SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Infrastructure 
Resiliency and Sustainability Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY AND SUS-
TAINABILITY. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS.—The term ‘‘hy-
drologic conditions’’ means the quality, quantity, or 
reliability of the water resources of a region of the 
United States. 
(3) OWNER OR OPERATOR OF A WATER SYS-
TEM.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘owner or 
operator of a water system’’ means an entity 
(including a regional, State, interstate, Tribal, 
local, municipal, intermunicipal, or private enti-
ty) that owns or operates a water system. 
(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘owner or op-
erator of a water system’’ includes— 
(i) a non-Federal entity that has oper-
ational responsibilities for a federally, trib-
ally, or State-owned water system; and 
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(ii) an entity established by an agree-
ment between— 
(I) an entity that owns or oper-
ates a water system; and 
(II) at least one other entity. 
(4) WATER
SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘water sys-
tem’’ means— 
(A) a community water system (as defined 
in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300f)); 
(B) a treatment works (as defined in sec-
tion 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)), including a municipal 
separate storm sewer system (as such term is 
used in the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.)); 
(C) a decentralized wastewater treatment 
system for domestic sewage; 
(D) a groundwater storage and replenish-
ment system; 
(E) a system for conservation of water or 
for transport and delivery of water for irriga-
tion; or 
(F) a natural or engineered system that 
manages floodwaters. 
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(b) PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall establish 
and implement a program, to be known as the Water In-
frastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program, under 
which the Administrator awards grants in each of fiscal 
years 2018 through 2022 to owners or operators of water 
systems for the purpose of increasing the resiliency or 
adaptability of the systems to any ongoing or forecasted 
changes (based on the best available research and data) 
to the hydrologic conditions of a region of the United 
States. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—As a condition on receipt of a 
grant under this section, an owner or operator of a water 
system shall agree to use the grant funds exclusively to 
assist in the planning, design, construction, implementa-
tion, operation, or maintenance of a program or project 
that meets the purpose described in subsection (b) by— 
(1) conserving water or enhancing water use ef-
ficiency, including through the use of water metering 
and electronic sensing and control systems to meas-
ure the effectiveness of a water efficiency program; 
(2) modifying or relocating existing water sys-
tem infrastructure made or projected to be signifi-
cantly impaired by changing hydrologic conditions; 
(3) preserving or improving water quality, in-
cluding through measures to manage, reduce, treat, 
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or reuse municipal stormwater, wastewater, or 
drinking water; 
(4) investigating, designing, or constructing 
groundwater remediation, recycled water, or desali-
nation facilities or systems to serve existing commu-
nities; 
(5) enhancing water management by increasing 
watershed preservation and protection, including 
through the use of natural or engineered green in-
frastructure in the management, conveyance, or 
treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater; 
(6) enhancing energy efficiency or the use and 
generation of renewable energy in the management, 
conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or 
stormwater; 
(7) supporting the adoption and use of ad-
vanced water treatment, water supply management 
(such as reservoir reoperation and water banking), 
or water demand management technologies, projects, 
or processes (such as water reuse and recycling, 
adaptive conservation pricing, and groundwater 
banking) that maintain or increase water supply or 
improve water quality; 
(8) modifying or replacing existing systems or 
constructing new systems for existing communities 
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or land currently in agricultural production to im-
prove water supply, reliability, storage, or convey-
ance; 
(9) supporting practices and projects, such as 
improved irrigation systems, water banking and 
other forms of water transactions, groundwater re-
charge, stormwater capture, groundwater conjunc-
tive use, and reuse or recycling of drainage water, 
to improve water quality or promote more efficient 
water use on land currently in agricultural produc-
tion; 
(10) reducing flood damage, risk, and vulner-
ability by— 
(A) restoring floodplains, wetlands, and 
uplands integral to flood management, protec-
tion, prevention, and response; 
(B) modifying levees, floodwalls, and other 
structures to reduce risks associated with rising 
sea levels or to facilitate reconnection of rivers 
to floodplains, reduce flood stage height, and 
reduce damage to properties and populations; 
(C) providing for acquisition and easement 
of flood-prone lands and properties in order to 
reduce damage to property and risk to popu-
lations; or 
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(D) promoting land use planning that pre-
vents future floodplain development; 
(11) carrying out studies or assessments to 
project how changing hydrologic conditions may im-
pact the future operations and sustainability of 
water systems; or 
(12) developing and implementing measures to 
increase the resilience of water systems and regional 
and hydrological basins to rapid hydrologic change 
or a natural disaster. 
(d) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec-
tion, the owner or operator of a water system shall submit 
to the Administrator an application that— 
(1) includes a proposal of the program or 
project to be planned, designed, constructed, imple-
mented, operated, or maintained by the water sys-
tem; 
(2) cites the best available research or data that 
demonstrate— 
(A) the risk to the water resources or in-
frastructure of the water system as a result of 
ongoing 
or 
forecasted 
changes 
to 
the 
hydrological system of a region, including rising 
sea levels and changes in precipitation patterns; 
and 
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(B) how the proposed program or project 
would perform under the anticipated hydrologic 
conditions; and 
(3) explains how the proposed program or 
project is expected— 
(A) to enhance the resiliency of the water 
system to the anticipated hydrologic conditions; 
or 
(B) to increase efficiency in the use of en-
ergy or water of the water system. 
(e) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP OF PRIVATE ENTITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If an applicant for a grant 
under this section is not a State or local govern-
ment, an agency or instrumentality of a State or 
local government, or a Tribal government or consor-
tium of Tribal governments, the program or project 
to be planned, designed, constructed, implemented, 
operated, or maintained through the grant shall be 
publicly sponsored. 
(2) PUBLIC
SPONSORSHIP.—For purposes of 
this subsection, a program or project shall be consid-
ered to be publicly sponsored if the grantee dem-
onstrates, to the satisfaction of the Administrator, 
that— 
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(A) the grantee has consulted with the af-
fected State, local, or tribal government in 
which the program or project is located, or that 
is otherwise affected by the program or project; 
and 
(B) such government supports the program 
or project. 
(f) PRIORITY; DIVERSITY OF PROJECT TYPES.—In 
selecting grantees under this section, the Administrator 
shall— 
(1) give priority to owners or operators of water 
systems— 
(A) that are, based on the best available 
research and data, at the greatest and most im-
mediate risk of facing significant negative im-
pacts due to changing hydrologic conditions; 
and 
(B) whose proposed projects would most 
effectively deliver long-term solutions to those 
risks; and 
(2) ensure that grants are awarded each fiscal 
year for a diverse range of programs and projects 
described in paragraphs (1) through (12) of sub-
section (c). 
(g) COST-SHARING.— 
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(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The share of the cost of 
any program or project that is the subject of a grant 
awarded by the Administrator to the owner or oper-
ator of a water system under subsection (b) paid 
through funds distributed under this section shall 
not exceed 75 percent of the cost of the program or 
project. 
(2) CALCULATION OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 
In calculating the non-Federal share of the cost of 
a program or project proposed by a water system in 
an application submitted under subsection (d), the 
Administrator shall— 
(A) include the value of any in-kind serv-
ices that are integral to the completion of the 
program or project, including reasonable admin-
istrative and overhead costs; and 
(B) not include any other amount that the 
water system involved receives from the Federal 
Government. 
(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 
years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 
Congress a report on progress in implementing this sec-
tion, including information on project applications received 
and funded annually. 
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(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 
$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022. 
Æ 
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