1.This Act may be cited as the
Water Efficiency, Conservation, and
Adaptation Act of 2009
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)(A)human-induced climate
change is affecting the natural water cycle, decreasing precipitation levels in
the West, especially the Southwest, and making droughts and floods more
frequent and more intense;
(B)declining precipitation levels will
severely impact water supplies in Southwestern States; and
(C)a sharp increase in the number of days
with very heavy precipitation throughout the Northeast and the Midwest will
stress aging water infrastructure;
(2)changes in the
water cycle caused by climate disruptions will adversely affect water
infrastructure, energy production and use, human health, transportation,
agriculture, and ecosystems, while also aggravating water disputes across the
United States;
(3)(A)the Colorado River,
which supplies water for over 30,000,000 people, is experiencing the worst
drought in over 100 years of recordkeeping; and
(B)the primary reservoirs of the Colorado
River Basin and Lakes Mead and Powell have lost nearly half of the storage
waters of the reservoirs and lakes, and clean hydropower generated from Hoover
Dam risks reduction if the extended drought persists;
(4)States and local
governments and water utilities can begin to address the challenges described
in this section by providing incentives for water efficiency and conservation,
while also planning and investing in infrastructure to adapt to the impacts of
climate change, particularly those impacts already affecting the United
States;
(5)residential water
demand can be reduced by 25 to 40 percent using existing, cost-effective
technologies that also can reduce the water bills of consumers by hundreds of
dollars per year; and
(6)water and energy
use are inseparable activities, and supplying and treating water consumes
around 4 percent of the electricity of the United States, and electricity makes
up 75 percent of the cost of processing and delivering municipal water.
3.Definition of
AdministratorIn this Act, the
term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency.
4.
(a)There is established within the Environmental Protection
Agency a WaterSense program to identify and promote water efficient products,
buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services so as—
(1)to reduce water
use;
(2)to reduce the
strain on water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure;
(3)to conserve energy
used to pump, heat, transport, and treat water; and
(4)to preserve water
resources for future generations, through voluntary labeling of, or other forms
of communications about, products, buildings, landscapes, facilities,
processes, and services that meet the highest water efficiency and performance
criteria.
(b)The
Administrator shall—
(1)establish—
(A)a WaterSense label
to be used for certain items; and
(B)the procedure by
which an item may be certified to display the WaterSense label;
(2)promote
WaterSense-labeled products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and
services in the marketplace as the preferred technologies and services
for—
(A)reducing water
use; and
(B)ensuring product
and service performance;
(3)work to enhance
public awareness of the WaterSense label through public outreach, education,
and other means;
(4)preserve the
integrity of the WaterSense label by—
(A)establishing and
maintaining performance criteria so that products, buildings, landscapes,
facilities, processes, and services labeled with the WaterSense label perform
as well or better than less water-efficient counterparts;
(B)overseeing
WaterSense certifications made by third parties;
(C)conducting reviews
of the use of the WaterSense label in the marketplace and taking corrective
action in any case in which misuse of the label is identified; and
(D)carrying out such
other measures as the Administrator determines to be appropriate;
(5)regularly review
and, if appropriate, update WaterSense criteria for categories of products,
buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services, at least once every
4 years;
(6)to the maximum
extent practicable, regularly estimate and make available to the public the
production and relative market shares of, and the savings of water, energy, and
capital costs of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure attributable
to the use of WaterSense-labeled products, buildings, landscapes, facilities,
processes, and services, at least annually;
(7)solicit comments
from interested parties and the public prior to establishing or revising a
WaterSense category, specification, installation criterion, or other criterion
(or prior to effective dates for any such category, specification, installation
criterion, or other criterion);
(8)provide reasonable
notice to interested parties and the public of any changes (including effective
dates), on the adoption of a new or revised category, specification,
installation criterion, or other criterion, along with—
(A)an explanation of
the changes; and
(B)as appropriate,
responses to comments submitted by interested parties and the public;
(9)provide
appropriate lead time (as determined by the Administrator) prior to the
applicable effective date for a new or significant revision to a category,
specification, installation criterion, or other criterion, taking into account
the timing requirements of the manufacturing, marketing, training, and
distribution process for the specific product, building and landscape, or
service category addressed;
(10)identify and, if
appropriate, implement other voluntary approaches in commercial, institutional,
residential, industrial, and municipal sectors to encourage recycling and reuse
technologies to improve water efficiency or lower water use; and
(11)if appropriate,
apply the WaterSense label to water-using products that are labeled by the
Energy Star program implemented by the Administrator and the Secretary of
Energy.
(c)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section—
(1)$7,500,000 for
fiscal year 2010;
(2)$10,000,000 for
fiscal year 2011;
(3)$20,000,000 for
fiscal year 2012;
(4)$50,000,000 for
fiscal year 2013; and
(5)for each
subsequent fiscal year, the applicable amount during the preceding fiscal year,
as adjusted to reflect changes for the 12-month period ending the preceding
November 30 in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
5.State residential
water efficiency and conservation incentives program
(a)In
this section:
(1)The term eligible entity means a State
government, local or county government, tribal government, wastewater or
sewerage utility, municipal water authority, energy utility, water utility, or
nonprofit organization that meets the requirements of subsection (b).
