[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1485 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1485

  To provide for the advancement of energy-water efficiency research, 
                development, and deployment activities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 2, 2015

  Ms. Baldwin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the advancement of energy-water efficiency research, 
                development, and deployment activities.

    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 ``Water Efficiency Innovation Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
            (2) Industrial assessment center.--The term ``Industrial 
        Assessment Center'' means a center located at an institution of 
        higher education that--
                    (A) receives funding from the Department;
                    (B) provides an in-depth assessment of small- and 
                medium-sized manufacturer plant sites to evaluate the 
                facilities, services, and manufacturing operations of 
                the plant sites; and
                    (C) identifies opportunities for potential savings 
                for small- and medium-sized manufacturer plant sites 
                from energy efficiency improvements, waste 
                minimization, pollution prevention, and productivity 
                improvement.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 3. LEVERAGING EXISTING AGENCY PROGRAMS TO ADVANCE ENERGY-WATER 
              EFFICIENCY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) through the Industrial Assessment Centers of the 
        Department, the Department provides technical assistance to 
        facilitate efficiency improvements at small- and medium-sized 
        manufacturers while training engineering students for energy 
        careers;
            (2) the efficiency improvements described in paragraph (1) 
        reduce energy demand, help manufacturers operate more 
        competitively, and catalyze the use of new technologies and 
        best practices;
            (3) water and wastewater treatment are energy-intensive 
        processes, and opportunities for efficiency upgrades can be 
        limited by technical expertise, particularly at small 
        utilities; and
            (4) through the Industrial Assessment Centers of the 
        Department, the Department has recently engaged with the 
        Environmental Protection Agency in a pilot effort to target 
        energy efficiency in water and wastewater treatment facilities.
    (b) Expansion of Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall expand 
the Industrial Assessment Centers of the Department, working across 
Federal agencies as necessary--
            (1) to provide comparable assessment services to water and 
        wastewater treatment facilities, including systems that treat 
        municipal, industrial, and agricultural waste; and
            (2) to equip the Directors of the Industrial Assessment 
        Centers with the training and tools necessary to provide 
        technical assistance on energy savings to those facilities.

SEC. 4. FUNDING.

    The Secretary shall carry out this Act using unobligated funds of 
the Department.
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