,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #djci  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #be1 #bjai,mr4 
,levin of ,california 7for himself1 ,mr4
 ,vargas1 ,mrs4 ,davis of ,california1  
and ,mr4 ,peters7 introduced the        
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,transportation and   
,infrastructure1 and in addition to the 
,committees on ,energy and ,commerce1   
and ,foreign ,affairs1 for a period to  
be subsequently determined by the       
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to require the              
,administrator of the ,environmental    
,protection ,agency to carry out a      
program to fund water infrastructure    
projects near the ,united               
,states-,mexico border1 and for other   
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,border ,water      
,infrastructure ,improvement ,act4  #b4 
,u4,s4-,mexico ,border ,water           

,infrastructure ,program  7a7           
,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7    
,administrator ,the term ,administrator 
means the ,administrator of the         
,environmental ,protection ,agency4     
7#b7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible
 entity means a ,state1 local           
government1 ,indian ,tribe1 or water or 
wastewater district1 with jurisdiction  
over any area in the ,united ,states or 
,mexico that is located within #ajj     
kilometers of the ,united               
,states-,mexico border4  7#c7 ,eligible 
project  7,a7 ,in general ,the term     
eligible project means a project for the
 construction of a drinking water       
treatment or distribution facility1 or a
 wastewater management facility1 that-- 
7i7 addresses an existing human health  
or ecological issue2  7ii7 has an effect
 in the ,united ,states2  7iii7 with    
respect to a wastewater management      
facility the water discharged from which
 will flow1 directly or indirectly1 into
 the ,united ,states1 is designed to    

meet relevant water quality standards in
 the ,united ,states1 including any such
 standards established under the        
,federal ,water ,pollution ,control     
,act2  7iv7 is proposed by an eligible  
entity with legal authority to develop  
the project1 provide the proposed       
drinking water or wastewater services1  
and obtain necessary financing2  7v7    
will comply with relevant ,state and    
local environmental and other laws and  
regulations1 including with respect to  
obtaining any necessary operating       
permits and licenses and complying with 
any other regulatory requirements       
related to land acquisition and         
rights-of-way2 and  7vi7 has the support
 of appropriate ,federal and ,state     
agencies1 including the ,comision       
,nacional de ,agua 7also known as       
,,conagua or the ,mexican ,national     
,water ,commission7 and any appropriate 
,state water utility1 if located in     
,mexico4  7,b7 ,exclusions ,the term    
eligible project does not include a     

project-- 7i7 for water supply2  7ii7   
that threatens ecosystems located in the
 ,united ,states1 or that are located in
 both the ,united ,states and ,mexico1  
if the project causes reductions in the 
flow of water2 or  7iii7 to provide     
drinking water or wastewater services to
 new development4  7b7 ,in general ,the 
,administrator shall carry out a program
 to provide assistance to eligible      
entities for activities related to      
eligible projects1 including feasibility
 studies1 planning studies1             
environmental assessments1 financial    
analyses1 community participation       
efforts1 and architectural1 engineering1
 planning1 design1 and construction     
activities4  7c7 ,consultation ,in      
carrying out subsection 7b71 the        
,administrator shall consult with the   
,north ,american ,development ,bank4    
7d7 ,project selection  7#a7 ,in general
 ,in carrying out subsection 7b71 the   
,administrator shall select projects to 
receive assistance under the program in 

accordance with paragraph 7#b7 and any  
other criteria determined appropriate by
 the ,administrator4  7#b7              
,prioritization ,in carrying out        
subsection 7b71 the ,administrator shall
 prioritize projects that-- 7,a7 are    
likely to have the greatest positive    
effects relating to the environment1    
public health1 or responding to unmet   
water supply needs2  7,b7 will result in
 benefits on both sides of the ,united  
,states-,mexico border2 and  7,c7       
address the most urgent public health   
and environmental needs1 as determined  
by the heads of the ,regional offices   
for ,regions #f and #i of the           
,environmental ,protection ,agency4  7e7
 ,terms and conditions ,the             
,administrator may set such terms and   
conditions on assistance provided under 
this section as the ,administrator      
determines appropriate4  7f7 ,cost share
  7#a7 ,requirement for certain projects
 ,the ,federal share of the cost of an  
eligible project located in ,mexico     

shall be #ej percent4  7#b7 ,exemption  
,during the #e-year period beginning on 
the date of enactment of this section1  
the ,administrator may waive the        
requirement of paragraph 7#a7 if the    
,administrator1 in consultation with the
 ,secretary of ,defense and the         
,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 finds
 that the project will reduce negative  
health effects on ,federal law          
enforcement or ,department of ,defense  
personnel4  7g7 ,funding  7#a7          
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to the
 ,administrator to carry out this       
section #aej1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal 
years #bjbj through #bjbd4  7#b7        
,regional allocations ,the amounts made 
available to carry out this section     
shall be made available in equal amounts
 for use by the ,regional offices for   
,regions #f and #i of the ,environmental
 ,protection ,agency4