World Water Crisis (LIFE)

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H.R. 3202, GAO Report, plus selected text from H.R. 3202:

H.R. 3202: Water Protection and Reinvestment Act of 2009
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-3202
Full Text http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3202ih.txt.pdf
(Amended): http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-3202
for more info see this post: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=43300393

Below is the GAO Report to Congress for H.R. 3202

GAO
May 2009
Report to Congressional Requesters
CLEAN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
A Variety of Issues Need to Be Considered When Designing a Clean Water Trust Fund
http://www.cleanwaternetwork.org/files/Clean%20Water%20Trust%20GAO%20Report%20to%20Congressional%20Requesters.pdf

"More than 220 million people in the United States are served by wastewater systems that are composed primarily of a network of sewer pipes and treatment plants that carry and treat wastewater before it is discharged into surface water. Many of these systems were constructed more than 50 years ago and are reaching the end of their useful lives. In addition to the deterioration in the condition of this infrastructure, some of these systems also lack the capacity to adequately treat increasingly large volumes of wastewater, particularly during periods of wet weather. As a result, these systems are releasing large quantities of untreated wastewater into surface waters, which can pose a threat to human and aquatic health. For example, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates, wastewater systems annually discharge over 850 billion gallons of untreated sewage into U.S. surface waters. Although federal, state, and local governments invest billions of dollars annually in wastewater infrastructure—a total of about $40 billion in 2006—EPA and others have estimated that current spending levels may not be adequate to cover the costs of maintaining and replacing pipes, treatment plants, and other parts of this infrastructure. According to EPA’s estimates, a potential gap of about $150 billion to $400 billion between projected future infrastructure needs and current levels of spending could occur over the infrastructure, EPA and other groups have asserted that the environmental and public health gains made under the Clean Water Act2 during the last three decades could be at risk.
A variety of approaches have been proposed to help bridge a potential gap between projected future infrastructure needs and current levels of spending. For example, one approach would be to increase federal funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program, which is the largest source of federal assistance for wastewater infrastructure. About $689 million was appropriated in both fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for the CWSRF program, and an additional $4 billion was appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.3 Under the CWSRF program, EPA provides capitalization grants to the states, which in turn use these funds to make loans to local communities or utilities for various water quality projects. As loans are repaid, the funds are cycled back into the state-level programs to fund additional projects. New funding for the CWSRF program is dependent on federal appropriations. In addition, EPA has promoted its sustainable infrastructure initiative for water infrastructure management, called the Four Pillars, to help meet infrastructure needs. Among other things, the Four Pillars calls for wastewater and drinking water utilities to charge rates for the service they provide that are high enough to enable them to fund future capital needs in addition to their routine operations and maintenance. Still another approach that has been considered to bridge a potential gap between projected future infrastructure needs and current spending levels is to establish a clean water trust fund. In general, federal trust funds collect revenue and distribute funds that have been set aside for specific purposes. A clean water trust fund would provide a dedicated source of funding for wastewater infrastructure that would be similar to some of the trust funds that Congress has established for other infrastructure and environmental programs, such as highway infrastructure construction and coastal wetlands restoration. Some of the revenue for federal trust funds is generated through federal excise taxes on specific products and services.4
In this context, you asked us to provide information on the issues that would need to be addressed if Congress decided to establish a clean water trust fund to help meet the potential gap between projected future wastewater infrastructure needs and current spending levels. Specifically, this report (1) describes stakeholders’ views on the issues that would need to be addressed in designing and establishing a clean water trust fund and (2) identifies and describes potential options that Congress could consider that could generate revenues of $10 billion annually to support a clean water trust fund."

Selected Text from H.R. 3202:
Page 16
12 SEC. 202. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
10 ‘‘(C) to disseminate information to rural,
11 small, and tribal municipalities and municipali12
ties that meet the affordability criteria estab13
lished under section 603(i)(2) by the State in
14 which the municipality is located with respect to
15 planning, design, construction, and operation of
16 publicly owned treatment works and decentral17
ized wastewater treatment systems.’’.

