[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3967 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3967
To establish a rural area digital infrastructure technology grant
program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 3, 2026
Mr. Boozman (for himself and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and
Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a rural area digital infrastructure technology grant
program, 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 ``Futureproofing Local Operations for
Water Systems Act of 2026'' or the ``FLOWS Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. RURAL AREA DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Digital infrastructure technology.--The term ``digital
infrastructure technology'' means information technology or
operational technology that utilizes--
(A) remote sensing, flow or pressure monitoring,
real-time monitoring, management, analytics, data, or
acoustic data collection tools and technologies that
may detect or reduce water loss, identify damaged or
nonfunctioning infrastructure, or improve the
efficiency of the operations and asset condition
assessment of a public water system or treatment works;
(B) industrial control systems, including
supervisory control and data acquisition technology;
(C) artificial or embedded intelligence, or other
intelligent optimization tools; and
(D) hydraulic analysis, digital design software,
and advanced digital design and construction management
tools or software that may aid in the development of
digital models and engineering plans.
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) the owner or operator of a publicly owned
public water system or treatment works that serves a
rural area;
(B) a rural area; and
(C) a State or Tribe, on behalf of an entity
described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
(4) Program.--The term ``program'' means the grant program
established under subsection (b)(1).
(5) Public water system.--The term ``public water system''
has the meaning given the term in section 1401 of the Safe
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f).
(6) Rural area.--The term ``rural area'' has the meaning
given the term in section 609(a) of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c(a)).
(7) Treatment works.--The term ``treatment works'' has the
meaning given the term in section 212 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292).
(b) Grant Program.--
(1) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish a
grant program to provide infrastructure assistance to eligible
entities in accordance with this subsection.
(2) Form of grants.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Administrator may award a grant under the program to
assist an eligible entity in--
(i) designing, constructing, operating, and
maintaining digital infrastructure technology
for water infrastructure, source water
protection, and water development projects in
rural areas, including for--
(I) facilities that supply,
collect, and treat water, including
drinking water, wastewater, and
stormwater, including through
desalination and water reuse;
(II) water distribution or
wastewater conveyance systems; and
(III) the protection or development
of surface water or groundwater
resources, including through banking or
recharging of aquifers;
(ii) providing training and workforce
development activities to help project and
construction managers and owners and operators
of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater
utilities manage water infrastructure projects
using digital infrastructure technology; and
(iii) mitigating risks and employing
countermeasures to reduce the vulnerabilities
of digital infrastructure technology for water
infrastructure from cyber-attacks through on-
site cybersecurity training and technical
assistance.
(B) Acquisition and maintenance of software.--With
respect to digital infrastructure technology that is
software and notwithstanding any other provision of
law, including the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C.
300f), the recipient of a grant under the program may
use grant funds for the initial acquisition and ongoing
maintenance costs of that software.
(3) Prioritization.--In selecting recipients of grants
under the program, the Administrator shall give priority to
eligible entities that--
(A) own or operate public water systems or
treatment works that serve fewer than 3,300 people; and
(B) serve people or comprise people that, as
determined by the Administrator, are most in need, such
as--
(i) pre-fabricated home community
organizations or associations that are
controlled by a local public body; and
(ii) other organizations that--
(I) own or operate a public water
system or treatment works; and
(II) are owned or controlled by
members of the community served by the
public water system or treatment works,
as opposed to investor-owned.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out the
program $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031,
to remain available until expended.
(c) Applicability of Other Federal and State Laws.--Nothing in this
Act waives, limits, or otherwise affects the applicability of any
provision of Federal or State law that would apply to a project to be
carried out with grants provided under the program.
(d) Digital Transformation Study.--Not later than 5 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study to determine the impact of adopting
digital infrastructure technology in water infrastructure projects in
rural areas, including--
(1) identification of--
(A) water loss and inadequate fire flow capacity in
public water systems that serve rural areas;
(B) potential bottlenecks in combined sewer systems
that serve rural areas that could prevent an overflow
in a wastewater infrastructure system caused by extreme
precipitation or excess runoff; and
(C) models and simulations that are effective in
assessing the challenges of water resource management
in rural areas; and
(2) recommendations for--
(A) developing water resource management plans to
accommodate population growth in rural areas;
(B) prioritizing areas for improvement of the
infrastructure and operations of public water systems
and treatment works in rural areas;
(C) maximizing interoperability of digital
infrastructure technology with other systems, products,
tools, and applications;
(D) reducing project delays and cost overruns in
projects that serve rural areas;
(E) reducing the total cost of drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure projects in rural areas;
(F) understanding the impact of digital
infrastructure technology in rural areas on
sustainability and resiliency of a public water system
or treatment works; and
(G) using digital infrastructure technology to
increase the affordability of drinking water,
wastewater, and stormwater services in rural areas.
(e) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2030, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a
report describing--
(1) the results of the study under subsection (d); and
(2) the results of the program.
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