Impaired Waters Improvement Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Impaired Waters Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Covered tmdl.--The term ``covered TMDL'' means a total 
        maximum daily load for nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment 
        established under section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution 
        Control 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'' includes the geographic 
                area subject to total maximum daily load for pollutants 
                for the Chesapeake 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 management practices.--The 
        term ``publicly owned stormwater management practices'' means 
        techniques for managing and treating rainwater runoff that are 
        the responsibility of the public sector, including, 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 reduce 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 JURISDICTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental 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
            (3) a privately owned farm implementing methods 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 containing 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 applicant 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 funded using 
                the grant--
                            (i) the effectiveness of any technologies 
                        that will be used;
                            (ii) the ecological sensitivity of the 
                        geographic area involved; and
                            (iii) whether the use of existing 
                        facilities, 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 reduce 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 
                consultation work in designing a water storage project 
                if--
                            (i) the project complies with the 
                        limitation 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 repayment 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 receipt 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 covered 
                        TMDL.
    (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 prescribe 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 violations occurring 
        after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Establishment of Impaired Waters Improvement Fund.--
            (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 expenditures to carry out 
        section 3.

Summary: Impaired Waters Improvement Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to reduce the discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment (pollutants) in an area that is subject to a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for those pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). Makes eligible for grants the owners and operators of: (1) publicly owned treatment works or storm water management practices serving areas subject to the TMDLs, or (2) privately owned farms implementing methods to reduce discharges of those pollutants in those areas.  Directs the Administrator to increase by 5% the civil penalty for violations of the Clean Water Act. Establishes the Impaired Waters Improvement Fund for making expenditures to carry out the grant program. Transfers for each of FY2015-FY2019 the amount attributable to the penalty increase or $100 million, whichever is less, to the Fund.