I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1178
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants to small public
drinking water systems.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 22, 2001
Mr. GIBBONS (for himself and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to provide grants
to small public drinking water systems.
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 ‘‘Small Community
Drinking Water Funding Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) in some cases, drinking water standards in
effect and proposed as of the date of enactment of
this Act can place large financial burdens on public
water systems, especially systems that serve fewer
than a few thousand people;
(2) some small public water systems have expe-
rienced water contamination problems that may pose
a significant risk to the health of water consumers;
(3) small communities are concerned about im-
proving drinking water quality;
(4) the limited scientific, technical, and profes-
sional resources of many small communities make
understanding and implementing regulatory require-
ments very difficult;
(5) small communities often struggle to meet
water quality standards because of difficulty in se-
curing funding;
(6) small communities often lack a tax base or
opportunities to benefit from economics of scale and
therefore face very high per capita costs in improv-
ing drinking water quality;
(7) the smallest public water systems, which
serve fewer than 3,300 people, represent 85 percent
of all public water systems;
(8) small public water systems serving fewer
than 10,000 people represent 94 percent of all public
water systems;
(9) small communities would benefit from a
grant program designed to provide funding for water
quality projects without a substantial matching re-
quirement; and
(10) Federal programs in effect as of the date
of enactment of this Act do not adequately meet the
needs of small communities with respect to public
water systems.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-
lish a program to provide grants to small public water sys-
tems to—
(1) meet applicable national primary drinking
water regulations under the Safe Drinking Water
Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);
(2) maintain water costs at a reasonable level
for the communities served by small public water
systems; and
(3) obtain technical assistance to develop the
capacity to sustain operations over the long term.
SEC. 3. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE PRO-
GRAM.
(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,’’.
‘‘(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 the State expects
to 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 criteria pub-
lished by the Administrator under section
1452(d)(3) and in consultation with the Sec-
retary, to be—
‘‘(I) a disadvantaged community; or
‘‘(II) a community the Administrator
expects to become a disadvantaged commu-
nity as a result of carrying out an eligible
activity.
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE
STATE.—The term ‘eligible
State’ means a State that has—
‘‘(A) adopted, and is implementing, an ap-
proved operator certification program under
section 1419; and
‘‘(B) 
established 
affordability 
criteria
under section 1452(d)(3) for use in identifying
disadvantaged communities.
‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means
the Small Public Water System Assistance Program
established under section 1472(a).
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
through the Director of the Indian Health Service.
‘‘(6) 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
population of 10,000 or fewer.
‘‘SEC. 1472. SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than July 1, 2002,
the Administrator shall establish within the Environ-
mental Protection Agency a Small Public Water System
Assistance Program.
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The head of the Program shall—
‘‘(1) in accordance with section 1474, establish
and administer a small public water system assist-
ance program for, and provide grants to, eligible en-
tities located in areas governed by Indian Tribes, for
use in carrying out eligible activities;
‘‘(2) identify, and prepare annual prioritized
lists of, activities for eligible entities located in areas
governed by Indian Tribes that are eligible for
grants under section 1474;
‘‘(3) provide funds to States for use in estab-
lishing small public water system assistance pro-
grams under section 1473 that award grants to eli-
gible entities to carry out eligible activities; and
‘‘(4) prepare, and submit to the Administrator,
the reports required under subsection (d).
‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) STATES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graphs (B) through (D) and paragraph (2)(A),
for each fiscal year, the Administrator, through
the head of the Program, using the most recent
available needs survey conducted by the Admin-
istrator under section 1452(h), shall allocate
the funds made available to carry out the Pro-
gram for the fiscal year among eligible States
based on the ratio that—
‘‘(i) the financial need associated with
treatment projects for small public water
systems in the State; bears to
‘‘(ii) the total financial need associ-
ated with treatment projects for all small
public water systems in all States.
