Volume 161, No. 91 covering the 1st Session of the 114th Congress (2015 - 2016) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2015” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S3975-S3976 on June 9, 2015.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2015
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 83, S. 611, and Calendar No. 84, S. 653, en bloc.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bills by title en bloc.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 611) to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize technical assistance to small public water systems, and for other purposes.
A bill (S. 653) to amend the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize grants for and require applied water supply research regarding the water resources research and technology institutes established under that Act.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bills en bloc.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 611) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 611
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 ``Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 (Public Law 104-182) authorized technical assistance for small and rural communities to assist those communities in complying with regulations promulgated pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);
(2) technical assistance and compliance training--
(A) ensures that Federal regulations do not overwhelm the resources of small and rural communities; and
(B) provides small and rural communities lacking technical resources with the necessary skills to improve and protect water resources;
(3) across the United States, more than 90 percent of the community water systems serve a population of less than 10,000 individuals;
(4) small and rural communities have the greatest difficulty providing safe, affordable public drinking water and wastewater services due to limited economies of scale and lack of technical expertise; and
(5) in addition to being the main source of compliance assistance, small and rural water technical assistance has been the main source of emergency response assistance in small and rural communities.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) to assist small and rural communities most effectively, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency should prioritize the types of technical assistance that are most beneficial to those communities, based on input from those communities; and
(2) local support is the key to making Federal assistance initiatives work in small and rural communities to the maximum benefit.
SEC. 4. FUNDING PRIORITIES.
Section 1442(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-1(e)) is amended--
(1) by designating the first through seventh sentences as paragraphs (1) through (7), respectively;
(2) in paragraph (5) (as so designated), by striking ``1997 through 2003'' and inserting ``2015 through 2020''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Nonprofit organizations.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator may use amounts made available to carry out this section to provide grants or cooperative agreements to nonprofit organizations that provide to small public water systems onsite technical assistance, circuit-rider technical assistance programs, multistate, regional technical assistance programs, onsite and regional training, assistance with implementing source water protection plans, and assistance with implementing monitoring plans, rules, regulations, and water security enhancements.
``(B) Preference.--To ensure that technical assistance funding is used in a manner that is most beneficial to the small and rural communities of a State, the Administrator shall give preference under this paragraph to nonprofit organizations that, as determined by the Administrator, are the most qualified and experienced in providing training and technical assistance to small public water systems and that the small community water systems in that State find to be the most beneficial and effective.
``(C) Limitation.--No grant or cooperative agreement provided or otherwise made available under this section may be used for litigation pursuant to section 1449.''.
The bill (S. 653) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 653
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 Resources Research Amendments Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH ACT AMENDMENTS.
(a) Congressional Findings and Declarations.--Section 102 of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10301) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (9) as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively;
(2) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated), by striking
``and'' at the end; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) additional research is required into increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of new and existing treatment works through alternative approaches, including--
``(A) nonstructural alternatives;
``(B) decentralized approaches;
``(C) energy use efficiency;
``(D) water use efficiency; and
``(E) actions to extract energy from wastewater;''.
(b) Clarification of Research Activities.--Section 104(b)(1) of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``water-related phenomena'' and inserting ``water resources''; and
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''.
(c) Compliance Report.--Section 104(c) of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(c) From the'' and inserting the following:
``(c) Grants.--
``(1) In general.--From the''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Report.--Not later than December 31 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, the Committee on the Budget of the Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives a report regarding the compliance of each funding recipient with this subsection for the immediately preceding fiscal year.''.
(d) Evaluation of Water Resources Research Program.--Section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303) is amended by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(e) Evaluation of Water Resources Research Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a careful and detailed evaluation of each institute at least once every 3 years to determine--
``(A) the quality and relevance of the water resources research of the institute;
``(B) the effectiveness of the institute at producing measured results and applied water supply research; and
``(C) whether the effectiveness of the institute as an institution for planning, conducting, and arranging for research warrants continued support under this section.
``(2) Prohibition on further support.--If, as a result of an evaluation under paragraph (1), the Secretary determines that an institute does not qualify for further support under this section, no further grants to the institute may be provided until the qualifications of the institute are reestablished to the satisfaction of the Secretary.''.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 104(f)(1) of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303(f)(1)) is amended by striking ``$12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting ``$7,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2020''.
(f) Additional Appropriations Where Research Focused on Water Problems of Interstate Nature.--Section 104(g)(1) of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10303(g)(1)) is amended in the first sentence by striking
``$6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011'' and inserting ``$1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2020''.
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