I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 568
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance 
for nutrient removal technologies to States in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2003
Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia (for himself, Mr. HOYER, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. 
GREENWOOD, Mr. FORBES, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. SCOTT of Vir-
ginia, Mr. WYNN, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. 
WOLF, Mr. GOODLATTE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. 
CARDIN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. HOUGH-
TON, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, and Mr. 
VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to pro-
vide assistance for nutrient removal technologies to 
States in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Wa-
tershed Nutrient Removal Assistance Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) nutrient pollution from point sources and 
nonpoint sources continues to be the most signifi-
cant water quality problem in the Chesapeake Bay 
watershed; 
(2) a key commitment of the Chesapeake 2000 
agreement, an interstate agreement among the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 
the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the District of Co-
lumbia, and the States of Maryland, Virginia, and 
Pennsylvania, is to achieve the goal of correcting the 
nutrient-related problems in the Chesapeake Bay by 
2010; 
(3) by correcting those problems, the Chesa-
peake Bay and its tidal tributaries may be removed 
from the list of impaired bodies of water designated 
by the Administrator under section 303(d) of the 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1313(d)); 
(4) nearly 300 major sewage treatment plants 
located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed annually 
discharge approximately 60,000,000 pounds of nitro-
gen, or the equivalent of 20 percent of the total ni-
trogen load, into the Chesapeake Bay; and 
(5) nutrient removal technology is 1 of the most 
reliable, cost-effective, and direct methods for reduc-
ing the flow of nitrogen from point sources into the 
Chesapeake Bay. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to authorize the Administrator of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency to provide financial as-
sistance to States and municipalities for use in up-
grading publicly-owned wastewater treatment plants 
in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with nutrient re-
moval technologies; and 
(2) to further the goal of restoring the water 
quality of the Chesapeake Bay to conditions that are 
protective of human health and aquatic living re-
sources. 
SEC. 3. SEWAGE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM. 
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 
‘‘SEC. 701. SEWAGE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE FACILITY.—In this 
section, the term ‘eligible facility’ means a municipal 
wastewater treatment plant that—
‘‘(1) as of the date of enactment of this title, 
has a permitted design capacity to treat an annual
average of at least 500,000 gallons of wastewater 
per day; and 
‘‘(2) is located within the Chesapeake Bay wa-
tershed in any of the States of Delaware, Maryland, 
New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or West Virginia 
or in the District of Columbia. 
‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this title, the Admin-
istrator shall establish a program within the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency to provide grants to 
States and municipalities to upgrade eligible facili-
ties with nutrient removal technologies. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In providing a grant under 
paragraph (1), the Administrator shall—
‘‘(A) consult with the Chesapeake Bay 
Program Office; 
‘‘(B) give priority to eligible facilities at 
which nutrient removal upgrades would—
‘‘(i) produce the greatest nutrient load 
reductions at points of discharge; 
‘‘(ii) result in the greatest environ-
mental benefits to local bodies of water 
surrounding, and the main stem of, the 
Chesapeake Bay; and
‘‘(iii) take into consideration the geo-
graphic distribution of the grants. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an ap-
plication from a State or municipality for a 
grant under this section, if the Administrator 
approves the request, the Administrator shall 
transfer to the State or municipality the 
amount of assistance requested. 
‘‘(B) FORM.—An application submitted by 
a State or municipality under subparagraph (A) 
shall be in such form and shall include such in-
formation as the Administrator may prescribe. 
‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—A State or municipality 
that receives a grant under this section shall use the 
grant to upgrade eligible facilities with nutrient re-
moval technologies that are designed to reduce total 
nitrogen in discharged wastewater to an average an-
nual concentration of 3 milligrams per liter. 
‘‘(5) COST SHARING.—
‘‘(A) 
FEDERAL
SHARE.—The 
Federal 
share of the cost of upgrading any eligible facil-
ity described in paragraph (1) using funds pro-
vided under this section shall not exceed 55 per-
cent.
‘‘(B) NON-FEDERAL
SHARE.—The non-
Federal share of the costs of upgrading any eli-
gible facility described in paragraph (1) using 
funds provided under this section may be pro-
vided in the form of funds made available to a 
State or municipality under—
‘‘(i) any provision of this Act other 
than this section (including funds made 
available from a State revolving fund es-
tablished under title VI); or 
‘‘(ii) any other Federal or State law. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $132,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008. Such 
sums shall remain available until expended. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
COSTS.—The Adminis-
trator may use not to exceed 4 percent of any 
amount made available under paragraph (1) to pay 
administrative costs incurred in carrying out this 
section.’’.
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