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS.—Any
additional financial needs of small public water
systems associated with the cost of treatment
projects needed to comply with a national pri-
mary drinking water regulation (including a
regulation concerning arsenic) that is promul-
gated after the most recent needs survey con-
ducted under section 1452(h) shall be factored
into the determination of financial need under
clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) for
each fiscal year.
‘‘(C) MINIMUM
ALLOCATION.—An alloca-
tion of funds to a State for a fiscal year under
subparagraph (A), taking into consideration
any additional financial needs described in sub-
paragraph (B), shall be in an amount that is at
least 1 percent of the amount of funds available
for that fiscal year.
‘‘(D) REDISTRIBUTION IF NONUSE.—If a
State does not qualify for, or fails to request,
funds allocated to the State under subpara-
graph (A) in any fiscal year, the Administrator
shall redistribute the funds among the States
that—
‘‘(i) request funds for that fiscal year;
and
‘‘(ii) are eligible to receive the funds
under subparagraph (A) for that fiscal
year.
‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year,
in accordance with subparagraph (B), 3 percent
of the total amount of funds made available to
carry out the Program for the fiscal year shall
be allocated by the Administrator to provide
grants to eligible entities that are located in
areas governed by Indian Tribes through the
program established under section 1474(a).
‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For each fiscal
year, the Administrator shall award not
less than 1.5 percent of the funds allocated
under subparagraph (A) to nonprofit tech-
nical assistance organizations, to be used
for the purposes of—
‘‘(I) assisting the Administrator
in preparing the list required under
section 1474(b) (including assisting
the Administrator in identifying the
highest priority eligible activities for
eligible entities located in areas gov-
erned by Indian Tribes for which a
grant under section 1474 may be
used);
‘‘(II) assisting eligible entities lo-
cated in areas governed by Indian
Tribes in—
‘‘(aa) assessing needs relat-
ing to eligible activities; and
‘‘(bb) identifying available
sources of funding to meet the
cost-sharing requirement of sec-
tion 1474(f)(1); and
‘‘(III) assisting eligible entities
located in areas governed by Indian
Tribes that receive funding under sec-
tion 1474 in—
‘‘(aa) 
planning, 
imple-
menting, and maintaining eligible
activities that are funded under
that section; and
‘‘(bb) preparing reports re-
quired under section 1474(h).
‘‘(ii) CONSULTATION.—Each nonprofit
technical assistance organization that re-
ceives funds under clause (i) shall consult
with the Administrator, through the head
of the program, before carrying out any
activity for the purposes described in sub-
clauses (II)(aa) and (III)(aa) of that
clause.
‘‘(iii) NO FUNDS FOR LOBBYING EX-
PENSES.—None of the funds made avail-
able to a nonprofit technical assistance or-
ganization under clause (i) shall be used to
pay lobbying expenses.
‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—For each fiscal year, the Ad-
ministrator may use not more than 0.1 percent of
the funds made available to carry out the Program
to pay reasonable costs incurred in the administra-
tion of the Program.
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than January 1, 2003,
and annually thereafter through January 1, 2007, the Ad-
ministrator shall—
‘‘(1) submit, to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
Senate, a report that, for the preceding fiscal year—
‘‘(A) lists the eligible activities for eligible
entities, as prepared under sections 1473(b)(1)
and 1474(b)(1), located in areas governed by
Indian Tribes and in each State receiving funds
under this part;
‘‘(B) identifies the number of grants
awarded by each State, and by the Adminis-
trator to eligible entities located in areas gov-
erned by Indian Tribes, under this part;
‘‘(C) identifies each eligible entity that re-
ceived a grant to carry out an eligible activity;
‘‘(D) identifies the amount of each grant
provided to an eligible entity to carry out an eli-
gible activity; and
‘‘(E) describes each eligible activity funded
by such a grant (including the status of the eli-
gible activity); and
‘‘(2) make the report under paragraph (1)
available to the public.
