I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4497 
To amend the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize grants 
for and require applied water supply research regarding the water re-
sources research and technology institutes established under that Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 8, 2016 
Mr. WITTMAN (for himself and Mrs. NAPOLITANO) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to 
reauthorize grants for and require applied water supply 
research regarding the water resources research and 
technology institutes established under that Act. 
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 Resources Re-
search Amendments Act of 2016’’. 
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SEC. 2. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH ACT AMENDMENTS. 
(a) CONGRESSIONAL
FINDINGS
AND
DECLARA-
TIONS.—Section 102 of the Water Resources Research 
Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10301) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 
(9) as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively; 
(2) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(7) additional research is required into in-
creasing the effectiveness and efficiency of new and 
existing treatment works through alternative ap-
proaches, including— 
‘‘(A) nonstructural alternatives; 
‘‘(B) decentralized approaches; 
‘‘(C) energy use efficiency; 
‘‘(D) water use efficiency; and 
‘‘(E) actions to extract energy from waste-
water;’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—Sec-
tion 104(b)(1) of the Water Resources Research Act of 
1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303(b)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘water- 
related phenomena’’ and inserting ‘‘water re-
sources’’; and 
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(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’. 
(c) COMPLIANCE REPORT.—Section 104(c) of the 
Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 
10303(c)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(c) From the’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than December 31 of 
each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 
Senate, the Committee on the Budget of the Senate, 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
on the Budget of the House of Representatives a re-
port regarding the compliance of each funding re-
cipient with this subsection for the immediately pre-
ceding fiscal year.’’. 
(d) EVALUATION OF WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 
PROGRAM.—Section 104 of the Water Resources Research 
Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303) is amended by striking 
subsection (e) and inserting the following: 
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‘‘(e) EVALUATION OF WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 
PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con-
duct a careful and detailed evaluation of each insti-
tute at least once every 3 years to determine— 
‘‘(A) the quality and relevance of the water 
resources research of the institute; 
‘‘(B) the effectiveness of the institute at 
producing measured results and applied water 
supply research; and 
‘‘(C) whether the effectiveness of the insti-
tute as an institution for planning, conducting, 
and arranging for research warrants continued 
support under this section. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON FURTHER SUPPORT.—If, 
as a result of an evaluation under paragraph (1), the 
Secretary determines that an institute does not qual-
ify for further support under this section, no further 
grants to the institute may be provided until the 
qualifications of the institute are reestablished to the 
satisfaction of the Secretary.’’. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
104(f)(1) of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 
(42 U.S.C. 10303(f)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘$12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011’’ 
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and inserting ‘‘$7,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 
through 2022’’. 
(f) ADDITIONAL
APPROPRIATIONS
WHERE
RE-
SEARCH FOCUSED ON WATER PROBLEMS OF INTERSTATE 
NATURE.—Section 104(g)(1) of the Water Resources Re-
search Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303(g)(1)) is amended 
in the first sentence by striking ‘‘$6,000,000 for each of 
fiscal 
years 
2007 
through 
2011’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2022’’. 
Æ 
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