Title: Small and Rural Community Clean Water Technical Assistance Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Small and Rural Community Clean Water Technical Assistance Act
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to provide grants or cooperative agreements to qualified technical assistance providers for assisting publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) serving 10,000 individuals or fewer in complying with the Act or obtaining financing under the Act for eligible projects. Assistance may be provided to POTWs through onsite technical assistance, circuit rider technical assistance programs, regional technical assistance programs, and onsite and regional training.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 518 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 518

    To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for 
            technical assistance for small treatment works.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 2, 2017

 Mr. Wicker (for himself, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. 
Crapo, Mr. Franken, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Risch, 
 Mr. Schatz, and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; which was 
  read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 
                                 Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for 
            technical assistance for small treatment works.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small and Rural Community Clean 
Water Technical Assistance Act''.

SEC. 2. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL TREATMENT WORKS.

    (a) In General.--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. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL TREATMENT WORKS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Qualified nonprofit small treatment works technical 
        assistance provider.--The term `qualified nonprofit small 
        treatment works technical assistance provider' means a 
        nonprofit organization that, as determined by the 
        Administrator--
                    ``(A) is qualified and experienced in providing 
                training and technical assistance to small treatment 
                works; and
                    ``(B) the small treatment works in the State finds 
                to be the most beneficial and effective.
            ``(2) Small treatment works.--The term `small treatment 
        works' means a publicly owned treatment works serving not more 
        than 10,000 individuals.
    ``(b) Technical Assistance.--The Administrator may use amounts made 
available to carry out this section to provide grants or cooperative 
agreements to qualified nonprofit small treatment works technical 
assistance providers to provide to owners and operators of small 
treatment works onsite technical assistance, circuit rider technical 
assistance programs, multi-State, regional technical assistance 
programs, and onsite and regional training, to assist the small 
treatment works in achieving compliance with this Act or obtaining 
financing under this Act for eligible projects.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section for grants for small treatment 
works technical assistance, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 
through 2022.''.
    (b) Water Pollution Control Revolving Loan Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Section 603 of the Federal Water Pollution 
        Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (d)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
                        by inserting ``and as provided in subsection 
                        (e)'' after ``State law'';
                            (ii) by redesignating subsections (e) 
                        through (i) as subsections (f) through (j), 
                        respectively; and
                            (iii) by inserting after subsection (d) the 
                        following:
    ``(e) Additional Use of Funds.--A State may use an additional 2 
percent of the funds annually allotted to the State under this section 
for qualified nonprofit small treatment works technical assistance 
providers (as the term is defined in section 222) to provide technical 
assistance to small treatment works (as the term is defined in section 
222) in the State.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 221(d) of the Federal 
        Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1301(d)) is amended by 
        striking ``section 603(h)'' and inserting ``section 603(i)''.
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