‘‘SEC. 1473. STATE SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM ASSIST-
ANCE PROGRAMS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive funding
under this part, a State shall—
‘‘(1) be an eligible State;
‘‘(2) not later than July 1, 2002 (if funding is
sought for fiscal year 2002) or not later than Sep-
tember 30 of any of fiscal years 2002 through 2005
(if funding is sought for the following fiscal year),
establish a small public water system assistance
program—
‘‘(A) under which the requirements of sub-
section (b), oversight, and related activities
(other than financial administration) with re-
spect to the program are administered—
‘‘(i) in the case of a State that is ex-
ercising primary enforcement responsibility
for public water systems, by the State
agency having primary responsibility for
administration of the State program under
section 1413; and
‘‘(ii) in the case of a State that is not
exercising primary enforcement authority
for public water systems, by a State agen-
cy selected by the Governor of the State;
and
‘‘(B) that meets the requirements of this
section; and
‘‘(3) for each fiscal year for which funding is
sought under this section—
‘‘(A) in preparing an intended use plan
under section 1452(b), after providing for pub-
lic review and comment, prepare an annual list
of eligible activities for eligible entities in the
State in accordance with subsection (b); and
‘‘(B) prepare and submit to the Adminis-
trator a request for the funding, by such date
and in such form as the Administrator shall
prescribe.
‘‘(b) PROGRAM PRIORITY REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(1) LIST OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A small
public water system assistance program established
under subsection (a) shall, for each fiscal year for
which funding is sought, identify, and, using the pri-
ority criteria described in paragraph (2) and consid-
ering the additional criteria described in paragraph
(3), list in descending order of priority, eligible ac-
tivities for eligible entities in the State for which
funds provided from a grant under this part may be
used.
‘‘(2) PRIORITY CRITERIA.—In preparing the list
under paragraph (1), a small public water system
assistance program shall give priority for the use of
grants to eligible activities that—
‘‘(A) address the most serious risk to
human health;
‘‘(B) are necessary to ensure compliance
with national primary water regulations appli-
cable to eligible entities under section 1412;
and
‘‘(C) assist systems most in need, as cal-
culated on the basis of median household in-
come, under affordability criteria established by
the State under section 1452(d)(3).
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
CRITERIA.—In addition to
the priority criteria described in paragraph (2), a
small public water system assistance program shall,
in preparing a list under paragraph (1), consider
giving additional priority to any listed eligible activi-
ties that are to be carried out by communities that
form management cooperatives (including manage-
ment cooperatives between systems that do not have
connections).
‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Using any funds received by
a State under this section for a fiscal year, in accordance
with the list prepared under subsection (b), a small public
water system assistance program established by the State
under subsection (a)—
‘‘(1) shall provide to an eligible entity, on a
cost-shared basis, a grant to be used for an eligible
activity (including source water protection) the pur-
pose of which is compliance with national primary
drinking water regulations applicable to the eligible
entity under section 1412;
‘‘(2) shall—
‘‘(A) award not less than 1.5 percent of
the funds to nonprofit technical assistance orga-
nizations to be used for the purposes of—
‘‘(i) assisting the State in preparing
the list required under subsection (b) (in-
cluding assisting the State in identifying
the highest priority eligible activities for el-
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR RECEIPT OF GRANT.—An
eligible entity described in paragraph (1) may re-
ceive a grant under this section only—
‘‘(A) if the Administrator determines that
use of the grant will ensure compliance with na-
tional primary drinking water regulations appli-
cable to the eligible entity under section 1412;
‘‘(B)(i) to restructure or consolidate the
facility to achieve compliance with applicable
national primary drinking water regulations; or
‘‘(ii) in a case in which restructuring or
consolidation of the facility is not practicable, if
the Administrator determines that—
‘‘(I) the eligible entity has made a
good faith effort to achieve compliance
with applicable national primary drinking
water regulations; and
‘‘(II) the eligible entity is adhering to
an enforceable schedule for achieving those
regulations; and
‘‘(C) in a case in which paragraph (1)(A)
applies to an eligible entity, and the eligible en-
tity agrees to undertake feasible and appro-
priate changes in operations (including changes
in ownership, management, accounting, rates,