Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1352 | Sponsor: Rep. Lawrence, Brenda L. (D-MI)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2021
This bill increases funding for water infrastructure, including funding for several programs related to controlling water pollution or protecting drinking water.
Specifically, it establishes a Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund. The fund may be used for specified grant programs.
The bill increases the corporate income tax rate to 24.5% to provide revenues for the fund.
In addition, the bill revises requirements concerning the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) and the drinking water SRF. It also creates or reauthorizes several grant programs for water infrastructure.

To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding for water and 
             sewer infrastructure, 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 
Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability 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. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability 
                            Trust Fund.
Sec. 3. Report on affordability, discrimination and civil rights 
                            violations, public participation in 
                            regionalization, and data collection.
Sec. 4. Technical assistance to rural and small municipalities and 
                            tribal governments.
Sec. 5. Residential onsite sewage disposal system improvement.
Sec. 6. Household water well systems.
Sec. 7. State water pollution control revolving funds.
Sec. 8. Use of State revolving loan funds under the Safe Drinking Water 
                            Act.
Sec. 9. Drinking water grant programs.
Sec. 10. Requirement for the use of American materials in drinking 
                            water.
Sec. 11. Labor provisions.

SEC. 2. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQUITY, AND RELIABILITY 
              TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:

``SEC. 9512. WATER AFFORDABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, EQUITY, AND RELIABILITY 
              TRUST FUND.

    ``(a) Creation of Trust Fund.--There is established in the Treasury 
of the United States a trust fund to be known as the `Water 
Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund' 
(referred to in this section as the `Trust Fund'), consisting of such 
amounts as may be appropriated or credited to such Trust Fund as 
provided in this section or section 9602(b).
    ``(b) Transfers to Fund.--
            ``(1) In general.--There are hereby appropriated to the 
        Trust Fund such amounts as the Secretary from time to time 
        estimates are equal to the increase in Federal revenues 
        attributable to the amendment made by section 2(b) of the Water 
        Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 
        2021.
            ``(2) Limitation.--The sum of the amounts appropriated 
        under paragraph (1) during any fiscal year shall not exceed 
        $34,850,000,000.
    ``(c) Expenditures.--Amounts in the Trust Fund are available, 
without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, for 
the purposes described in section 2(c) of the Water Affordability, 
Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2021.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of parts for subchapter 
        A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 9511 the following new item:

``Sec. 9512. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability 
                            Trust Fund.''.
    (b) Imposition of Tax.--
            (1) In general.--Section 11(b) of the Internal Revenue Code 
        of 1986 is amended by striking ``21'' and inserting ``24.5''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this Act shall 
        apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020.
    (c) Allocation of Funds.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Secretary of Agriculture shall allocate, for 
a fiscal year, the funds available, at the beginning of such fiscal 
year, in the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability 
Trust Fund, established by section 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, as follows:
            (1) Clean water programs.--Of such amount, the 
        Administrator shall make available--
                    (A) 0.5 percent for making grants under section 
                104(b)(8) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
                    (B) 1.5 percent for making grants under section 106 
                of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1256);
                    (C) 2.5 percent for making grants under section 222 
                of such Act;
                    (D) 2.5 percent for making grants under section 319 
                of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1329); and
                    (E) 45 percent for making capitalization grants 
                under section 601 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1381).
            (2) Safe drinking water funding.--Of such amount, the 
        Administrator shall make available--
                    (A) 0.5 percent for providing technical assistance 
                under section 1442(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 300j-1(e));
                    (B) 43.5 percent for making capitalization grants 
                under section 1452 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12); and
                    (C) 3 percent for making grants under section 1465 
                of such Act.
            (3) Household water well systems.--Of such amount, the 
        Secretary shall make available 1 percent for making grants 
        under section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
        Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e).

