1.This Act may be cited as
the Clean Water Affordability Act of
2012
.
2.Sewer overflow
control grantsSection 221 of
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1301) is amended—
(1)by striking subsections (a) through (g) and
inserting the following:
(a)The
Administrator may—
(1)make grants to
States for the purpose of providing grants to local or regional authorities or
a municipality or municipal entity for use in planning, designing, and
constructing treatment works to intercept, transport, control, or treat
municipal combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows; and
(2)make a grant
directly to a local or regional authority or municipality or municipal entity
for the purposes described in paragraph (1).
(b)In
selecting from among municipalities applying for grants under this section, a
State or the Administrator shall give priority to an applicant that is a
financially distressed community, as determined by the applicable State under
subsection (c).
(c)In
determining whether a community is a distressed community for the purposes of
subsection (b), a State shall consider, among other factors, the criteria
described in section 5(b)(2)(A) of the Clean Water Affordability Act.
(d)
(1)The Federal share of the cost of any project or activity
carried out using funds from a grant made under subsection (a) shall be not
less than 75 percent.
(2)The non-Federal share of the cost of any project or
activity carried out using funds from a grant made under subsection (a) may
include—
(A)in any amount,
public and private funds and in-kind services; and
(B)notwithstanding
section 603, financial assistance, including loans, from a State water
pollution control revolving fund.
(e)Administrative
requirements
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), a project that receives grant
assistance under subsection (a) shall be carried out subject to the same
requirements as a project that receives assistance from a State water pollution
control revolving fund established pursuant to title VI.
(2)Determination
of GovernorThe requirement described in paragraph (1) shall not
apply to a project that receives grant assistance under subsection (a) to the
extent that the Governor of the State in which the project is located
determines that a requirement described in title VI is inconsistent with the
purposes of this section.
(f)
(1)For fiscal year 2013, subject to subsection (g), the
Administrator shall use the amounts made available to carry out this section
under subsection (i)(1) to provide grants to municipalities and municipal
entities under subsection (a)(2) in accordance with the priority criteria
described in subsection (b).
(2)Fiscal year
2014 and thereafterFor fiscal year 2014 and each fiscal year
thereafter, subject to subsection (g), the Administrator shall use the amounts
appropriated to carry out this section under subsection (i)(1) to provide
grants to States under subsection (a)(1) in accordance with a formula
that—
(A)shall be
established by the Administrator, after providing notice and an opportunity for
public comment; and
(B)allocates to each
State a proportional share of the amounts based on the total needs of the State
for municipal combined sewer overflow controls and sanitary sewer overflow
controls, as identified in the most recent survey—
(i)conducted under
section 210; and
(ii)included in a
report required under section
516(a).
;
(2)by redesignating
subsections (h) and (i) as subsections (g) and (h), respectively;
(3)in the first
sentence of subsection (h) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)), by striking
2003
and inserting 2013
; and
(4)by adding at the
end the following:
(i)
(1)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section—
(A)$250,000,000 for
fiscal year 2013;
(B)$300,000,000 for
fiscal year 2014;
(C)$350,000,000 for
fiscal year 2015;
(D)$400,000,000 for
fiscal year 2016; and
(E)$500,000,000 for
fiscal year 2017.
(2)Amounts authorized to
be appropriated under paragraph (1) shall remain available until
expended.
.
3.Integrated
permitting process
(a)Section 402(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1342(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (5) the
following:
(6)
(A)Definition of
publicly owned permitteeIn this paragraph, the term
publicly owned permittee means—
(i)a
treatment works (as defined in section 212) that is publicly owned; and
(ii)a municipal
separate storm sewer system referred to in this section.
(B)The Administrator shall establish a comprehensive and
integrated planning approach to the obligations under this section of a
publicly owned permittee—
(i)under which
permit obligations may be implemented according to a schedule that—
(I)accounts for the
financial capability of the publicly owned permittee;
(II)prioritizes
permit obligations according to the most cost-effective and environmentally
beneficial outcomes;
(III)accounts for
the preexisting maintenance, operational, and regulatory obligations of the
publicly owned permittee under this section; and
(IV)enables the
publicly owned permittee to implement innovative approaches to meet those
obligations; and
(ii)that accounts
for changed circumstances in the obligations of the publicly owned permittee,
such as—
(I)new innovative
treatment approaches;
(II)new regulatory
requirements; and
(III)changes in
financial
capability.
.
(b)Section 402(b)(1)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(b)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting before the
semicolon at the end the following: , except that a permit with a term
of more than 5 years but not more than 25 years may be approved if the
permittee has an approved integrated plan established under subsection
(a)(6)
.
4.Combined sewage
overflow long-term control planSection 402(q) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1342(q)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
(4)Combined sewage
overflow long-term control plan
(A)The Administrator shall amend the CSO control policy to
allow a publicly owned treatment work that has an approved long-term control
plan to modify the plan to incorporate green infrastructure and
energy-efficient technologies on a showing that the use of the technologies can
cost-effectively help to meet the terms of the combined sewer overflow
compliance obligations of the treatment work.
(B)The
Administrator shall allow for 30 years to meet compliance obligations under
long-term control plans modified under this
paragraph.
.
5.Environmental
protection agency green infrastructure promotionTitle V of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
section 519 (33 U.S.C. 1251 note) as section 520; and
(2)by inserting after section 518 (33 U.S.C.
1377) the following:
519.Environmental protection agency green
infrastructure promotion
(a)The Administrator shall ensure that the Office of Water,
the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, the Office of Research and
Development, and the Office of Policy of the Environmental Protection Agency
promote the use of green infrastructure in and coordinate the integration of
green infrastructure into permitting programs, planning efforts, research,
technical assistance, and funding guidance.
