Water Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021
Bill: S.3282 | Sponsor: Sen. Kelly, Mark (D-AZ)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Water Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021
This bill establishes grants for owners and operators of publicly owned wastewater treatments systems and community water systems to support planning and other aspects of implementing smart water network technologies.

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Safe Drinking 
     Water Act to authorize grants for smart water infrastructure 
                  technology, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Water 
Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
                   TITLE I--WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Sec. 101. Smart wastewater infrastructure technology for treatment 
                            works.
                TITLE II--DRINKING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Sec. 201. Smart water infrastructure technology for drinking water.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to upgrade and modernize the drinking water, 
        wastewater, and stormwater systems of the United States, tackle 
        new contaminants, and support drinking water infrastructure 
        across the United States;
            (2) to support the modernization of the publicly owned 
        treatment works of the United States to maintain reliable and 
        affordable water quality infrastructure that addresses demand 
        impacts, including resiliency, to improve public health and 
        natural resources;
            (3) to support the modernization of the drinking water 
        infrastructure and management systems of the United States to 
        maintain reliable, resilient, and affordable drinking water 
        infrastructure and ensure the protection of public health; and
            (4) to encourage the use of water-efficient technologies to 
        address drought and prepare for the growing strain that 
        population growth and climate change will have on over-
        allocated water supplies.

                   TITLE I--WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE

SEC. 101. SMART WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY FOR TREATMENT 
              WORKS.

    Title II of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1281 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 228. SMART WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY.

    ``(a) Grants.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Administrator shall make direct grants to owners and operators of 
publicly owned treatment works for planning, design, construction, 
implementation, and operations training relating to--
            ``(1) intelligent wastewater collection systems and 
        stormwater management operations, including technologies that 
        rely on--
                    ``(A) real-time monitoring, embedded intelligence, 
                and predictive maintenance capabilities that improve 
                the energy efficiency, reliability, and resiliency of 
                wastewater pumping systems;
                    ``(B) real-time sensors that provide continuous 
                monitoring of water quality in stormwater and 
                wastewater collection systems to support the 
                optimization of those stormwater and wastewater 
                collection systems; and
                    ``(C) the use of artificial intelligence and other 
                intelligent optimization tools that reduce operational 
                costs, including operational costs relating to energy 
                consumption and chemical treatment; and
            ``(2) innovative and alternative combined sewer and 
        stormwater control projects, including groundwater banking, 
        that rely on real-time data acquisition to support predictive 
        aquifer recharge through water reuse and stormwater management 
        capabilities.
    ``(b) Program Implementation.--
            ``(1) Selection.--
                    ``(A) Application.--The owner or operator of a 
                publicly owned treatment works seeking a grant under 
                subsection (a) shall submit to the Administrator an 
                application at such time, in such manner, and 
                containing such information as the Administrator may 
                require.
                    ``(B) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 
                shall issue guidance to owners and operators of 
                publicly owned treatment works on how to submit an 
                application under subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Selection.--Not later than 30 days after the 
                date on which the owner or operator of a publicly owned 
                treatment works seeking a grant under subsection (a) 
                submits an application under subparagraph (A), the 
                Administrator shall determine whether to approve or 
                deny the application.
                    ``(D) Deficient applications.--If the Administrator 
                determines that an application submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) is deficient, the Administrator 
                shall--
                            ``(i) advise the applicant of the 
                        deficiency; and
                            ``(ii) provide an opportunity for the 
                        applicant to resubmit the application.
            ``(2) Disbursement.--If the Administrator approves an 
        application under paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator shall 
        disburse grant funds not later than 60 days after the date of 
        the determination.
    ``(c) Cost-Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        non-Federal share of an activity carried out using a grant 
        under subsection (a) shall be 25 percent.
            ``(2) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive the cost-share 
        requirement under paragraph (1) if the Administrator determines 
        that the cost-share requirement would be financially 
        unreasonable due to the inability of a community being served 
        by the publicly owned treatment works for which the grant is 
        sought to comply with the cost-share requirement.
    ``(d) Compliance With Buy America.--Section 608 shall apply to 
grant funds under this section.
    ``(e) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, and not less frequently than 
        annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 
        a report that--
                    ``(A) describes--
                            ``(i) the projects awarded grants under 
                        subsection (a); and
                            ``(ii) the improvements in the resiliency 
                        of publicly owned treatment works that resulted 
                        from the grants awarded under subsection (a); 
                        and
                    ``(B) includes any recommendations of the 
                Administrator to improve the ability of grants under 
                subsection (a) to achieve the purposes described in 
                section 2 of the Water Infrastructure Modernization Act 
                of 2021.
            ``(2) Initial report.--The initial report required under 
        paragraph (1) shall include a description of the implementation 
        of this section, including a description of--
                    ``(A) the projects approved for a grant under 
                subsection (a);
                    ``(B) the projects denied a grant under subsection 
                (a); and
                    ``(C) for the projects described in subparagraph 
                (B), a description of the reasons for which each 
                project was denied a grant.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out this section $25,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
        years 2023 through 2027, to remain available until expended.
            ``(2) Set-asides.--
                    ``(A) Rural communities.--Of the amounts made 
                available under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 
                use not more than 20 percent to make grants to owners 
                and operators of publicly owned treatment works that 
                serve communities with a population of not more than 
                10,000 individuals.
                    ``(B) Tribal communities.--Of the amounts made 
                available under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 
                shall use not less than 10 percent to make grants to 
                owners and operators of publicly owned treatment works 
                that serve Indian Tribes.''.

                TITLE II--DRINKING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

SEC. 201. SMART WATER INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY FOR DRINKING WATER.

    Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (m)(1), by striking ``subsections 
        (a)(2)(G) and (t)'' and inserting ``subsections (a)(2)(G), (t), 
        and (u)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(u) Smart Water Infrastructure Technology.--
            ``(1) Grants.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, the Administrator shall make direct grants to 
        the owners or operators of community water systems for purposes 
        of the planning of, design of, construction of, implementation 
        of, and operations training relating to--
                    ``(A) smart water network technologies that--
                            ``(i) can identify water losses from 
                        conveyance facilities in a nondestructive or 
                        nondisruptive manner, including acoustic data 
                        collection; and
                            ``(ii) provide--
                                    ``(I) comprehensive data on 
                                pipeline integrity that document the 
                                presence of leaks or gas pockets; and
                                    ``(II) information on the extent of 
                                such leaks or gas pockets, with an 
                                emphasis on detecting weakness of, 
                                vulnerability of, or damage to pipe 
                                barrels, pipe joints, or other pipe 
                                features;
                    ``(B) real-time sensing technologies, including the 
                use of advanced analytics, that detect and alert 
                operators to leakages and pipeline bursts on a real-
                time basis, including persistent sensor networks 
                capable of measuring--
                            ``(i) acoustic signals;
                            ``(ii) pressure transient; or
                            ``(iii) water quality;
                    ``(C) real-time decision support that integrates 
                sources of data about water distribution networks to 
                deliver common operations information relying on data 
                analytics that can improve operational decisionmaking, 
                including nonrevenue water loss, energy optimization, 
                and water quality improvement;
                    ``(D) advanced metering infrastructure, including 
                meter data analytics and ratepayer technology--
                            ``(i) to improve end user conservation; and
                            ``(ii) in support of disadvantaged 
                        communities;
                    ``(E) resilient water supply projects that may 
                provide real-time monitoring of weather patterns and 
                impacts on water supply and flood protection reservoirs 
                and dams that enhance operations, including--
                            ``(i) improved water supply reliability and 
                        management;
                            ``(ii) protection of natural resources, 
                        including fisheries; and
                            ``(iii) temperature control; and
                    ``(F) innovative and alternative water supply 
                projects, including groundwater banking, that rely on 
                real-time data acquisition to support predictive 
                aquifer recharge through water reuse and stormwater 
                management capabilities.
            ``(2) Program implementation.--
                    ``(A) Selection.--
                            ``(i) Application.--The owner or operator 
                        of a community water system seeking a grant 
                        under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 
                        Administrator an application at such time, in 
                        such manner, and containing such information as 
                        the Administrator may require.
                            ``(ii) Guidance.--Not later than 30 days 
                        after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
                        the Administrator shall issue guidance to 
                        owners and operators of community water systems 
                        on how to submit an application under clause 
                        (i).
                            ``(iii) Selection.--Not later than 30 days 
                        after the date on which the owner or operator 
                        of a community water system seeking a grant 
                        under paragraph (1) submits an application 
                        under clause (i), the Administrator shall 
                        determine whether to approve or deny the 
                        application.
                            ``(iv) Deficient applications.--If the 
                        Administrator determines that an application 
                        submitted under clause (i) is deficient, the 
                        Administrator shall--
                                    ``(I) advise the applicant of the 
                                deficiency; and
                                    ``(II) provide an opportunity for 
                                the applicant to resubmit the 
                                application.
                    ``(B) Disbursement.--If the Administrator approves 
                an application under subparagraph (A)(iii), the 
                Administrator shall disburse grant funds not later than 
                60 days after the date of the determination.
            ``(3) Cost-share.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the non-Federal share of an activity 
                carried out using a grant under paragraph (1) shall be 
                25 percent.
                    ``(B) Exception.--The Administrator may waive the 
                cost-share requirement under subparagraph (A) if the 
                grant recipient is or serves a disadvantaged community 
                (as defined in subsection (d)(3)).
            ``(4) Compliance with buy america.--Subsection (a)(4) shall 
        apply to grant funds under this subsection, without regard to 
        the fiscal year limitation in subparagraph (A) of that 
        subsection.
            ``(5) Report to congress.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of enactment of this subsection, and not less 
                frequently than annually thereafter, the Administrator 
                shall submit to Congress a report that--
                            ``(i) describes the projects awarded grants 
                        under paragraph (1) during the applicable 
                        reporting period; and
                            ``(ii) includes any recommendations of the 
                        Administrator to improve the ability of grants 
                        under paragraph (1) to achieve the purposes 
                        described in section 2 of the Water 
                        Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021.
                    ``(B) Initial report.--The initial report required 
                under subparagraph (A) shall include a description of 
                the implementation of this subsection, including a 
                description of--
                            ``(i) the projects approved for a grant 
                        under paragraph (1);
                            ``(ii) the projects denied a grant under 
                        paragraph (1); and
                            ``(iii) for the projects described in 
                        clause (ii), a description of the reasons for 
                        which each project was denied a grant.
            ``(6) Authorization of appropriations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be 
                appropriated to carry out this subsection $25,000,000 
                for the period of fiscal years 2023 through 2027, to 
                remain available until expended.
                    ``(B) Set-asides.--
                            ``(i) Rural communities.--Of the amounts 
                        made available under subparagraph (A), the 
                        Administrator shall use not more than 20 
                        percent to make grants to owners and operators 
                        of community water systems that serve a 
                        population of not more than 10,000 individuals.
                            ``(ii) Tribal communities.--Of the amounts 
                        made available under subparagraph (A), the 
                        Administrator shall use not less than 10 
                        percent to make grants to owners and operators 
                        of community water systems that serve Indian 
                        Tribes.''.
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