IB
Union Calendar No. 566
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 828
[Report No. 106–943]
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require that discharges
from combined storm and sanitary sewers conform to the Combined
Sewer Overflow Control Policy of the Environmental Protection Agency,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 24, 1999
Mr. BARCIA (for himself, Mr. ROEMER, Mr. TERRY, Mr. FRANK of Massachu-
setts, Mr. NEY, Mr. MASCARA, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. ALLEN,
Mr. BALDACCI, and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
OCTOBER 6, 2000
Additional sponsors: Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. METCALF, Mr. SCOTT,
Mr. GOODE, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. DICKS, Mr. EVANS, Mr. SANDERS, Mr.
GILLMOR, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. SHIMKUS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. UPTON,
Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. BASS, Ms. DANNER, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOEKSTRA,
Mr. WU, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. WISE, Mr. MATSUI, Ms.
KILPATRICK, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr.
DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr.
PAYNE, Mr. KLINK, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MOLLOHAN,
Mr. MURTHA, Mr. BLILEY, Ms. CARSON, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. WELLER, Mr.
BUYER, Mr. FROST, Mr. LEACH, Mr. OWENS, Mr. BATEMAN, Mr. GIL-
MAN, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. QUINN, Mr.
KANJORSKI, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. CAMP, Mr. PEASE, Mr. OLVER, Mr. MEE-
HAN, and Mr. BEREUTER
OCTOBER 6, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 24, 1999]
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require
that discharges from combined storm and sanitary sewers
conform to the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy
of the Environmental Protection Agency, 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 ‘‘Wet Weather Water
Quality Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS.
Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1342) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(q) COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS.—
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT FOR PERMITS, ORDERS, AND
DECREES.—Each permit, order, or decree issued pur-
suant to this Act after the date of enactment of this
subsection for a discharge from a municipal combined
storm and sanitary sewer shall conform to the Com-
bined Sewer Overflow Control Policy signed by the
Administrator on April 11, 1994 (in this subsection
referred to as the ‘CSO control policy’), and shall pro-
vide for the development and implementation of long-
term control plans to meet applicable water quality
standards as expeditiously as possible.
‘‘(2) WATER QUALITY AND DESIGNATED USE RE-
VIEW GUIDANCE.—Not later than December 31, 2000,
and after providing notice and opportunity for public
comment, the Administrator shall issue guidance to
facilitate the conduct of water quality and designated
use reviews for municipal combined sewer overflow re-
ceiving waters.
‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than September 1,
2001, the Administrator shall transmit to Congress a
report on the progress made by the Environmental
Protection Agency, States, and municipalities in im-
plementing and enforcing the CSO control policy.’’.
SEC. 3. WET WEATHER PILOT PROGRAM.
Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘SEC. 121. WET WEATHER WATERSHED PILOT PROJECTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in coordina-
tion with the States, may provide technical assistance and
grants for treatment works to carry out pilot projects relat-
ing to the following areas of wet weather discharge control:
‘‘(1) WATERSHED MANAGEMENT OF WET WEATH-
ER
DISCHARGES.—The management of municipal
combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows,
and stormwater discharges, on an integrated water-
shed or subwatershed basis for the purpose of dem-
onstrating the effectiveness of a unified wet weather
approach.
‘‘(2) STORMWATER
BEST
MANAGEMENT
PRAC-
TICES.—The control of pollutants from municipal
separate storm sewer systems for the purpose of dem-
onstrating and determining controls that are cost-ef-
fective and that use innovative technologies in reduc-
ing such pollutants from stormwater discharges.
‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator, in coordi-
nation with the States, shall provide municipalities partici-
pating in a pilot project under this section the ability to
engage in innovative practices, including the ability to
unify separate wet weather control efforts under a single
permit.
‘‘(c) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap-
propriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for
fiscal year 2002, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2003,
and $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2004. Such funds
shall remain available until expended.
‘‘(2) STORMWATER.—The Administrator shall
make available not less than 20 percent of amounts
appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to this sub-
section to carry out the purposes of subsection (a)(2).
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Admin-
istrator may retain not to exceed 4 percent of any
amounts appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to
this subsection for the reasonable and necessary costs
of administering this section.
‘‘(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years
after the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis-
trator shall transmit to Congress a report on the results
of the pilot projects conducted under this section and their
possible application nationwide.’’.
SEC. 4. SEWER OVERFLOW CONTROL GRANTS.
Title II of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1342 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘SEC. 220. SEWER OVERFLOW CONTROL GRANTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any fiscal year in which the
Administrator has available for obligation at least
$1,200,000,000 for the purposes of section 601—
‘‘(1) the Administrator may make grants to
States for the purpose of providing grants to a mu-
nicipality or municipal entity for planning, design,
and construction of treatment works to intercept,
transport, control, or treat municipal combined sewer
overflows and sanitary sewer overflows; and
‘‘(2) subject to subsection (g), the Administrator
may make a direct grant to a municipality or munic-
ipal entity for the purposes described in paragraph
(1).
