[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1106 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1106

 To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
 to make grants to State agencies with responsibility for water source 
 development for the purpose of maximizing available water supply and 
protecting the environment through the development of alternative water 
                                sources.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 1999

Mr. Thurman (for herself, Mrs. Fowler, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Mica, 
Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Boyd, Mr. Collins, Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. Deal of 
Georgia, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Foley, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Lewis of 
Georgia, Mr. McCollum, Mrs. Meek of Florida, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Stearns, and 
Mr. Young of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
         to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
 to make grants to State agencies with responsibility for water source 
 development for the purpose of maximizing available water supply and 
protecting the environment through the development of alternative water 
                                sources.

    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 ``Alternative Water Sources Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Alternative water source project.--The term 
        ``alternative water source project'' means a project designed 
        to provide municipal, industrial, and agricultural water 
        supplies in an environmentally sustainable manner by 
        conserving, managing, treating, reclaiming, or reusing water or 
        wastewater.
            (3) Critical water supply needs.--The term ``critical water 
        supply needs'' means existing or reasonably anticipated future 
        water supply needs that cannot be met by existing water 
        supplies, as identified in a comprehensive statewide or 
        regional water supply plan or assessment projected over a 
        planning period of at least 20 years.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCE PROJECTS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator is authorized to make grants for 
alternative water source projects to State, interstate, and intrastate 
water resource development agencies (including water management 
districts and water supply authorities), local government agencies, 
private utilities, and nonprofit entities.
    (b) Eligible Agency.--The Administrator may make grants under this 
section to an entity only if the entity has authority under State law 
to develop or provide water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural 
uses in an area of the State that is experiencing critical water supply 
needs.
    (c) Eligible Project.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator may make grants under 
        this section for an alternative water source project only if 
        the purpose of the project is to meet critical water supply 
        needs and, for projects for which the Federal share exceeds 
        $3,000,000, a committee resolution has been adopted pursuant to 
        subsection (d)(1).
            (2) Limitation.--A project located within the boundaries of 
        a State or area referred to in section 1 of the Reclamation Act 
        of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 385) and within the geographic scope 
        of the reclamation and reuse program under the Reclamation 
        Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 
        390h et seq.) shall not be eligible for grant assistance under 
        this section.
    (d) Committee Resolution Procedure.--
            (1) In general.--No appropriation shall be made for any 
        project under this section, the total Federal cost of which 
        exceeds $3,000,000, if such project has not been approved by a 
        resolution adopted by the Committee on Transportation and 
        Infrastructure of the House of Representatives or the Committee 
        on Environment and Public Works of the Senate.
            (2) Requirements for securing consideration.--For purposes 
        of securing consideration of approval under paragraph (1), the 
        Administrator shall provide to a committee referred to in 
        paragraph (1) such information as the committee requests and 
        the non-Federal sponsor shall provide to the committee 
        information on the costs and relative needs for the project.
    (e) Uses of Grants.--Amounts from grants received under this 
section may be used for engineering, design, construction, and final 
testing of alternative water source projects designed to meet critical 
water supply needs. Such amounts may not be used for planning, 
feasibility studies or for operation, maintenance, replacement, repair, 
or rehabilitation.
    (f) Cost Sharing.--The Federal share of the eligible costs of a 
project carried out using assistance made available under this section 
shall not exceed 50 percent.

SEC. 4. REPORTS.

    (a) Reports to Administrator.--Each recipient of a grant under 
section 3 shall submit to the Administrator, not later than 18 months 
after the date of receipt of the grant and biennially thereafter until 
completion of the project funded by the grant, a report on eligible 
activities carried out by the grant recipient using amounts from the 
grant.
    (b) Report to Congress.--On or before September 30, 2005, the 
Administrator shall transmit to Congress a report on the progress made 
toward meeting the critical water supply needs of the grant recipients 
under section 3.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004. Such sums shall 
remain available until expended.
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