Sec. 2009. WaterSense program
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/bill/115/hr/3275/ih/section-2009·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
There is established within the Environmental Protection Agency a WaterSense program to identify and promote water-efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services so as— to reduce water use; to reduce the strain on water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure; to conserve energy used to pump, heat, transport, and treat water; and to preserve water resources for future generations through voluntary labeling of, or other forms of communications about, products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services that meet the highest water efficiency and performance criteria.
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall— establish— a WaterSense label to be used for certain items; and the procedure by which an item may be certified to display the WaterSense label; promote WaterSense-labeled products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services in the marketplace as the preferred technologies and services for— reducing water use; and ensuring product and service performance; work to enhance public awareness of the WaterSense label through public outreach, education, and other means; preserve the integrity of the WaterSense label by— establishing and maintaining performance criteria so that products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled with the WaterSense label perform as well or better than less water-efficient counterparts; considering factors, when developing the performance criteria, to ensure that the criteria do not directly or indirectly contribute to the degradation of waste streams treated by community sewer systems; overseeing WaterSense certifications made by third parties; conducting reviews of the use of the WaterSense label in the marketplace and taking corrective action in any case in which misuse of the label is identified; and carrying out such other measures as the Administrator determines to be appropriate; regularly review and, if appropriate, update WaterSense criteria for categories of products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services, at least once every 4 years; to the maximum extent practicable, regularly estimate and make available to the public the production and relative market shares of, and the savings of, water, energy, and capital costs of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure attributable to the use of WaterSense-labeled products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services, at least annually; solicit comments from interested parties and the public prior to establishing or revising a WaterSense category, specification, installation criterion, or other criterion (or prior to effective dates for any such category, specification, installation criterion, or other criterion); provide reasonable notice to interested parties and the public of any changes (including effective dates) on the adoption of a new or revised category, specification, installation criterion, or other criterion, along with— an explanation of the changes; and as appropriate, responses to comments submitted by interested parties and the public; and provide appropriate lead time (as determined by the Administrator) prior to the applicable effective date for a new or significant revision to a category, specification, installation criterion, or other criterion, taking into account the timing requirements of the manufacturing, marketing, training, and distribution process for the specific product, building and landscape, or service category addressed; identify and, if appropriate, implement other voluntary approaches in commercial, institutional, residential, industrial, and municipal sectors to encourage recycling and reuse technologies to improve water efficiency or lower water use; and if appropriate, apply the WaterSense label to water-using products that are labeled by the Energy Star program implemented by the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2021.