, and social benefits; 
(B) develop manuals and establish industry 
standards on best management practices relat-
ing to State, tribal, local, and commercial inno-
vative stormwater control infrastructure for use 
by State, tribal, and local governments and the 
private sector; 
(C) develop and administer testing and 
evaluation protocols to measure and verify the 
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performance of stormwater infrastructure prod-
ucts and practices; 
(D) provide information regarding research 
conducted under subparagraph (A), manuals 
developed under subparagraph (B), and testing 
and evaluation performed under subparagraph 
(C) to the national electronic clearinghouse cen-
ter for publication on the Internet website es-
tablished under subsection (c) to provide to the 
Federal Government and State, tribal, and local 
governments and the private sector information 
regarding innovative stormwater control infra-
structure; 
(E) provide technical assistance to State, 
tribal, and local governments to assist with the 
construction, operation, and maintenance of in-
novative 
stormwater 
control 
infrastructure 
projects; 
(F) collaborate with institutions of higher 
education and private and public organizations 
in the geographical region in which the center 
is located on innovative stormwater control in-
frastructure research and technical assistance 
projects; 
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(G) assist institutions of higher education, 
secondary schools, and vocational schools to de-
velop innovative stormwater control infrastruc-
ture curricula; 
(H) provide training regarding innovative 
stormwater control infrastructure to institutions 
of higher education and professional schools; 
(I) evaluate regulatory and policy issues 
relating to innovative stormwater control infra-
structure; and 
(J) coordinate with the other centers to 
avoid duplication of efforts. 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, an eligible institution shall prepare and 
submit to the Administrator an application at such a time, 
in such form, and containing such information as the Ad-
ministrator may require. 
(c) NATIONAL ELECTRONIC CLEARINGHOUSE CEN-
TER.—Of the centers established under subsection (a)(1), 
one shall— 
(1) be designated as the ‘‘national electronic 
clearinghouse center’’; and 
(2) in addition to the other functions of that 
center— 
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