Title: A bill to establish an innovative water infrastructure workforce development program, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Water Resources Development

Summary:
This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to establish a program that awards grants for workforce development in the water or wastewater utility sector.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2346 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2346

 To establish an innovative water infrastructure workforce development 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 25, 2018

Mr. Booker (for himself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish an innovative water infrastructure workforce development 
                    program, 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. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKFORCE INVESTMENT.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) utilities and local governments invest significant 
        resources in planning, designing, constructing, operating, and 
        maintaining water, wastewater, and stormwater systems--
                    (A) to ensure a safe and reliable water supply for 
                customers; and
                    (B) to maintain public health, safety, and quality;
            (2) during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 
        enactment of this Act, 30 of the largest water and wastewater 
        utilities in the United States will--
                    (A) invest $233,000,000,000 in operating and 
                capital spending; and
                    (B) support 289,000 jobs annually;
            (3) every $1,000,000,000 in Federal investment in water and 
        wastewater infrastructure creates on average an estimated 
        16,000 jobs;
            (4) jobs in the water and wastewater sector, including 
        apprenticeship positions, can pay more than 3 times the minimum 
        wage;
            (5) the median age of water sector workers is 48 years old, 
        which is 6 years older than the national median age of workers;
            (6) water and wastewater utilities anticipate unprecedented 
        workforce replacement needs over the 10-year period described 
        in paragraph (2) because 37 percent of water utility workers 
        and 31 percent of wastewater utility workers will retire during 
        that period;
            (7) during the period described in paragraph (6), workforce 
        replacement needs in the water sector will exceed the 23-
        percent nationwide replacement need of the total workforce; and
            (8) water infrastructure projects and permanent water 
        utility jobs can offer access to stable, high-quality jobs with 
        competitive wages and benefits.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) water and wastewater utilities provide a unique 
        opportunity for access to stable, high-quality careers;
            (2) as water and wastewater utilities make critical 
        investments in infrastructure, water and wastewater utilities 
        can invest in the development of local workers and local small 
        businesses to strengthen communities and ensure a strong 
        pipeline of skilled and diverse workers for today and tomorrow; 
        and
            (3) to further the goal of ensuring a strong pipeline of 
        skilled and diverse workers in the water and wastewater 
        utilities sector, Congress urges--
                    (A) increased collaboration among Federal, State, 
                and local governments; and
                    (B) institutions of higher education, apprentice 
                programs, high schools, and other community-based 
                organizations to align workforce training programs and 
                community resources with water and wastewater utilities 
                to accelerate career pipelines and provide access to 
                workforce opportunities.
    (c) Definition of Intractable Water System.--In this section, the 
term ``intractable water system'' means a community water system or a 
noncommunity water system (as those terms are defined in section 1401 
of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f)) that--
            (1) serves fewer than 1,000 individuals; and
            (2) the owner or operator of which--
                    (A) is unable or unwilling to provide safe and 
                adequate service to those individuals;
                    (B) has abandoned or effectively abandoned the 
                community water system or noncommunity water system, as 
                applicable;
                    (C) has defaulted on a financial obligation 
                relating to the community water system or noncommunity 
                water system, as applicable;
                    (D) fails to maintain the facilities of the 
                community water system or noncommunity water system, as 
                applicable, in a manner so as to prevent a potential 
                public health hazard; or
                    (E) is in significant noncompliance with the Safe 
                Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) or any 
                regulation promulgated pursuant to that Act.
    (d) Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development 
Program.--
            (1) Grants authorized.--The Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this Act as the 
        ``Administrator'') and the Secretary of the Army (referred to 
        in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a competitive 
        grant program to assist the development of innovative 
        activities relating to workforce development in the water 
        utility sector.
            (2) Selection of grant recipients.--In awarding grants 
        under paragraph (1), the Administrator or the Secretary, as 
        applicable, shall, to the maximum extent practicable, select--
                    (A) water utilities that--
                            (i) are geographically diverse;
                            (ii) address the workforce and human 
                        resources needs of large and small public water 
                        and wastewater utilities;
                            (iii) address the workforce and human 
                        resources needs of urban and rural public water 
                        and wastewater utilities;
                            (iv) advance training relating to 
                        construction, utility operations, treatment and 
                        distribution, green infrastructure, customer 
                        service, maintenance, and engineering; and
                            (v)(I) have a high retiring workforce rate; 
                        or
                            (II) are located in areas with a high 
                        unemployment rate; or
                    (B) intractable water systems.
            (3) Use of funds.--Grants awarded under paragraph (1) may 
        be used for activities such as--
                    (A) targeted internship, apprenticeship, 
                preapprenticeship, and post-secondary bridge programs 
                for mission-critical skilled trades, in collaboration 
                with labor organizations, community colleges, and other 
                training and education institutions that provide--
                            (i) on-the-job training;
                            (ii) soft and hard skills development;
                            (iii) test preparation for skilled trade 
                        apprenticeships; or
                            (iv) other support services to facilitate 
                        post-secondary success;
                    (B) kindergarten through 12th grade and young adult 
                education programs that--
                            (i) educate young people about the role of 
                        water and wastewater utilities in the 
                        communities of the young people;
                            (ii) increase the career awareness and 
                        exposure of the young people to water utility 
                        careers through various work-based learning 
                        opportunities inside and outside the classroom; 
                        and
                            (iii) connect young people to post-
                        secondary career pathways related to water 
                        utilities;
                    (C) regional industry and workforce development 
                collaborations to identify water utility employment 
                needs, map existing career pathways, support the 
                development of curricula, facilitate the sharing of 
                resources, and coordinate candidate development, staff 
                preparedness efforts, and activities that engage and 
                support--
                            (i) water utilities employers;
                            (ii) educational and training institutions;
                            (iii) local community-based organizations;
                            (iv) public workforce agencies; and
                            (v) other related stakeholders;
                    (D) integrated learning laboratories embedded in 
                high schools or other secondary educational 
                institutions that provide students with--
                            (i) hands-on, contextualized learning 
                        opportunities;
                            (ii) dual enrollment credit for post-
                        secondary education and training programs; and
                            (iii) direct connection to industry 
                        employers; and
                    (E) leadership development, occupational training, 
                mentoring, or cross-training programs that ensure that 
                incumbent water and wastewater utilities workers are 
                prepared for higher-level supervisory or management-
                level positions.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.
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