(2)The term incentive program means a program
for administering financial incentives for consumer purchase and installation
of water-efficient products, buildings (including new water-efficient homes),
landscapes, processes, or services described in subsection (b)(1).
(3)Residential
water-efficient product, building, landscape, process, or service
(A)The term residential water-efficient product,
building, landscape, process, or service means a product, building,
landscape, process, or service for a residence or its landscape that is rated
for water efficiency and performance—
(i)by
the WaterSense program; or
(ii)if
a WaterSense specification does not exist, by the Energy Star program or an
incentive program approved by the Administrator.
(B)The
term residential water-efficient product, building, landscape, process,
or service includes—
(i)faucets;
(ii)irrigation
technologies and services;
(iii)point-of-use
water treatment devices;
(iv)reuse and
recycling technologies;
(v)toilets;
(vi)clothes
washers;
(vii)dishwashers;
(viii)showerheads;
(ix)xeriscaping and
other landscape conversions that replace irrigated turf; and
(x)new
water efficient homes certified under the WaterSense program.
(4)The term WaterSense program means the
program established by section 4.
(b)An entity shall be eligible to receive an allocation
under subsection (c) if the entity—
(1)establishes (or
has established) an incentive program to provide financial incentives to
residential consumers for the purchase of residential water-efficient products,
buildings, landscapes, processes, or services;
(2)submits an
application for the allocation at such time, in such form, and containing such
information as the Administrator may require; and
(3)provides
assurances satisfactory to the Administrator that the entity will use the
allocation to supplement, but not supplant, funds made available to carry out
the incentive program.
(c)For each fiscal year, the Administrator shall
determine the amount to allocate to each eligible entity to carry out
subsection (d), taking into consideration—
(1)the population
served by the eligible entity during the most recent calendar year for which
data are available;
(2)the targeted
population of the incentive program of the eligible entity, such as general
households, low-income households, or first-time homeowners, and the probable
effectiveness of the incentive program for that population;
(3)for existing
programs, the effectiveness of the program in encouraging the adoption of
water-efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and
services;
(4)any allocation to
the eligible entity for a preceding fiscal year that remains unused; and
(5)the per capita
water demand of the population served by the eligible entity during the most
recent calendar year for which data are available and the accessibility of
water supplies to the eligible entity.
(d)Funds allocated to an eligible entity under subsection (c)
may be used to pay up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing and carrying
out an incentive program.
(e)Eligible entities are encouraged to promote or
implement fixture recycling programs to manage the disposal of older fixtures
replaced due to the incentive program under this section.
(f)
(1)Financial incentives may be provided to residential
consumers that meet the requirements of the applicable incentive
program.
(2)An eligible entity may—
(A)issue all
financial incentives directly to residential consumers; or
(B)with approval of
the Administrator, delegate all or part of financial incentive administration
to other organizations, including local governments, municipal water
authorities, water utilities, and nonprofit organizations.
(3)The
amount of a financial incentive shall be determined by the eligible entity,
taking into consideration—
(A)the amount of any
Federal or State tax incentive available for the purchase of the residential
water-efficient product or service;
(B)the amount
necessary to change consumer behavior to purchase water-efficient products and
services; and
(C)the consumer
expenditures for onsite preparation, assembly, and original installation of the
product.
(g)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator to carry out this section—
(1)$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;
(2)$150,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
(3)$200,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
(4)$150,000,000 for fiscal year 2013;
(5)$100,000,000 for
fiscal year 2014; and
(6)for each
subsequent fiscal year, the applicable amount during the preceding fiscal year,
as adjusted to reflect changes for the 12-month period ending the preceding
November 30 in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
6.Blue bank for
water system mitigation and adaptation
(a)In
this section:
(1)The term abrupt climate change means a
large-scale change in the climate system that—
(A)takes place over a
few decades or less;
(B)persists (or is
anticipated to persist) for at least a few decades; and
(C)causes substantial
disruptions in human and natural systems.
(2)
(A)The term owner or operator means a person
(including a regional, State, local, municipal, or private entity) that owns or
operates a water system.
(B)The
term owner or operator includes a non-Federal entity that has
operational responsibilities for a federally owned water system.
(3)The term water system means—
(A)a community water
system (as defined in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
300f));
(B)a publicly owned
treatment works (as defined in section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)), including a municipal separate storm sewer
system;
(C)a decentralized
wastewater treatment system for domestic sewage;
(D)a groundwater
storage and replenishment system; or
(E)a system for
transport and delivery of water for irrigation or conservation.
(b)Beginning
in fiscal year 2010, the Administrator shall make grants to owners or operators
of water systems to address any ongoing or forecasted (based on the best
available research and data) climate-related impact on the water quality or
quantity of a region of the United States, for the purposes of mitigating or
adapting to the impacts of climate change.
