Bill Text
111th Congress (2009-2010)
H.R.4352.IH

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HR 4352 IH

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize additional assistance for projects to construct publicly owned treatment works that serve small and disadvantaged communities, and for other purposes.

December 16, 2009

Mr. MCCARTHY of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize additional assistance for projects to construct publicly owned treatment works that serve small and disadvantaged communities, 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 `Small and Rural Communities Wastewater Infrastructure Act'.

SEC. 2. PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS SERVING SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

Title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) is amended--

(1) by redesignating section 607 as section 608; and

(2) by inserting after section 606 the following:

`SEC. 607. PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS SERVING SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

`(a) Allocation of Funds for Small Treatment Works-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Of the funds received by a State in capitalization grants under this title for a fiscal year--

`(A) not less than 5 percent shall be used to provide assistance to publicly owned treatment works that regularly serve 5,000 or fewer persons, to the extent that there are sufficient applications for such assistance;

`(B) not less than 10 percent shall be used to provide assistance to publicly owned treatment works that regularly serve between 5,001 and 20,000 persons, to the extent that there are sufficient applications for such assistance; and

`(C) not less than 15 percent shall be used to provide assistance to publicly owned treatment works that regularly serve between 20,001 and 50,000 persons, to the extent that there are sufficient applications for such assistance.

`(2) USE OF FUNDS IN OTHER CATEGORIES- If a State is not able to use an amount of funds to provide assistance to publicly owned treatment works in accordance with paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), or (1)(C) because there are not sufficient applications, the State, to the maximum extent practicable, shall use that amount of funds to provide assistance for another purpose specified in paragraph (1).

`(3) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), or (1)(C) shall be construed to limit the amount of funds received by a State in capitalization grants under this title that may be used by the State for the purposes described in that paragraph.

`(b) Preconstruction Assistance for Small Treatment Works-

`(1) AUTHORITY TO MAKE PRELOANS- Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a State may use funds received in capitalization grants under this title for making preloans to eligible recipients in accordance with the requirements of this subsection.

`(2) ELIGIBLE USES OF PRELOANS- A preloan received by an eligible recipient under this subsection may be used for the following costs incurred in connection with an eligible project:

`(A) Project development.

`(B) Environmental studies.

`(C) Legal and administrative expenses.

`(D) Project design.

`(E) Such other costs as the Administrator determines appropriate, as prescribed by regulation.

`(3) INELIGIBLE USE- A preloan received by an eligible recipient under this subsection may not be used for costs related to land acquisition.

`(4) MAXIMUM INDIVIDUAL PRELOAN AMOUNT- The amount of a preloan made under this subsection in connection with an eligible project may not exceed 10 percent of the estimated cost of the project.

`(5) MAXIMUM AGGREGATE PRELOAN AMOUNT- Not to exceed 15 percent of the funds received by a State in capitalization grants under this title for a fiscal year may be used to provide preloans under this subsection.

`(6) REPAYMENT OF PRELOANS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- For purposes of repayment, a preloan made to an eligible recipient in connection with an eligible project shall be treated as part of the principal amount of the primary loan made by the State for the project. Except as provided by subparagraph (B), repayment of preloan amounts shall not be required until payments begin for the primary loan amount and interest on preloan amounts shall not begin to accrue until interest begins to accrue on the primary loan amount.

`(B) DEADLINE FOR PRIMARY LOAN APPLICATION-

`(i) IN GENERAL- If an eligible recipient under this subsection in connection with an eligible project does not apply for a primary loan for the project in the 3-year period beginning on the date of issuance of the preloan, the State may require, at the discretion of the State, repayment of the preloan with interest.

`(ii) EXCEPTIONS- A State shall not impose a penalty under clause (i) on an eligible recipient that receives a preloan for an eligible project, if the State determines that the eligible recipient did not comply with the 3-year deadline established by clause (i) due to--

`(I) a delay in environmental reviews conducted by a Federal or State agency; or

`(II) insufficient funds in the State's water pollution control revolving fund established under this title for the State to make a primary loan for the project.

`(7) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection, the following definitions apply:

`(A) ELIGIBLE PROJECT- The term `eligible project' means a project eligible for assistance under section 603(c)(1) for construction of a public owned treatment works that will regularly serve 50,000 or fewer persons.

`(B) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT- The term `eligible recipient' means a municipality or intermunicipal, interstate, or State agency seeking assistance for an eligible project.

`(C) PRELOAN- The term `preloan' means financial assistance provided by a State from the State's water pollution control revolving loan fund established under this title for an eligible project before approval of a primary loan for the project.

`(D) PRIMARY LOAN- The term `primary loan' means a loan made by a State from the State's water pollution control revolving loan fund under this title for an eligible project after a preloan is made for that project.

`(c) Additional Assistance for Disadvantaged Communities-

`(1) CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION OF DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES- The Governor of a State, after providing an opportunity for public review and comment, may establish criteria to designate disadvantaged communities that--

`(A) have a population of 50,000 persons or fewer; and

`(B) would experience a significant hardship raising the revenue necessary to finance a project eligible for assistance under section 603(c)(1) if assistance is not provided under this subsection.

`(2) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE-

`(A) IN GENERAL- In any case in which a State provides loan assistance to a municipality or intermunicipal, interstate, or State agency for a project under section 603(d), the State may provide additional assistance in connection with the loan if the project is to benefit a disadvantaged community identified by the State using the criteria developed under paragraph (1).

`(B) TYPES OF ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE- Additional assistance under subparagraph (A) shall consist of--

`(i) forgiveness of all or a portion of the principal of the loan;

`(ii) not requiring or reducing interest to be paid in connection with the loan;

`(iii) extending the loan repayment period to not to exceed 30 years; or

`(iv) any combination thereof.'.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION PROCESS REFORM.

(a) In General- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall--

(1) consult with States, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and other Federal agencies providing finance assistance to identify ways to expedite and improve the application and review process for obtaining financing from a State water pollution control revolving loan fund under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); and

(2) take such administrative actions as the Administrator determines appropriate to expedite and improve the process.

(b) Report to Congress- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report that contains recommendations to further expedite and improve the application and review process referred to in subsection (a)(1), including recommendations for any legislative actions that may be needed.

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