‘‘(b) PRIORITIZATION.—In selecting from among mu-
nicipalities applying for grants under subsection (a), a
State or the Administrator shall give priority to an appli-
cant that—
‘‘(1) is a municipality that is a financially dis-
tressed community under subsection (c);
‘‘(2) has implemented or is complying with an
implementation schedule for the 9 minimum controls
specified in the CSO control policy referred to in sec-
tion 402(q)(1) and has begun implementing a long-
term municipal combined sewer overflow control plan
or a separate sanitary sewer overflow control plan; or
‘‘(3) is requesting a grant for a project that is
on a State’s intended use plan pursuant to section
606(c).
‘‘(c) FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED COMMUNITY.—
‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In subsection (b), the term
‘financially distressed community’ means a commu-
nity that meets affordability criteria established by
the State in which the community is located, if such
criteria are developed after public review and com-
ment.
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION OF IMPACT ON WATER AND
SEWER RATES.—In determining if a community is a
distressed community for the purposes of subsection
(b), the State shall consider, among other factors, the
extent to which the rate of growth of a community’s
tax base has been historically slow such that imple-
menting a plan described in subsection (b)(2) would
result in a significant increase in any water or sewer
rate charged by the community’s publicly owned
wastewater treatment facility.
‘‘(3) INFORMATION TO ASSIST STATES.—The Ad-
ministrator may publish information to assist States
in establishing affordability criteria under paragraph
(1).
‘‘(d) COST SHARING.—The Federal share of the cost
of activities carried out using amounts from a grant made
under subsection (a) shall be not less than 55 percent of
the cost. The non-Federal share of the cost may include, in
any amount, public and private funds and in-kind services,
and may include, notwithstanding section 603(h), financial
assistance, including loans, from a State water pollution
control revolving fund.
‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
If a project receives grant assistance under subsection (a)
and loan assistance from a State water pollution control
revolving fund and the loan assistance is for 15 percent or
more of the cost of the project, the project may be adminis-
tered in accordance with State water pollution control re-
volving fund administrative reporting requirements for the
purposes of streamlining such requirements.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 and 2003. Such
sums shall remain available until expended.
‘‘(g) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) FISCAL YEAR 2002.—Subject to subsection
(h), the Administrator shall use the amounts appro-
priated to carry out this section for fiscal year 2002
for making grants to municipalities and municipal
entities under subsection (a)(2), in accordance with
the criteria set forth in subsection (b).
‘‘(2) FISCAL YEAR 2003.—Subject to subsection
(h), the Administrator shall use the amounts appro-
priated to carry out this section for fiscal year 2003
as follows:
‘‘(A) Not to exceed $250,000,000 for making
grants to municipalities and municipal entities
under subsection (a)(2), in accordance with the
criteria set forth in subsection (b).
‘‘(B) All remaining amounts for making
grants to States under subsection (a)(1), in ac-
cordance with a formula to be established by the
Administrator, after providing notice and an op-
portunity for public comment, that allocates to
each State a proportional share of such amounts
based on the total needs of the State for munic-
ipal combined sewer overflow controls and sani-
tary sewer overflow controls identified in the
most recent survey conducted pursuant to section
516(b)(1).
‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts
appropriated to carry out this section for each fiscal year—
‘‘(1) the Administrator may retain an amount
not to exceed 1 percent for the reasonable and nec-
essary costs of administering this section; and
‘‘(2) the Administrator, or a State, may retain
an amount not to exceed 4 percent of any grant made
to a municipality or municipal entity under sub-
section (a), for the reasonable and necessary costs of
administering the grant.
‘‘(i) REPORTS.—Not later than December 31, 2003,
and periodically thereafter, the Administrator shall trans-
mit to Congress a report containing recommended funding
levels for grants under this section. The recommended fund-
ing levels shall be sufficient to ensure the continued expedi-
tious implementation of municipal combined sewer overflow
and sanitary sewer overflow controls nationwide.’’.
SEC. 5. INFORMATION ON CSOS AND SSOS.
(a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency shall transmit to
Congress a report summarizing—
(1) the extent of the human health and environ-
mental impacts caused by municipal combined sewer
overflows and sanitary sewer overflows, including the
location of discharges causing such impacts, the vol-
ume of pollutants discharged, and the constituents
discharged;
(2) the resources spent by municipalities to ad-
dress these impacts; and
(3) an evaluation of the technologies used by mu-
nicipalities to address these impacts.
(b) TECHNOLOGY CLEARINGHOUSE.—After transmit-
ting a report under subsection (a), the Administrator shall
maintain a clearinghouse of cost-effective and efficient tech-
nologies for addressing human health and environmental
impacts due to municipal combined sewer overflows and
sanitary sewer overflows.
Union Calendar No. 566
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 828
[Report No. 106–943]
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
to require that discharges from combined storm
and sanitary sewers conform to the Combined
Sewer Overflow Control Policy of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, and for other pur-
poses.
OCTOBER 6, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
and ordered to be printed