[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.''.
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