I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 873 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 8, 2023 
Mr. DONALDS (for himself and Mr. GOTTHEIMER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 
and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency to award grants and contracts for projects 
that use emerging technologies to address threats to 
water quality, 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 ‘‘Water Quality and En-
vironmental Innovation Act’’. 
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SEC. 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 im-
pact 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 so-
lutions. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the Federal Government should support in-
novative 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 mon-
itor vital aquatic and environmental resources; 
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(3) supporting an innovative approach to ad-
dressing 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 in-
telligence, quantum information science, distributed 
ledger technology, mechanical harvesting, aquatic 
muck dredging, living shorelines, living seawalls, ro-
botics, 
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. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WATER QUALITY AND EN-
VIRONMENTAL INNOVATION FUND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a fund, to be 
known as the Water Quality and Environmental Innova-
tion Fund. 
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(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)) to the Water Quality and En-
vironmental Innovation Fund, an amount that is equal to 
the amount that the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency determines will be collected in such fis-
cal year from fees and charges under the Motor Vehicle 
and Engine Compliance Program of the Environmental 
Protection Agency. 
(c) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Water Quality 
and Environmental Innovation Fund— 
(1) shall be available, as provided in appropria-
tions 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. 
SEC. 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. 
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(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, in-
cluding artificial intelligence, quantum informa-
tion science, distributed ledger technology, me-
chanical harvesting, aquatic muck dredging, liv-
ing shorelines, living seawalls, robotics, nano-
technology, 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 de-
sign 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 restrict-
ing tidal flow; 
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(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 in-
stitution of higher education, nonprofit organization, 
or any other entity located or headquartered in the 
United States that the Administrator determines ap-
propriate; and 
(2) award contracts under this section to indi-
viduals or private for-profit companies that the Ad-
ministrator determines appropriate. 
(d) REQUIREMENT.—Any results, including data and 
statistics, from a project carried out using a grant or con-
tract awarded under this section shall be freely accessible 
and useable by the public, including local, State, and Fed-
eral government entities. 
SEC. 6. REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Adminis-
trator shall submit to the Committee on Environment and 
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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 Representa-
tives, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep-
resentatives 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 ad-
dress 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 achiev-
ing such goals; and 
(5) any other information that the Adminis-
trator determines necessary. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘ar-
tificial intelligence’’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 5002 of the National Artificial Intel-
ligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401). 
(3) DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY.—The 
term ‘‘distributed ledger technology’’ means tech-
nology that enables the operation and use of distrib-
uted ledgers that— 
(A) are shared across a set of distributed 
nodes, including devices or processes, that par-
ticipate 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 (pri-
vate); and 
(E) may require participants to have au-
thorization 
to 
perform 
certain 
actions 
(permissioned) or require no authorization 
(permissionless). 
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(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means an entity described in section 5(c). 
(5) QUANTUM
INFORMATION
SCIENCE.—The 
term ‘‘quantum information science’’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 2 of the National 
Quantum Initiative Act (15 U.S.C. 8801). 
Æ 
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