I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4739 
To provide assistance to communities affected by total maximum daily loads 
established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2014 
Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. MURPHY of Florida) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure 
A BILL 
To provide assistance to communities affected by total max-
imum daily loads established by the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Impaired Waters Im-
provement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
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(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) COVERED
TMDL.—The term ‘‘covered 
TMDL’’ means a total maximum daily load for ni-
trogen, phosphorus, or sediment established under 
section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)). 
(3) COVERED TMDL JURISDICTION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 
TMDL jurisdiction’’ means a geographic area 
that is subject to a covered TMDL. 
(B) INCLUSION
OF
CHESAPEAKE
BAY.— 
The term ‘‘covered TMDL jurisdiction’’ in-
cludes the geographic area subject to total max-
imum daily load for pollutants for the Chesa-
peake Bay and its tidal tributaries established 
by the Administrator on December 29, 2010, 
and noticed at 76 Fed. Reg. 549 (January 5, 
2011). 
(4) PUBLICLY OWNED STORMWATER MANAGE-
MENT
PRACTICES.—The term ‘‘publicly owned 
stormwater management practices’’ means tech-
niques for managing and treating rainwater runoff 
that are the responsibility of the public sector, in-
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cluding, and by order of preference, practices 
which— 
(A) utilize or mimic natural infiltration of 
rainwater into the ground; 
(B) hold and treat runoff by allowing plant 
materials to take up pollutants; and 
(C) capture runoff and hold it for a period 
of time sufficient to allow pollutants to settle 
out or evaporate, and which substantially re-
duce the volume of runoff in local waters during 
peak runoff periods. 
(5) TREATMENT WORKS.—The term ‘‘treatment 
works’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1292). 
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO ASSIST COVERED TMDL JURISDIC-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency may make grants to the 
owner or operator of— 
(1) a publicly owned treatment works serving a 
covered TMDL jurisdiction; 
(2) publicly owned storm water management 
practices serving a covered TMDL jurisdiction; or 
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(3) a privately owned farm implementing meth-
ods to reduce discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus, or 
sediment in a covered TMDL jurisdiction. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 
under this section, an owner or operator referred to 
in subsection (a) shall submit to the Administrator 
an application at such time, in such form, and con-
taining such information as the Administrator may 
require. 
(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The application, 
at a minimum, shall contain a description of how the 
amounts of the grant will be used to assist the appli-
cant in meeting a covered TMDL. 
(c) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Administrator shall award grants to applicants 
under this section on a competitive basis. 
(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants to 
applicants under this section, the Administrator 
shall consider— 
(A) the demonstrated need of the applicant 
for the grant; and 
(B) with respect to the project to be fund-
ed using the grant— 
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(i) the effectiveness of any tech-
nologies that will be used; 
(ii) the ecological sensitivity of the ge-
ographic area involved; and 
(iii) whether the use of existing facili-
ties, if any, will be maximized. 
(d) USE OF GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant under 
this section shall use the amounts of the grant to 
implement methods to reduce discharges of nitrogen, 
phosphorus, and sediment— 
(A) using proven technology and practices; 
or 
(B) using an innovative practice, subject to 
a determination by the Administrator that the 
innovative practice is reasonably expected to re-
duce the discharges. 
(2) GRANTS TO FARMS.— 
(A) 
ENGINEERING
OR
CONSULTATION 
WORK FOR WATER STORAGE PROJECTS.—In the 
case of a grant made to an owner or operator 
referred to in subsection (a)(3), amounts of the 
grant may be used for engineering or consulta-
tion work in designing a water storage project 
if— 
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(i) the project complies with the limi-
tation in paragraph (3); and 
(ii) the project is completed within 5 
years of the date of receipt of the grant. 
(B) REPAYMENT
OF
CERTAIN
GRANT 
AMOUNTS.—The Administrator shall require re-
payment of a grant made to carry out a project 
described in subparagraph (A) if the project is 
not completed within 5 years of the date of re-
ceipt of the grant. 
(3) LIMITATION.—A recipient of a grant under 
this section may not use the amounts of the grant— 
(A) to pay the salary of any individual who 
is employed by the recipient as of the date of 
receipt of the grant; or 
(B) to pay the salary of any individual 
hired by the recipient after that date unless— 
(i) the individual is an expert in the 
field of reducing discharges from treatment 
works; and 
(ii) the recipient can demonstrate, to 
the satisfaction of the Administrator, that 
the individual will assist in meeting a cov-
ered TMDL. 
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(e) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Administrator may not 
make grants under this section to a grant recipient in an 
amount that exceeds $2,000,000 in a fiscal year. 
(f) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 
of a program or activity carried out using amounts from 
a grant received under this section may not exceed two- 
thirds of the cost of the program or activity. 
SEC. 4. IMPAIRED WATERS IMPROVEMENT FUND. 
(a) INCREASE IN CIVIL PENALTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pre-
scribe by regulation an increase in the amount of a 
civil penalty assessed for a violation of the Federal 
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 
seq.). 
(2) AMOUNT
OF
INCREASE.—The amount of 
the increase shall be 5 percent of the civil penalty 
amount determined under that Act for the violation. 
(3) APPLICABILITY.—The regulations shall 
apply the increased civil penalty amount only to vio-
lations occurring after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF IMPAIRED WATERS IM-
PROVEMENT FUND.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 
Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be 
known as the Impaired Waters Improvement Fund. 
(2) TRANSFER
TO
FUND.—There are hereby 
appropriated to the Impaired Waters Improvement 
Fund for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019 
amounts equivalent to amounts received in the 
Treasury that are attributable to increases in civil 
penalty amounts assessed pursuant to subsection (a) 
or $100,000,000, whichever is less. 
(3) EXPENDITURES.—Amounts in the Impaired 
Waters Improvement Fund shall be available, as 
provided in appropriations Acts, for making expendi-
tures to carry out section 3. 
Æ 
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