(b)The
Administrator shall ensure that the Office of Water—
(1)promotes the use
of green infrastructure in the programs of the Environmental Protection Agency;
and
(2)coordinates
efforts to increase the use of green infrastructure with—
(A)other Federal
departments and agencies;
(B)State, tribal,
and local governments; and
(C)the private
sector.
(c)Regional green
infrastructure promotionThe Administrator shall direct each
regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency, as appropriate based on
local factors, to promote and integrate the use of green infrastructure within
the region that includes—
(1)a plan for
monitoring, financing, mapping, and designing the green infrastructure;
(2)outreach and
training regarding green infrastructure implementation for State, tribal, and
local governments, tribal communities, and the private sector; and
(3)the incorporation
of green infrastructure into permitting and other regulatory programs, codes,
and ordinance development, including the requirements under consent decrees and
settlement agreements in enforcement actions.
(d)Green
infrastructure information-SharingThe Administrator shall
promote green infrastructure information-sharing, including through an Internet
website, to share information with, and provide technical assistance to, State,
tribal, and local governments, tribal communities, the private sector, and the
public regarding green infrastructure approaches for—
(1)reducing water
pollution;
(2)protecting water
resources;
(3)complying with
regulatory requirements; and
(4)achieving other
environmental, public health, and community goals.
(e)Green
infrastructure portfolio standardThe Administrator, in
collaboration with State, tribal, and local water resource managers, shall
establish voluntary measurable goals, to be known as the green
infrastructure portfolio standard
, to increase the percentage of annual
water managed by eligible entities that use green
infrastructure.
.
6.Water pollution
control revolving loan funds
(a)Extended
Repayment PeriodSection 603(d)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(d)(1)) is amended—
(1)in subparagraph
(A), by striking 20 years
and inserting the lesser of 30
years or the design life of the project to be financed with the proceeds of the
loan
; and
(2)in subparagraph
(B), by striking not later than 20 years after project
completion
and inserting upon the expiration of the term of the
loan
.
7.
(a)In this section:
(1)The
term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency.
(2)The
term affordability means, with respect to payment of a utility
bill, a measure of whether an individual customer or household can pay the bill
without undue hardship or unreasonable sacrifice in the essential lifestyle or
spending patterns of the individual or household, as determined by the
Administrator.
(3)The term financial capability means the
financial capability of a community to make investments necessary to make water
quality-related improvements, taking into consideration the criteria described
in subsection (b)(2)(A).
(4)The
term guidance means the guidance published by the Administrator
entitled Combined Sewer Overflows—Guidance for Financial Capability
Assessment and Schedule Development
and dated February 1997, as
applicable to combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows.
(b)
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Administrator shall update the guidance to ensure that the evaluations
by the Administrator of financial capability assessment and schedule
development meet the criteria described in paragraph (2).
(2)The
criteria described in this paragraph are that, under the updated
guidance—
(A)in assessing
financial capability of a community—
(i)greater emphasis
should be placed on local economic conditions;
(ii)for regional
systems, consideration should be given to the economic conditions of political
jurisdictions and significant demographic groups within each region;
(iii)prescriptive
formulas for use in calculating financial capability and thresholds for
expenditure should not be considered to be the only indicator of the financial
capability of a community;
(iv)site-specific
local conditions should be taken into consideration in analyzing financial
capability;
(v)a
single measure of financial capability or affordability (such as median
household income) should be viewed in the context of other economic measures,
rather than as a threshold to be achieved; and
(vi)(I)consideration should be
given to the economic outlook of a community, including the potential impact of
program requirements over time, in the development of implementation schedules;
and
(II)the assessment should take into
consideration other essential community investments relating to water quality
improvements;
(B)with respect to
the timing of implementation of water quality-related improvements—
(i)environmental
improvement implementation schedules should be structured to mitigate the
potential adverse impact on distressed populations resulting from the costs of
the improvements; and
(ii)implementation
schedules should reflect local community financial conditions and economic
impacts;
(C)with respect to
implementation of methodologies—
(i)a
determination of local financial capability may be achieved through an
evaluation of an array of factors the relative importance of which may vary
across regions and localities; and
(ii)an
appropriate methodology should give consideration to such various factors as
are appropriate to recognize the prevailing and projected economic concerns in
a community; and
(D)the residential
indicator should be revised to include—
(i)a
consideration of costs imposed upon ratepayers for essential utilities;
(ii)increased
consideration and quantification of local community-imposed costs in regional
systems;
(iii)a
mechanism to assess impacts on communities with disparate economic conditions
throughout the entire service area of a utility;
(iv)a
consideration of the industrial and population trends of a community;
(v)recognition
that—
(I)the median
household income of a service area reflects a numerical median rather than the
distribution of incomes within the service area; and
(II)more
representative methods of determining affordability, such as shelter costs,
essential utility payments, and State and local tax efforts, should be
considered;
(vi)a
consideration of low-income ratepayer percentages; and
(vii)impacts
relating to program delivery, such as water quality infrastructure market
saturation and program management.
(3)The
updated guidance should indicate that, in a case in which a previously approved
long-term control plan or associated enforceable agreement allows for
modification of the plan or terms of the agreement (including financial
capability considerations), and all parties are in agreement that a change is
needed or that the plan or agreement contains a reopener provision to address
changes in the economic or financial status of the community since the
effective date of the plan or agreement, reconsideration and modification of
financial capability determinations and implementation schedules based on the
criteria described in paragraph (2) are appropriate.
(c)Publication and
SubmissionUpon completion of the updating of guidance under
subsection (b), the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register and
submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives
the updated guidance.
(d)Authorization
of AppropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated such
sums as are necessary to carry out this section.