[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1491 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1491
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance
for nutrient removal technologies to States in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 26, 2005
Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Warner, Mr. Allen, and Mr.
Santorum) 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 assistance
for nutrient removal technologies to States in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed.
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 ``Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient
Removal Assistance Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) nutrient pollution from point sources and nonpoint
sources continues to be the most significant water quality
problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(2) a key commitment of the Chesapeake 2000 agreement, an
interstate agreement among the Administrator, the Chesapeake
Bay Commission, the District of Columbia, and the States of
Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, is to achieve the goal of
correcting the nutrient-related problems in the Chesapeake Bay
by 2010;
(3) by correcting those problems, the Chesapeake Bay and
its tidal tributaries may be removed from the list of impaired
bodies of water designated by the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency under section 303(d) of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d));
(4) more than 300 major sewage treatment plants located in
the Chesapeake Bay watershed annually discharge approximately
60,000,000 pounds of nitrogen, or the equivalent of 20 percent
of the total nitrogen load, into the Chesapeake Bay; and
(5) nutrient removal technology is 1 of the most reliable,
cost-effective, and direct methods for reducing the flow of
nitrogen from point sources into the Chesapeake Bay.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency to provide financial assistance to States and
municipalities for use in upgrading publicly-owned wastewater
treatment plants in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with nutrient
removal technologies; and
(2) to further the goal of restoring the water quality of
the Chesapeake Bay to conditions that are protective of human
health and aquatic living resources.
SEC. 3. SEWAGE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``TITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS
``SEC. 701. SEWAGE CONTROL TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) Definition of Eligible Facility.--In this section, the term
`eligible facility' means a municipal wastewater treatment plant that--
``(1) as of the date of enactment of this title, has a
permitted design capacity to treat an annual average of at
least 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day; and
``(2) is located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed in any
of the States of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, or West Virginia or in the District of Columbia.
``(b) Grant Program.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this title, the Administrator shall establish a
program within the Environmental Protection Agency to provide
grants to States and municipalities to upgrade eligible
facilities with nutrient removal technologies.
``(2) Priority.--In providing a grant under paragraph (1),
the Administrator shall--
``(A) consult with the Chesapeake Bay Program
Office;
``(B) give priority to eligible facilities at which
nutrient removal upgrades would--
``(i) produce the greatest nutrient load
reductions at points of discharge; or
``(ii) result in the greatest environmental
benefits to local bodies of water surrounding,
and the main stem of, the Chesapeake Bay; and
``(iii) take into consideration the
geographic distribution of the grants.
``(3) Application.--
``(A) In general.--On receipt of an application
from a State or municipality for a grant under this
section, if the Administrator approves the request, the
Administrator shall transfer to the State or
municipality the amount of assistance requested.
``(B) Form.--An application submitted by a State or
municipality under subparagraph (A) shall be in such
form and shall include such information as the
Administrator may prescribe.
``(4) Use of funds.--A State or municipality that receives
a grant under this section shall use the grant to upgrade
eligible facilities with nutrient removal technologies that are
designed to reduce total nitrogen in discharged wastewater to
an average annual concentration of 3 milligrams per liter.
``(5) Cost sharing.--
``(A) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost
of upgrading any eligible facility as described in
paragraph (1) using funds provided under this section
shall not exceed 55 percent.
``(B) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of
the costs of upgrading any eligible facility as
described in paragraph (1) using funds provided under
this section may be provided in the form of funds made
available to a State or municipality under--
``(i) any provision of this Act other than
this section (including funds made available
from a State revolving fund established under
title VI); or
``(ii) any other Federal or State law.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this section $132,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2006 through 2010, to remain available until expended.
``(2) Administrative costs.--The Administrator may use not
to exceed 4 percent of any amount made available under
paragraph (1) to pay administrative costs incurred in carrying
out this section.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8951-8953)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8954-8955)
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