Impaired Waters Improvement Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to reduce the discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment (pollutants) in an area that is subject to a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for those pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). Makes eligible for grants the owners and operators of: (1) publicly owned treatment works or storm water management practices serving areas subject to the TMDLs, or (2) privately owned farms implementing methods to reduce discharges of those pollutants in those areas.
Directs the Administrator to increase by 5% the civil penalty for violations of the Clean Water Act. Establishes the Impaired Waters Improvement Fund for making expenditures to carry out the grant program. Transfers for each of FY2015-FY2019 the amount attributable to the penalty increase or $100 million, whichever is less, to the Fund.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4739 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4739
To provide assistance to communities affected by total maximum daily
loads established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 22, 2014
Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Murphy of Florida) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide assistance to communities affected by total maximum daily
loads established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Impaired Waters Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Covered tmdl.--The term ``covered TMDL'' means a total
maximum daily load for nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment
established under section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)).
(3) Covered tmdl jurisdiction.--
(A) In general.--The term ``covered TMDL
jurisdiction'' means a geographic area that is subject
to a covered TMDL.
(B) Inclusion of chesapeake bay.--The term
``covered TMDL jurisdiction'' includes the geographic
area subject to total maximum daily load for pollutants
for the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries
established by the Administrator on December 29, 2010,
and noticed at 76 Fed. Reg. 549 (January 5, 2011).
(4) Publicly owned stormwater management practices.--The
term ``publicly owned stormwater management practices'' means
techniques for managing and treating rainwater runoff that are
the responsibility of the public sector, including, and by
order of preference, practices which--
(A) utilize or mimic natural infiltration of
rainwater into the ground;
(B) hold and treat runoff by allowing plant
materials to take up pollutants; and
(C) capture runoff and hold it for a period of time
sufficient to allow pollutants to settle out or
evaporate, and which substantially reduce the volume of
runoff in local waters during peak runoff periods.
(5) Treatment works.--The term ``treatment works'' has the
meaning given the term in section 212 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292).
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO ASSIST COVERED TMDL JURISDICTIONS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency may make grants to the owner or operator of--
(1) a publicly owned treatment works serving a covered TMDL
jurisdiction;
(2) publicly owned storm water management practices serving
a covered TMDL jurisdiction; or
(3) a privately owned farm implementing methods to reduce
discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment in a covered
TMDL jurisdiction.
(b) Applications.--
(1) In general.--To be eligible for a grant under this
section, an owner or operator referred to in subsection (a)
shall submit to the Administrator an application at such time,
in such form, and containing such information as the
Administrator may require.
(2) Required information.--The application, at a minimum,
shall contain a description of how the amounts of the grant
will be used to assist the applicant in meeting a covered TMDL.
(c) Award of Grants.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the
Administrator shall award grants to applicants under this
section on a competitive basis.
(2) Considerations.--In awarding grants to applicants under
this section, the Administrator shall consider--
(A) the demonstrated need of the applicant for the
grant; and
(B) with respect to the project to be funded using
the grant--
(i) the effectiveness of any technologies
that will be used;
(ii) the ecological sensitivity of the
geographic area involved; and
(iii) whether the use of existing
facilities, if any, will be maximized.
(d) Use of Grants.--
(1) In general.--A recipient of a grant under this section
shall use the amounts of the grant to implement methods to
reduce discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment--
(A) using proven technology and practices; or
(B) using an innovative practice, subject to a
determination by the Administrator that the innovative
practice is reasonably expected to reduce the
discharges.
(2) Grants to farms.--
(A) Engineering or consultation work for water
storage projects.--In the case of a grant made to an
owner or operator referred to in subsection (a)(3),
amounts of the grant may be used for engineering or
consultation work in designing a water storage project
if--
(i) the project complies with the
limitation in paragraph (3); and
(ii) the project is completed within 5
years of the date of receipt of the grant.
(B) Repayment of certain grant amounts.--The
Administrator shall require repayment of a grant made
to carry out a project described in subparagraph (A) if
the project is not completed within 5 years of the date
of receipt of the grant.
(3) Limitation.--A recipient of a grant under this section
may not use the amounts of the grant--
(A) to pay the salary of any individual who is
employed by the recipient as of the date of receipt of
the grant; or
(B) to pay the salary of any individual hired by
the recipient after that date unless--
(i) the individual is an expert in the
field of reducing discharges from treatment
works; and
(ii) the recipient can demonstrate, to the
satisfaction of the Administrator, that the
individual will assist in meeting a covered
TMDL.
(e) Grant Amount.--The Administrator may not make grants under this
section to a grant recipient in an amount that exceeds $2,000,000 in a
fiscal year.
(f) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of a program or
activity carried out using amounts from a grant received under this
section may not exceed two-thirds of the cost of the program or
activity.
SEC. 4. IMPAIRED WATERS IMPROVEMENT FUND.
(a) Increase in Civil Penalties.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall prescribe by
regulation an increase in the amount of a civil penalty
assessed for a violation of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
(2) Amount of increase.--The amount of the increase shall
be 5 percent of the civil penalty amount determined under that
Act for the violation.
(3) Applicability.--The regulations shall apply the
increased civil penalty amount only to violations occurring
after the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Establishment of Impaired Waters Improvement Fund.--
(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury of
the United States a trust fund to be known as the Impaired
Waters Improvement Fund.
(2) Transfer to fund.--There are hereby appropriated to the
Impaired Waters Improvement Fund for each of fiscal years 2015
through 2019 amounts equivalent to amounts received in the
Treasury that are attributable to increases in civil penalty
amounts assessed pursuant to subsection (a) or $100,000,000,
whichever is less.
(3) Expenditures.--Amounts in the Impaired Waters
Improvement Fund shall be available, as provided in
appropriations Acts, for making expenditures to carry out
section 3.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
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