Page 17
21 ‘‘(12) the State will not provide financial assist22
ance using amounts from the fund for any project
23 that will provide substantial direct benefits to new
24 communities, lots, or subdivisions, other than a
25 project to construct an advanced decentralized
26 wastewater system;


Page 18
9 ‘‘(14) the State will allocate funds for high pri10
ority projects in accordance with section 607.’’.
11 (b) ADVANCED DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER SYS12
TEM DEFINED.—Section 502 is amended by adding at the
13 end the following:
14 ‘‘(25) ADVANCED DECENTRALIZED WASTE15
WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘advanced decentralized
16 wastewater system’ means a system for treating do17
mestic sewage that is located at or near a site at
18 which the sewage is generated, provides more effec19
tive treatment than a conventional septic system,
20 and includes a plan and funding mechanism for
21 long-term maintenance.’’.

Page 19
14 ‘‘(2) for implementation of measures to increase
15 the security of publicly owned treatment works, in16
cluding vulnerability assessment updates and safer
17 alternatives for treatment chemicals;

23 ‘‘(5) for implementation of measures to man24
age, reduce, treat, capture, or reuse municipal storm
25 water, agricultural storm water, and return flows
26 from irrigated agriculture;

Page 20
1 ‘‘(6) for repair or replacement of decentralized
2 wastewater treatment systems that treat domestic
3 sewage;

Page 21
1 ‘‘(B) to provide for public notification of a
2 spill, overflow, or other discharge or release of
3 pollution into waters of the United States or
4 from point sources into areas in which there is
5 a potential risk of public exposure.’’.

Page 24
19 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—On or before Sep20
tember 30, 2010, and after providing notice
21 and an opportunity for public comment, a State
22 shall establish affordability criteria to assist in
23 identifying municipalities that would experience
24 a significant hardship raising the revenue nec25
essary to finance a project or activity eligible


Page 28
4 ‘‘(3) WEIGHT GIVEN TO APPLICATIONS.—After
5 determining project priorities under paragraph (2), a
6 State shall give greater weight to an application for
7 assistance if the application contains such informa8
tion as the State determines to be necessary and in9
cludes—
10 ‘‘(A) approaches other than a traditional
11 wastewater approach that treat or minimize
12 sewage or urban storm water discharges
13 using—
14 ‘‘(i) decentralized or distributed storm
15 water controls;
16 ‘‘(ii) decentralized wastewater treat17
ment;
18 ‘‘(iii) low-impact development tech19
nologies and nonstructural approaches;
20 ‘‘(iv) stream buffers;
21 ‘‘(v) wetland restoration and enhance22
ment;
23 ‘‘(vi) actions to minimize the quantity
24 of and direct connections to impervious
25 surfaces;
VerDate Nov
1 ‘‘(vii) soil and vegetation, or other
2 permeable materials; or
3 ‘‘(viii) actions that increase efficient
4 water use, water conservation, or water
5 reuse;

Page 42
13 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall
14 carry out a competitive grant program to support efforts
15 by publicly owned treatment works and community water
16 systems to take actions to increase energy efficiency, re17
duce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate the impacts
18 of climate change.
19 (b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—In order to carry out the
20 program under subsection (b), the Administrator shall
21 award grants to publicly owned treatment works and com22
munity water systems for the following:
23 (1) Facility or process modifications that reduce
24 the use of energy or water, or both.
1 (2) The installation of small renewable energy
2 generators, including methane capture, wind tur3
bines, and micro water turbines.
4 (3) Sustainable practices that minimize the ad5
verse environmental impacts of climate change on
6 water quality and quantity.
7 (4) Projects that increase the ability of publicly
8 owned treatment works or community water systems
9 to withstand the impacts of climate change.
10 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the
11 costs for which a grant is made under this section shall
12 be 65 percent.
13 (d) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The Administrator
14 shall not make a grant under this section to a grantee
15 that exceeds $2,000,000 per fiscal year.

