[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4220 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4220

 To collect information regarding water access needs across the United 
States, to understand the impacts of the water access gap in each State 
                 and territory, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 1, 2024

   Mr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Heinrich) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To collect information regarding water access needs across the United 
States, to understand the impacts of the water access gap in each State 
                 and territory, and for other purposes.

    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, Sanitation, and Hygiene 
Access Data Collection Act of 2024'' or the ``WASH Access Data 
Collection Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. WATER AND SANITATION NEEDS WORKING GROUP.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' means any 
        Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 
        community, component band, or component reservation 
        individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list 
        published most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act 
        pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 
        Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) each of the 50 States;
                    (B) the District of Columbia; and
                    (C) any territory of the United States.
            (4) Working group.--The term ``Working Group'' means the 
        Water and Sanitation Needs Working Group established under 
        subsection (b).
    (b) Establishment.--For the purposes of improving water access for 
the people of the United States facing water insecurity, preventing 
significant annual economic losses, and helping the Federal Government 
prioritize and plan water infrastructure plans more effectively, not 
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator shall establish a working group, to be known as the 
``Water and Sanitation Needs Working Group''--
            (1) to work with a Federal agency or independently to carry 
        out a survey that will estimate the number and approximate 
        geographic distribution of households in the United States that 
        do not have access to drinking water infrastructure or a means 
        for adequate wastewater treatment; and
            (2) on the basis of the results of the survey carried out 
        under paragraph (1), to prepare a report for Congress that 
        estimates the cost of capital improvements that would be needed 
        to ensure that all households in the United States have access 
        to reliable drinking water and adequate sanitation, subject to 
        the condition that the Working Group will not be required to 
        collect or report personally identifiable information, but can 
        maintain information with respect to drinking water and 
        sanitation needs based on ZIP Code or another appropriate 
        geographic breakdown.
    (c) Chairperson; Membership.--
            (1) Chairperson.--The Administrator shall serve as the 
        chairperson of the Working Group.
            (2) Membership.--The Working Group shall comprise senior 
        representatives from such Federal agencies as the Administrator 
        determines to be appropriate, including--
                    (A) the Department of the Interior, including the 
                Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Reclamation;
                    (B) the Department of Agriculture;
                    (C) the Census Bureau;
                    (D) the Department of Health and Human Services, 
                including the Indian Health Service; and
                    (E) the Department of Housing and Urban 
                Development.
    (d) Duties.--The Working Group shall--
            (1) leverage the expertise of industry, the research 
        community, nongovernmental organizations, and utilities, 
        including through the incorporation of information that could 
        be collected by utilities, circuit riders, and technical 
        assistance providers;
            (2) consult, on a regular basis, with States, units of 
        local government, Indian Tribes, and relevant Federal agencies 
        not included in the membership of the Working Group;
            (3) in carrying out subsection (b)--
                    (A) seek to determine whether the decennial census 
                or another existing survey or data collection effort 
                carried out by the Federal Government presents an 
                efficient opportunity for collecting the information 
                described in paragraph (1) of that subsection;
                    (B) seek to coordinate Federal programs and 
                policies to support the collection and use of the 
                information described in that subsection;
                    (C) develop a methodology for creating the cost 
                estimate required under paragraph (2) of that 
                subsection; and
                    (D) oversee the collection of--
                            (i) the information described in paragraph 
                        (1) of that subsection; and
                            (ii) the information necessary to create 
                        the cost estimate required under paragraph (2) 
                        of that subsection; and
            (4) establish a national, public index for publishing and 
        linking water access data from Federal sources and State, 
        Tribal, and other non-Federal sources that will be accessible 
        online.
    (e) Report on Water and Sanitation Needs.--Not less frequently than 
once every 5 years, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report 
that describes the activities and findings of the Working Group, 
including--
            (1) an explanation of the methodology used by the Working 
        Group to determine drinking water and sanitation needs;
            (2) an estimate of the amount of funds necessary to provide 
        all households with access to reliable drinking water and 
        adequate sanitation; and
            (3) a breakdown by State and, if feasible, congressional 
        district of--
                    (A) drinking water and sanitation needs; and
                    (B) the amount of funding required to address those 
                needs.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator and other necessary Federal agencies 
to collect the information and prepare the reports required under this 
section--
            (1) for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, 
        $10,000,000; and
            (2) for fiscal year 2030 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
        such sums as may be necessary.
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