1.This Act may be cited as the
Coordinating Water Research for a
Clean Water Future Act of 2012
.
2.National water
research and development initiative
(a)Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the President shall begin to implement a National Water Research and
Development Initiative through the Council, the Coordination Office, and
appropriate Federal agencies. The Initiative shall—
(1)establish the
goals, priorities, and metrics for the evaluation of Federal water research and
development and other activities related to water;
(2)invest in Federal
research and development activities related to water to achieve the goals
established under the Strategic Plan; and
(3)provide for
interagency coordination of Federal water research and development and other
activities related to water undertaken pursuant to the Initiative.
(b)The Initiative shall carry out, at a minimum, the
following activities:
(1)Conducting
research on how to ensure the systematic and coordinated collection of publicly
available data on regional and national water resources, including information
about the quantity, availability, and quality of ground and surface water
resources.
(2)Conducting
research on, development of, and demonstration of technologies and practices to
enhance reliable water supply, water reuse, pollution prevention, water
quality, water use efficiency, and energy efficiency in water use.
(3)Conducting
research on and development of tools and best practices to assist regional,
State, local, and tribal water resource managers in planning for changing and
future water availability, use patterns, and infrastructure impacts.
(4)Conducting
research on the social, behavioral, and economic barriers to the sustainable
use of water resources, including public acceptance of water technologies and
practices and conflict resolution solutions for competing water resource
management requirements.
(5)Conducting
research to enhance the understanding of water-related ecosystems, ecosystem
services, and the impact on water resources of invasive species, chemical
contaminants, natural disasters, long-term ice coverage, and changing water
levels.
(6)Analyzing the
energy required to provide reliable water supplies and the water required to
provide reliable energy supplies.
(7)Providing guidance
to minority serving institutions on funding opportunities to perform research
as part of the Initiative.
(c)The Council shall oversee the planning, management,
and coordination of the Initiative. The Council, itself or through an
appropriate subgroup it designates or establishes, shall—
(1)establish goals
and priorities for the Initiative based on national needs;
(2)coordinate all
Federal research, development, demonstration, data collection and
dissemination, education, and technology development and transfer activities
pertaining to water;
(3)coordinate the
activities of the Initiative with the water-related research and development
activities of the United States Global Change Research Program;
(4)develop the Annual
Report under subsection (d);
(5)develop the
Strategic Plan under section 5; and
(6)through the
Coordination Office, provide for public input and outreach to be integrated
into the Initiative, including the convening of workshops.
(d)Annual national
water research report
(1)The Council shall submit the Annual National Water
Research Report to Congress at the time of the President’s budget submission
for each fiscal year. The Council shall consider and utilize information from
regional, State, local, and tribal governments and other stakeholders in the
development of the Annual Report.
(2)The Annual Report shall include—
(A)for each Federal
agency that participates in the Initiative—
(i)the
Initiative budget for the current fiscal year; and
(ii)the
proposed coordinated Initiative budget for the next fiscal year;
(B)an analysis of the
progress, and indicators used to measure such progress, made toward achieving
the goals and priorities established for the Initiative in the Strategic Plan;
and
(C)an analysis of the
extent to which the Initiative has incorporated the recommendations of the
Advisory Committee and the public.
3.
(a)The
President shall establish a National Water Research Coordination Office with a
Director and full-time staff.
(b)The
Coordination Office shall—
(1)provide technical
and administrative support to—
(A)the Council,
including support needed for the development of the Strategic Plan and the
Annual Report; and
(B)the Advisory
Committee;
(2)serve as the
primary point of contact on Federal water research and development activities
for regional, State, local, and tribal government agencies, organizations,
academia, industry, public-private collaborations, commercial end users, and
others to exchange information related to the Initiative;
(3)conduct public
outreach, including the dissemination of findings of research based on the
activities conducted pursuant to the Initiative and recommendations of the
Advisory Committee through a publicly accessible Web site;
(4)solicit input and
recommendations from a wide range of stakeholders during the development of
each Strategic Plan and Annual Report through the solicitation of public
comments and the convening of at least 1 workshop with invitees from academia,
industry, Federal laboratories, regional, State, local, and tribal governments,
and other relevant organizations and institutions; and
(5)promote access to
and early application of innovations, best practices, and expertise derived
from Initiative activities.
(c)
(1)The operation of the Coordination Office shall be
supported by funds contributed from each agency represented on the
Council.
(2)The
portion of the total budget of the Coordination Office that is provided by each
agency for each fiscal year shall be in the same proportion as each such
agency’s share of the total budget for the Initiative for the previous fiscal
year, as specified in the Annual Report.
(d)Within
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy shall transmit to Congress a report on the
funding of the Coordination Office. The report shall include—
(1)the amount of
funding required to adequately fund the Coordination Office;
(2)the adequacy of
existing mechanisms to fund the Coordination Office; and
(3)the actions taken
by the Director to ensure stable funding of the Coordination Office.
