Sec. 202. Drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services assistance needs-based program

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In this section: The term environmentally at-risk household means such a household, as defined by the Secretary after consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, considering factors such as— the proximity of the household to an environmentally hazardous site, including a Superfund site or coal ash site (as such sites are defined by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Administration), or brownfield site (as defined in section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9601 )); whether the household is in an area that is affected by a consent decree relating to compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ( 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); whether the household is in an area that has been found to be in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) maximum contaminant level for any contaminant; and whether the household is located within 5 miles of a pollution hotspot.

The term household means any individual or group of individuals who are living together as 1 economic unit. The term low-income household means a household— in which one or more individuals are receiving— assistance under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); payments under the supplemental security income program established under title XVI of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); or payments under— section 1315, 1521, 1541, or 1542 of title 38, United States Code; or section 306 of the Veterans’ and Survivors’ Pension Improvement Act of 1978 ( 38 U.S.C. 1521 note;

Public Law 95–588 ); or that, subject to subsection (f), has an income that, as determined by the State in which the household is located, does not exceed the greater of— an amount equal to 150 percent of the poverty level (as defined in section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 ( 42 U.S.C. 8622 )) for that State; and an amount equal to 60 percent of the median income for that State. The term pollution hotspot means a location where pollution from specific sources may expose an individual or community to an elevated risk of adverse health and safety effects, as determined by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 )). The term water burden means the expenditures of a household for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services, divided by the income of the household.

The term water crisis means weather-related and supply shortage emergencies, stormwater flooding, and other household water-related emergencies, relating to drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater services. The Secretary is authorized to make grants, in accordance with the provisions of this section, to States to assist low-income households (particularly those with the lowest incomes relative to State poverty levels and median incomes, that pay a high proportion of household income for home drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services), including environmentally at-risk households that are also low-income households, primarily in meeting their immediate home drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater service needs.

The Secretary shall make the grants in the amounts of the allotments made under paragraph (2). Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a rule to establish a formula under which the Secretary shall make allotments to States, from the amount authorized under subsection

(h)for a fiscal year, for the grants described in paragraph (1). The Secretary shall issue the rule after consultation with States, local and Tribal governments, community stakeholders, and other appropriate entities, in order to develop a formula that allots grant funds based on need to States. After the expiration of the first fiscal year for which a State receives funds under this section, no funds shall be allotted to such State for any fiscal year under this section unless such State conducts public hearings with respect to the proposed use and distribution of funds to be provided under this section for such fiscal year. Each State desiring to receive an allotment for any fiscal year under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary. Each such application shall be in such form as the Secretary shall require. As part of the annual application of a State required by paragraph (1), the chief executive officer of the State shall certify that the State agrees— to use the funds available under this section— to conduct outreach activities and provide assistance to low-income households and environmentally at-risk households that are also low-income households in meeting their home drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater service costs, particularly those households with the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater service; to intervene in water crisis situations; to provide cost-effective water efficiency-related and other water needs-related home repair; to plan, develop, and administer the State’s program under this section, including leveraging programs; to develop technical assistance plans in coordination with parties, agencies, or governments referred to in subsection (d)(6) or program beneficiaries; to prioritize applicants for subgrants or contracts that include program beneficiaries in design and implementation of the program; and but not more than 5 percent of such funds, to support community engagement in the design and implementation of the program; not to use such funds for any purposes other than those specified in this section; to make payments under this section only with respect to— low-income households; and environmentally at-risk households that are also low-income households; to conduct outreach activities and develop materials (in a language understandable to targeted households) designed to assure that eligible households (especially households with children, elderly individuals, or individuals with disabilities) and households with high water burdens, are made aware of the assistance available under this section, and any similar water-related assistance; to coordinate its activities under this section with similar and related programs administered by the Federal Government and such State, particularly water-related programs for low-income individuals; to provide, in a timely manner, that the highest level of assistance will be furnished to those households which have the lowest incomes and the highest costs or needs for home drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater services in relation to income, taking into account family size; to the extent it is necessary, to designate local administrative agencies or Tribal governments in order to carry out the objectives of this section; and to the extent it is necessary, to deliver services specified in the application through community-based nonprofit entities in such State, by awarding subgrants to, or entering into contracts with, such entities for the purpose of providing such services and payments under this section directly to households eligible for assistance under this section. As part of the annual application required by paragraph (1), the chief executive officer of the State shall include, in such format as the Secretary may require, a plan which— describes the eligibility requirements to be used by the State for each type of assistance to be provided under this section; describes the benefit levels to be used by the State for each type of assistance including assistance to be provided for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater service needs; contains estimates of the amount of funds the State will use for each of the programs under such plan; describes water efficiency-related and other water needs-related home repair the State will provide under subsection (d)(6), including any steps the State will take to address the water efficiency-related home repair needs of households that have high water burdens; in the absence of being able to directly measure and quantify water use at the household level, provide a reasonable, unified approach such as using a fixed consumption level for calculating assistance for household drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater service costs; and identifies the types of assistance, such as types described in subsection (d), that may be included in the program of assistance carried out by the State under this section. A State that receives a grant under this section may use the grant funds to provide, through a State program required in subsection

(b)a type of assistance that may include— direct financial assistance; a lifeline rate; bill discounting; assistance under special hardship provisions; assistance through a percentage-of-income payment plan; or water efficiency-related and water needs-related home repair, including direct installation of water-efficient fixtures and leak repair, which may be completed by a third party under a subgrant or contract awarded by the State or by a local administrative agency or Tribal government designated by the State. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, assistance provided to a low-income household or an environmentally at-risk household that is also a low-income household under a program carried out by the State, a local administrative agency, Tribal government, or a community-based nonprofit entity (on behalf of households), using a grant under this section shall be exempt from income tax under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. For purposes of this section, a State may adopt an income limit that is lower than the limit described in subsection (a)(3)(B), except that the State may not exclude a household from eligibility in a fiscal year based solely on household income if that income is less than 110 percent of the poverty level for the State. In addition to meeting any other applicable reporting requirements, as a condition of receiving a grant under this section, a State shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an annual report that summarizes, in a manner determined by the Secretary, the program carried out by the State (including any portions carried out through designation of a local administrative agency or Tribal government or the award of a subgrant or contract to a community-based nonprofit entity) under the grant, including— key features; sources of funding; eligibility criteria; participation rates; the monetary benefit per participant; program costs; the demonstrable impacts of the program on arrearage and service disconnection for households, to the maximum extent practicable; and other relevant information required by the Secretary. The Secretary shall make available to the general public each report submitted under paragraph (1). There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

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