(c)In carrying out this section, the Administrator shall make
grants to assist in the planning, design, construction, implementation, or
maintenance of any program or project to increase the resilience of a water
system to climate change by—
(1)conserving water
or enhancing water use efficiency, including through the use of water metering
to measure the effectiveness of a water efficiency program;
(2)modifying or
relocating existing water system infrastructure made or projected to be made
inoperable by climate change impacts;
(3)preserving or
improving water quality, including through measures to manage, reduce, treat,
or reuse municipal stormwater, wastewater, or drinking water;
(4)investigating,
designing, or constructing groundwater remediation, recycled water, or
desalination facilities or systems;
(5)enhancing water
management by increasing watershed preservation and protection, such as through
the use of natural or engineered green infrastructure in the management,
conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater;
(6)enhancing energy
efficiency or the use and generation of renewable energy in the management,
conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater;
(7)supporting the
adoption and use of advanced water treatment, water supply management (such as
reservoir reoperation), or water demand management technologies, projects, or
processes (such as water reuse and recycling or adaptive conservation pricing)
that maintain or increase water supply or improve water quality;
(8)modifying or
replacing existing systems or constructing new systems for existing communities
or land currently in agricultural production to improve water availability,
storage, or conveyance in a manner that—
(A)promotes more
efficient use of available water supplies; and
(B)does not further
exacerbate stresses on ecosystems;
(9)supporting
practices and projects, such as improved irrigation systems, water banking and
other forms of water transactions, groundwater recharge, stormwater capture,
and reuse or recycling of drainage water, to improve water quality or promote
more efficient water use, including on land currently in agricultural
production;
(10)conducting and
completing studies or assessments to project how climate change may impact the
future operations and sustainability of water systems; or
(11)developing and
implementing mitigation measures to rapidly address impacts on water systems
most susceptible to abrupt climate change, including those in the Colorado
River Basin and coastal regions at risk from rising sea levels.
(d)To
be eligible to receive a grant from the Administrator under subsection (b), the
owner or operator of a water system shall submit to the Administrator an
application that—
(1)includes a
proposal of the program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement to be planned,
designed, constructed, implemented, or maintained by the water system;
(2)cites the best
available research or data that demonstrates—
(A)the risk to the
water resources or infrastructure of the water system as a result of ongoing or
forecasted changes to the hydrological system brought about by factors arising
from climate change, including rising sea levels and changes in precipitation
levels; and
(B)how the proposed
program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement would perform under the
anticipated climate conditions;
(3)explains how the
proposed program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement is expected to
enhance the resiliency of the water system, including source water protection
for community water systems, to these risks or reduce the direct or indirect
greenhouse gas emissions of the water system; and
(4)demonstrates that
the program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement is—
(A)consistent with
any approved State and tribal climate adaptation plan; and
(B)not inconsistent
with any approved natural resources plan.
(e)
(1)Each calendar year, the Administrator shall conduct a
competitive process to select and fund applications under this section.
(2)Priority
requirements and weightingIn carrying out the process, the
Administrator shall—
(A)prioritize funding
of applications that are submitted by the owners or operators of water systems
that are, based on the best available research and data, at the greatest and
most immediate risk of facing significant climate-related negative impacts on
water quality or quantity;
(B)in selecting among
the priority applications determined under subparagraph (A), ensure that the
final list of applications funded for each year includes a substantial number
that, to the maximum extent practicable, includes each eligible use described
in subsection (c);
(C)solicit
applications from water systems that are—
(i)located in all
regions of the United States; and
(ii)facing varying
risks as a result of climate change; and
(D)provide for
solicitation and consideration of public input in the development of criteria
used in evaluating applications.
(f)
(1)The Federal share of the cost of any program, strategy, or
infrastructure improvement that is the subject of a grant awarded by the
Administrator to a water system under subsection (b) shall not exceed 50
percent of the cost of the program, strategy, and infrastructure
improvement.
(2)Calculation of
non-Federal shareIn calculating the non-Federal share of the
cost of a program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement proposed by a water
system through an application submitted by the water system under subsection
(d), the Administrator shall—
(A)include the value
of any in-kind services that are integral to the completion of the program,
strategy, or infrastructure improvement, as determined by the Administrator;
and
(B)not include any
other amount that the water system receives from a Federal agency.
(g)
(1)All laborers and mechanics employed on infrastructure
improvements funded directly by or assisted in whole or in part by this section
shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing for the same type
of work on similar construction in the immediate locality, as determined by the
Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of
subtitle II of title 40, United States Code.
(2)With respect to the labor standards in this subsection,
the Secretary of Labor shall have the authority and functions set forth in
Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and
section 3145 of title 40, United States Code.
(h)
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations to carry out this
section.
(2)Special rule for
the construction of treatment worksIn carrying out this
subsection, the Administrator shall incorporate all relevant and appropriate
requirements of title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1381 et seq.) applicable to the construction of treatment works that are
carried out under this section.
(i)Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the
Congress a report on progress in implementing this section, including
information on project applications received and funded annually.
(j)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as are necessary.