113 S2225 IS: Smart Water Resource Management Conservation and Efficiency Act of 2014
U.S. Senate
2014-04-09
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EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the Smart Water Resource Management Conservation and Efficiency Act of 2014
.
2.
Smart water
resource management pilot program
(a)
In
this section:
(1)
The term eligible entity
means—
(A)
a
utility;
(B)
a
municipality;
(C)
a
water district; and
(D)
any other
authority that provides water, wastewater, or water reuse services.
(2)
The term Secretary
means the Secretary of Energy.(3)Smart water
resource management pilot program
The term smart water
resource management pilot program
or pilot program
means
the pilot program established under subsection (b).
(b)
Smart water
resource management pilot program
(1)
The Secretary shall establish and
carry out a smart water resource management pilot program in accordance with
this section.
(2)
The
purpose of the smart water resource management pilot program is to award grants
to eligible entities to demonstrate novel and innovative technology-based
solutions that will—
(A)
increase the
energy and water efficiency of water, wastewater, and water reuse
systems;
(B)
improve water,
wastewater, and water reuse systems to help communities across the United
States make significant progress in conserving water, saving energy, and
reducing costs; and
(C)
support the
implementation of innovative processes and the installation of advanced
automated systems that provide real-time data on energy and water.
(3)
(A)
The Secretary shall make
competitive, merit-reviewed grants under the pilot program to not less than 3,
but not more than 5, eligible entities.
(B)
In selecting an eligible entity to receive a grant under
the pilot program, the Secretary shall consider—
(i)
energy
and cost savings;
(ii)
the
novelty of the technology to be used;
(iii)
the
degree to which the project integrates next-generation sensors, software,
analytics, and management tools;
(iv)
the
anticipated cost-effectiveness of the pilot project in terms of energy
efficiency savings, water savings or reuse, and infrastructure costs
averted;
(v)
whether
the technology can be deployed in a variety of geographic regions and the
degree to which the technology can be implemented on a smaller or larger scale;
and
(vi)
whether the
project will be completed in 5 years or less.
(C)
(i)
Subject to clause (ii), an eligible entity seeking a
grant under the pilot program shall submit to the
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary determines to be
necessary.
(ii)
An
application under clause (i) shall, at a minimum, include—
(I)
a
description of the project;
(II)
a
description of the technology to be used in the project;
(III)
the anticipated
results, including energy and water savings, of the project;
(IV)
a
comprehensive budget for the project;
(V)
the
names of the project lead organization and any partners;
(VI)
the
number of users to be served by the project; and
(VII)
any other
information that the Secretary determines to be necessary
to complete the review and selection of a grant recipient.
(4)
(A)
Not later than 300 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall select grant recipients
under this section.
(B)
The
Secretary shall annually carry out an evaluation of each
project for which a grant is provided under this section that—
(i)
evaluates the
progress and impact of the project; and
(ii)
assesses the
degree to which the project is meeting the goals of the pilot program.
(C)
Technical and
policy assistance
On the request of a grant recipient, the
Secretary shall provide technical and policy
assistance.
(D)
The Secretary shall make
available to the public—
(i)
a copy
of each evaluation carried out under subparagraph (B); and
(ii)
a
description of any best practices identified by the
Secretary as a result of those evaluations.
(E)
The Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report containing the results of each evaluation carried out under
subparagraph (B).
(c)
(1)
The Secretary shall use not less
than $7,500,000 of amounts made available to the Secretary to carry out this
section.
(2)
In
funding activities under this section, the Secretary
shall prioritize funding in the following manner:
(A)
Any unobligated
amounts made available to the Secretary to carry out the activities of the Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office.
(B)
Any unobligated
amounts (other than those described in subparagraph (A)) made available to the
Secretary.