4.
(a)There shall be
established a National Water Research Initiative Advisory Committee.
(b)
(1)The President shall appoint as members of the Advisory
Committee individuals that are—
(A)qualified to
provide advice and information on water research, development, demonstrations,
technology development and transfer, and commercial application; and
(B)primarily from
academic institutions, industry, nongovernmental institutions, and regional,
State, local, and tribal governments.
(2)In
appointing members to the Advisory Committee, the President may seek and give
consideration to recommendations from Congress, industry, the scientific
community (including the National Academy of Sciences, scientific professional
societies, and academia), the defense community, regional, State, local, and
tribal governments, and other appropriate organizations.
(c)The Advisory Committee shall advise the
President and the Council on matters relating to the Initiative, including
assessing the following:
(1)Trends and
developments in water research and development.
(2)Progress made in
implementing the Initiative.
(3)The need to revise
the Initiative.
(4)The balance among
the activities of the Initiative described in section 2(b), including funding
levels for the Federal programs developed to address the goals and priorities
of the Initiative.
(5)Whether the goals
and priorities are enabling the Initiative to help maintain a reliable and
clean supply of water for the United States.
(6)Whether the
Initiative is enabling an adequate workforce to help maintain a reliable and
clean supply of water for the United States.
(7)The management,
coordination, implementation, and activities of the Initiative.
(8)Whether the
concerns of regional, State, local, and tribal governments are being addressed
adequately by the Initiative.
(d)
(1)Not less frequently than once every 3 fiscal years, the
Advisory Committee shall submit to the President and the Council a report on
its assessment under subsection (c) and its recommendations for ways to improve
the Initiative.
(2)The first report under this subsection shall be
submitted not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(3)The Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy shall transmit a copy of each report under this subsection to
Congress.
(e)Travel Expenses
of Non-Federal MembersNon-Federal members of the Advisory
Committee, while attending meetings of the Advisory Committee or while
otherwise serving at the request of the head of the Advisory Committee away
from their homes or regular places of business, may be allowed travel expenses,
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of
title 5, United States Code, for individuals in the Government serving without
pay. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit members of the
Advisory Committee who are officers or employees of the United States from
being allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in
accordance with existing law.
(f)Section 14 of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory
Committee.
5.National water
research and development strategic plan
(a)The Council, with the assistance of the Coordination
Office, shall develop, within 12 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, and update every 3 years thereafter, a 5-year National Water Research and
Development Strategic Plan to guide the activities of the Initiative described
under section 2(b).
(b)The
Strategic Plan shall specify near-term and long-term goals for the Initiative,
the anticipated timeframe for achieving the near-term goals, and the metrics to
be used for assessing progress toward the goals.
(c)The
Strategic Plan shall prioritize the research and development activities in
section 2(b) related to the enhancement of reliable and clean water supply
systems.
(d)The
Strategic Plan shall describe how the Initiative will—
(1)coordinate and
reduce nonbeneficial duplication of multiagency activities of the
Initiative;
(2)foster the
transfer of research and development results into new technologies and
applications for the benefit of society, including through cooperation and
collaborations with regional, State, local, and tribal governments conducting
water-related research and development and other water-related
activities;
(3)encourage and
support mechanisms for interdisciplinary research and development in water
availability and water quality technology;
(4)address long-term
challenges of regional importance for which solutions require large-scale,
long-term, interdisciplinary research and development;
(5)place emphasis on
innovative projects having the potential for substantial societal and
ecological returns on the research investment;
(6)strengthen all
levels of water research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, and
education and training programs to ensure an adequate, well-trained workforce;
and
(7)attract more women
and underrepresented minorities to pursue postsecondary degrees in
water-related research and development.
(e)In
developing the Strategic Plan, the Council shall take into consideration the
recommendations of the—
(1)Advisory
Committee; and
(2)stakeholders whose
input was solicited by the Coordination Office through the public comment
period and the workshop convened for that purpose.
(f)The Director of the Office of Science and Technology
Policy shall transmit to the Advisory Committee and Congress the Strategic
Plan.
6.In this Act:
(1)The term
Advisory Committee means the National Water Research Initiative
Advisory Committee established by section 4(a).
(2)The term Annual
Report means the Annual National Water Research Report established by
section 2(d).
(3)The term
Coordination Office means the National Water Research Coordination
Office established by section 3(a).
(4)The term Council means the
National Science and Technology Council, or an appropriate subgroup designated
by the National Science and Technology Council under section 2(c).
(5)The term Initiative means the
National Water Research and Development Initiative established by section
2.
(6)Institution of
higher educationThe term
institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in
section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(7)Minority serving
institutionsThe term
minority serving institutions means institutions that are eligible
institutions under section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1067q(a)).
(8)The term Strategic
Plan means the National Water Research and Development Strategic Plan
established by section 5.