Page 48
3 SEC. 406. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY
4 DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the
6 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall es7
tablish a national water infrastructure research, develop8
ment, and demonstration program to develop, dem9
onstrate, and transfer innovative or improved technologies
10 and methods for the treatment, control, transport, and
11 reuse of drinking water and wastewater. These tech12
nologies and methods may include—
13 (1) reducing energy consumption in water and
14 wastewater infrastructure;
15 (2) recovering energy and nutrient resources
16 from wastewater;
17 (3) reducing water consumption and returning
18 water for ecosystem use;
19 (4) on-site technologies to generate renewable
20 energy at a publicly owned treatment works, commu21
nity water system, or other municipal water or
22 wastewater facility;
23 (5) measures to control, manage, reduce, treat,
24 infiltrate, or reuse municipal stormwater;
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•HR 3202 IH
1 (6) decentralized or distributed stormwater and
2 wastewater controls and treatment;
3 (7) low impact development technologies and
4 non-structural approaches to treat drinking water,
5 wastewater, and stormwater;
6 (8) reducing the costs of compliance with the
7 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
8 1251 et seq.) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (42
9 U.S.C. 300f et seq.), while retaining or enhancing
10 environmental benefits;
11 (9) improving control and treatment of
12 stormwater and nonpoint sources of pollution;
13 (10) mitigating and adapting to climate change;
14 (11) dual systems that re-use stormwater and
15 wastewater for non-potable water resource needs;
16 (12) development of a new generation of water
17 monitoring reporting and notification techniques;
18 and
19 (13) controlling, limiting, treating, or pre20
venting pharmaceutical and personal care products
21 from being in or entering waters of the United
22 States.
23 (b) CONSULTATION.—In administering the program
24 under this section, the Administrator shall annually hold
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1 a national meeting to bring together major stakeholders,
2 including representatives from the following:
3 (1) The public.
4 (2) States, local governments, and organizations
5 representing States or local governments.
6 (3) The National Science Foundation, the Na7
tional Academy of Science, the National Academy of
8 Engineering, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Na9
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the
10 Department of Agriculture, the United States Geo11
logical Survey, the White House Office of Science
12 and Technology Policy, the Department of Energy,
13 and the Council on Environmental Quality.
14 (4) Universities, colleges, and other institutions
15 of higher education.
16 (5) Other public nonprofit entities with exper17
tise in research and development of technologies for
18 the treatment, control, transport, and re-use of
19 drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater.
20 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS OR GRANTS.—In
21 carrying out the program under this section, the Adminis22
trator may enter into cooperative agreements or make
23 grants or, both, to develop improved technologies and
24 methods under subsection (a) with or to nonprofit and
25 governmental entities having demonstrated expertise in re-
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•HR 3202 IH
1 search and development of the treatment, control, trans2
port, and re-use of drinking water, stormwater, and waste3
water, including the following entities:
4 (1) The Water Environment Research Founda5
tion.
6 (2) The Water Research Foundation.
7 (3) Public nonprofit entities, including those
8 whose members or subscribers include drinking
9 water, stormwater, and wastewater utilities and local
10 governments.
11 (4) Universities, colleges, and other institutions
12 of higher education.
13 (5) Local governments, including publicly
14 owned treatment works and community water sys15
tems.
16 (6) The National Science Foundation.
17 (7) The National Institutes for Water Re18
sources.
19 (d) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The Adminis20
trator is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements
21 with entities described in subsection (c) and for-profit en22
tities to demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of a
23 new technology for the treatment, control, transport, and
24 re-use of drinking water, stormwater, or wastewater

Page 53
10 SEC. 407. REGIONAL WATER RESEARCH CENTERS.
11 (a) REGIONAL CENTERS.—
12 (1) GRANTS.—The Administrator, in collabora13
tion with the Director of the National Science Foun14
dation, shall make grants to nonprofit institutions of
15 higher learning to establish and operate one univer16
sity water research center in each of such 21 hydro17
regions as the Administrator, in consultation with
18 the United States Geological Survey, may establish.
19 The Administrator, in consultation with the United
20 States Geological Survey, may adjust the boundaries
21 of such regions to assure that none of the
22 conterminous regions are either larger or smaller
23 than another by more than two fold.
24 (2) DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL WATER RE25
SEARCH CENTER.—The Administrator, in collabora-
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•HR 3202 IH
1 tion with the Director, shall designate one of the 21
2 university water research centers as the ‘‘National
3 Water Research Center’’.
4 (3) MISSION.—
5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The mission of the cen6
ters shall be to conduct and coordinate strategic
7 research, education, and outreach for sustain8
able management of water resources in every
9 hydro-climatic region of the United States.
10 (B) NATIONAL WATER RESEARCH CEN11
TER.—In addition to its mission under subpara12
graph (A), the mission of the National Water
13 Research Center shall be to gather, archive, and
14 publish data from the regional centers and to
15 integrate the regional findings into a national
16 research strategy.