113 S2558 IS: Colonias Improvement Act of 2014
U.S. Senate
2014-06-26
text/xml
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 Colonias Improvement Act of 2014
.
2.
In this Act:
(1)
The term Administrator means
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2)
The term covered program means—
(A)
water and waste
facility loans and grants under section 306C of the Consolidated Farm and
Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926c);
(B)
wastewater
assistance to colonias under section 307 of the Safe Drinking Water Act
Amendments of 1996 (33 U.S.C. 1281 note; Public Law 104–182);
(C)
drinking water
assistance to colonias under section 1456 of the Public Health Service Act
(42
U.S.C. 300j–16);
(D)
housing
assistance under section 509(f) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C.
1479(f));
(E)
community
development block grant assistance under section 916 of the
Cranston–Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 5306 note; Public Law 101–625);
(F)
assistance under
section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C.
5308); and
(G)
any other program
of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and
Urban
Development, or the Department of Agriculture that specifically includes
assistance for colonias, as determined by the Administrator.
3.
(a)
Revised
definition required
Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the
Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall
issue a
proposed rule containing a definition of the term colonia
that—
(1)
is the same for
each covered program, to the extent consistent with the provisions of law
described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 2(2) and the
requirements
of any program described in subparagraph (G) of such section 2(2);
(2)
is limited to a
community that—
(A)
is located within
75 miles of the border between the United States and Mexico; or
(B)
has applied for
or received funding under a covered program before the date of enactment
of
this Act;
(3)
reflects and
preserves the historic, geographic, and cultural character of the
communities
served by the covered programs; and
(4)
may be used to
determine whether an applicant qualifies for assistance under any covered
program.
(b)
The
rule issued under subsection (a) may include a process by which the
Administrator may request a limited exemption from the application of the
revised definition to a covered program.
(c)
The Administrator shall ensure that the final rule under
subsection (a) takes effect not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment
of this Act.
4.
The Administrator, the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish
and
regularly update a webpage that—
(1)
serves as a clearinghouse for information
relating to the covered programs; and
(2)
includes links to
information specific to each State in which a covered program operates,
including local contact information.
5.
(a)
The Administrator shall establish a working
group that includes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the
Secretary of Agriculture—
(1)
to review covered programs;
(2)
to record information relating to each
award that is and has been made under a covered program;
(3)
to hold public
hearings relating to covered programs; and
(4)
to make recommendations to Congress for
improvements to covered programs, including improvements—
(A)
that address the economic and social
development of colonias; and
(B)
to the
application process for covered programs.
(b)
Not
later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Administrator
shall submit to Congress a report that includes—
(1)
the results of
the review under subsection (a)(1);
(2)
a summary of the
information recorded under subsection (a)(2);
(3)
the
recommendations under subsection (a)(3);
(4)
a plan to include
transportation planning and health considerations in covered programs;
(5)
a survey of needs
that are not met by covered programs;
(6)
a plan to develop
key indicators for living standards in communities served by covered
programs,
including health, education, and housing conditions;
(7)
proposed metrics
for tracking the success of covered programs and identifying areas for the
improvement of covered programs; and
(8)
any other
applicable information, as determined by the Administrator.
6.
The Administrator,
and any person working with the Administrator to carry out a covered
program,
shall make every effort—
(1)
to carry out this Act in a manner that is
sensitive to the cultural and regional differences among communities
served by
covered programs; and
(2)
to work with
local organizations that carry out activities in communities served by
covered
programs.