SEC. 3. REPORT ON AFFORDABILITY, DISCRIMINATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS 
              VIOLATIONS, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN REGIONALIZATION, AND 
              DATA COLLECTION.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency shall conduct a study on water and sewer 
        services, in accordance with this subsection.
            (2) Affordability.--In conducting the study under paragraph 
        (1), the Administrator shall study water affordability 
        nationwide, including--
                    (A) rates for water and sewer services, increases 
                in such rates during the ten-year period preceding such 
                study, and water service disconnections due to unpaid 
                water service charges; and
                    (B) the effectiveness of funding under section 1452 
                of the Safe Drinking Water Act and under section 601 of 
                the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for promoting 
                affordable, equitable, transparent, and reliable water 
                and sewer service.
            (3) Discrimination and civil rights.--In conducting the 
        study under paragraph (1), the Administrator, in collaboration 
        with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department 
        of Justice, shall study--
                    (A) discriminatory practices of water and sewer 
                service providers; and
                    (B) violations by such service providers that 
                receive Federal assistance of civil rights under title 
                VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with regard to equal 
                access to water and sewer services.
            (4) Public participation in regionalization.--In conducting 
        the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall evaluate 
        efforts to regionalize public water systems, as defined in 
        section 1401 of the Safe Water Drinking Act, and sewer services 
        with respect to public participation in--
                    (A) the decision to undergo such regionalization; 
                and
                    (B) decision making by the board of directors (or 
                other governing body) of the entity that provides, or 
                oversees or coordinates the provision of, water by the 
                public water systems subject to such regionalization.
            (5) Data collection.--In conducting the study under 
        paragraph (1), the Administrator shall collect information, 
        assess the availability of information, and evaluate the 
        methodologies used to collect information, related to--
                    (A) people living without water or sewer services;
                    (B) water service disconnections due to unpaid 
                water service charges, including disconnections 
                experienced by households containing children, elderly 
                persons, disabled persons, chronically ill persons, or 
                other vulnerable populations; and
                    (C) disparate effects, on the basis of race, 
                gender, or socioeconomic status, of water service 
                disconnections and the lack of public water service.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall submit to Congress a report that contains--
            (1) the results of the study conducted under subsection 
        (a)(1); and
            (2) recommendations for utility companies, Federal 
        agencies, and States relating to such results.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO RURAL AND SMALL MUNICIPALITIES AND 
              TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.

    Section 104(u) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1254(u)) is amended by striking ``not to exceed $25,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023'' and inserting ``$175,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026''.

SEC. 5. RESIDENTIAL ONSITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT.

    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. 222. RESIDENTIAL ONSITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS.

    ``Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall establish a grant 
program to make grants to users of a septic tank and drainage field for 
costs associated with repairing, replacing, or upgrading such tank and 
such field.''.

SEC. 6. HOUSEHOLD WATER WELL SYSTEMS.

    Section 306E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 
(7 U.S.C. 1926e(d)) is amended by striking ``$20,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2019 through 2023'' and inserting ``$348,500,000 for each 
fiscal year''.

SEC. 7. STATE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL REVOLVING FUNDS.

    (a) Specific Requirements.--Section 602(b) of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``will be made to the 
        State with funds to be made available'' and inserting ``were 
        made to the State with funds made available for fiscal year 
        2019'';
            (2) in paragraph (13), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (3) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(15) the State will not provide financial assistance 
        using amounts from the fund for any project that will provide 
        substantial direct benefits to new communities, lots, or 
        subdivisions, other than a project to construct an advanced 
        decentralized wastewater system; and''.
    (b) Projects and Activities Eligible for Assistance.--Section 
603(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (11)(B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) to any municipality or intermunicipal, interstate, 
        or State agency for--
                    ``(A) purchasing from a willing or unwilling seller 
                a privately owned treatment works; and
                    ``(B) expenses related to canceling a contract for 
                the operation or management of a publicly owned 
                treatment works.''.
    (c) Increasing the Amount of Additional Subsidization by the 
State.--Section 603(i)(3)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1383(i)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(B) Additional limitation.--A State may use not 
                less than 50 percent of the total amount received by 
                the State in capitalization grants under this title for 
                a fiscal year for providing additional subsidization 
                under this subsection.''.

SEC. 8. USE OF STATE REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS UNDER THE SAFE DRINKING WATER 
              ACT.

    Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 
                        ``publicly owned, operated, and managed'' 
                        before ``community water systems''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``The 
                        funds under this section shall not be used for 
                        the acquisition of real property or interests 
                        therein, unless the acquisition is integral to 
                        a project authorized by this paragraph and the 
                        purchase is from a willing seller.'' and 
                        inserting ``The funds may also be used for 
                        purchasing from a willing or unwilling seller a 
                        privately owned community water system, or for 
                        the expenses related to canceling a contract 
                        for the operation or management of a community 
                        water system.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(6) Exception to public ownership, operation, and 
        management requirement.--Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A), 
        public water systems that regularly serve fewer than 10,000 
        persons, and which are not owned, operated, or managed by any 
        person who owns, operates, or manages any other public water 
        system, may receive assistance under this section.'';
            (2) by amending subsection (d)(2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) Total amount of subsidies.--To the extent that there 
        are sufficient applications for loans to communities described 
        in paragraph (1), of the amount of the capitalization grant 
        received by a State in a fiscal year, the total amount of loan 
        subsidies made by the State in the fiscal year pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) may not be less than 50 percent.'';
            (3) in subsection (e), by striking ``to be made to the 
        State'' and inserting ``that was made to the State in fiscal 
        year 2021'';
            (4) in subsection (g)(3)--
                    (A) in paragraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (C), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 
                following:
                    ``(D) guidance to ensure affordable, equitable, 
                transparent and reliable water service provision, to 
                provide protections for households facing service 
                disconnection due to unpaid water service charges, and 
                to promote universal equal access to water services.''; 
                and
            (5) in subsection (k)(1), by adding at the end the 
        following:
                    ``(E) Provide assistance in the form of a grant to 
                owners of private property on which a lead service line 
                (as defined in section 1459B) is or may be located, for 
                the purpose of replacing the lead service line with a 
                service line that is lead-free (as defined in section 
                1417(d)).
                    ``(F) Provide assistance to a publicly owned, 
                operated, and managed community water system for the 
                purpose of updating treatment plants or switching water 
                sources due to contamination from per- and 
                polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (as defined by the 
                State in which the community water system is located).
                    ``(G) Provide assistance in the form of a grant to 
                owners of a household water well that has been 
                contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances 
                (PFAS) (as defined by the State in which the household 
                well is located), for the purpose of purchasing and 
                installing a household filtration system.''.

SEC. 9. DRINKING WATER GRANT PROGRAMS.

    (a) School Drinking Water Improvement.--Section 1465 of the Safe 
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-25) is amended--
            (1) in the section header, by striking ``fountain'' and 
        inserting ``infrastructure'';
            (2) in subsection (a), by striking ``fountains manufactured 
        prior to 1988'' and inserting ``infrastructure'';
            (3) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--Funds awarded under the grant program may be 
used to pay costs associated with--
            ``(1) installing, repairing, or replacing the 
        infrastructure necessary to ensure that drinking water 
        fountains, drinking water coolers, and bottle filling stations 
        at schools are lead free; and
            ``(2) monitoring and reporting of lead levels in the 
        drinking water of schools, as determined appropriate by the 
        Administrator.''; and
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``$5,000,000'' and inserting 
                ``$1,050,000,000''; and
                    (B) by striking ``2021'' and inserting ``2024''.
    (b) Tribal Drinking Water.--Section 1452(i)(1) of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12(i)(1)) is amended, in the first sentence--
            (1) by striking ``1 1/2'' and inserting ``Three''; and
            (2) by striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall''.

SEC. 10. REQUIREMENT FOR THE USE OF AMERICAN MATERIALS IN DRINKING 
              WATER.

    Section 1452(a)(4) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-
12(a)(4)) is amended by striking ``During fiscal years 2019 through 
2023, funds'' and inserting ``Funds''.

SEC. 11. LABOR PROVISIONS.

    (a) Prevailing Rate of Wage.--Nothing in this Act shall affect the 
applicability of the requirements relating to labor standards of 
sections 513 and 602(b)(6) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1372, 1382(b)(6)) and section 1450(e) of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-9(e)) to projects carried out under those 
Acts.
    (b) Project Labor Agreements.--
            (1) Clean water revolving funds.--Section 602(b) of the 
        Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)), as 
        amended by section 7, is further amended by adding at the end 
        the following:
            ``(16) the State will--
                    ``(A) permit recipients of assistance under this 
                title to enter into agreements authorized under section 
                8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (commonly 
                known as `project labor agreements') with respect to 
                projects for building or construction carried out with 
                such assistance; and
                    ``(B) ensure that, to the maximum extent 
                practicable, recipients of assistance under this title 
                carry out such projects through the use of such 
                agreements.''.
            (2) Drinking water revolving funds.--Section 1452 of the 
        Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
                following:
            ``(7) Project labor agreements.--Each agreement under this 
        subsection shall require that the State permit recipients of 
        assistance under this section to enter into agreements 
        authorized under section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations 
        Act (commonly known as `project labor agreements') with respect 
        to projects for building or construction carried out with such 
        assistance.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)(3)(A)--
                            (i) in clause (ii), by striking ``; and'' 
                        and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in clause (iii), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) with respect to projects for 
                        building or construction, will be carried out 
                        through the use of agreements authorized under 
                        section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations 
                        Act.''.
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