,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #eee #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ecdg ,report ,no4 #aaf-fga1 ,part ,i ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #f1 #bjai,mr4 ,cox of ,california 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,costa1 ,mr4 ,harder of ,california1 and ,mr4 ,huffman7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 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 ,december #ah1 #bjbj,reported from the ,committee on ,natural ,resources with an amendment,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,december #ah1 #bjbj;,committee on ,energy and ,commerce discharged2 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,december #f1 #bjai ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of the ,interior to establish a grant program to close gaps in access to safe drinking water in disadvantaged communities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,disadvantaged ,community ,drinking ,water ,assistance ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 many areas in the ,state of ,california1 particularly in the ,san ,joaquin ,valley region1 are disproportionately impacted by drought because the areas are heavily dependent or completely reliant on groundwater supplies to meet domestic drinking water needs2 and 7#b7 those communities throughout the ,state of ,california have been impacted by the presence of naturally occurring and human-caused constituents including arsenic1 #a1b1c-,trichloropropane 7#a1b1c-,,tcp71 hexavalent chromium1 ,dibromochloropropane 7,,dbcp71 uranium1 and nitrates in local groundwater supplies4 #c4 ,grant program 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of the ,interior shall establish and carry out a grant program to be known as the ,disadvantaged ,community ,drinking ,water ,assistance ,program to provide financial assistance to disadvantaged communities that have experienced a significant decline in quantity or quality of drinking water1 and to obtain or maintain adequate quantities of water that meet the standards set by the ,federal ,safe ,drinking ,water ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjj;f et seq474 ,grants under this section may be provided to communities within a ,reclamation ,state1 as defined by the ,reclamation ,act of #aijb 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #cia7-- 7#a7 that are unable to meet the primary drinking water quality standards under that ,act2 or 7#b7 the local private or public water supply of which has been lost or severely diminished due to drought conditions1 groundwater overdraft conditions1 or climate change conditions4 7b7 ,eligible communities ,grants provided under this section shall be used to benefit communities-- 7#a7 located in a city1 town1 or special district with a population of not more than #fj1jjj of residents2 and 7#b7 that have a median household income of less than #ajj percent of the nonmetropolitan median household income of the ,state in which the community is located4 7c7 ,eligible uses ,grants provided under this section may be used for the following3 7#a7 ,point of use treatment and point of entry systems4 7#b7 ,wellhead treatment and distributed treatment facilities4 7#c7 ,blending systems in compliance with ,state regulations4 7#d7 ,costs related to the consolidation of multiple small rural water systems or a small rural water system with a larger system4 7#e7 ,construction of new water source facilities including wells and connections to existing systems4 7#f7 ,water distribution facilities4 7#g7 ,water capacity fees1 water supply development fees1 water connections fees1 and similar fees that are assessed when a new connection is added to an existing water system as part of a consolidation4 7#h7 ,assistance to households to connect to water facilities4 7#i7 ,emergency water supplies4 7#aj7 ,a combination of activities described in paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#i74 7#aa7 ,application and technical assistance costs associated with the activities described in paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#i74 7d7 ,prioritization ,in determining priorities for funding projects1 the ,secretary of the ,interior shall take into consideration-- 7#a7 communities that are currently operating under a notice of violation for failing to provide potable water that meets primary drinking water standards2 7#b7 whether the applicant has the ability to qualify for alternative funding sources that do not result in water rate increases unable to be absorbed by the residential ratepayers2 7#c7 communities deemed vulnerable to water shortage conditions because the system is located in a critically overdrafted groundwater basin1 and the system has only a single water supply source2 7#d7 rural communities served by individual1 onsite domestic wells that have documented dry well conditions or contaminated well conditions2 and 7#e7 public water systems that desire to consolidate with each other1 or with a larger urban system1 to increase economies-of-scale to reduce cost of service1 and increase the level and quality of water service delivery4 7e7 ,maximum amount ,the amount of a grant provided under this section may be used to fund-- 7#a7 not more than #ajj percent of costs for activities1 including-- 7,a7 technical assistance and other costs associated with application for assistance through the ,disadvantaged ,community ,drinking ,water ,assistance ,program2 7,b7 initial operating costs incurred to start up1 test1 and place into service project facilities and components2 and 7,c7 capital costs of construction or components to ensure such facilities and components are properly operational2 and 7#b7 not more than #be percent of costs for assistance with operation and maintenance costs incurred subsequent to placing the facilities or components into service to ensure service remains efficient and effective4 7f7 ,operation and ,maintenance ,not more than #be percent of funds made available in any fiscal year for grants under this section shall be used for operations and maintenance costs4 ,states may use a ,state circuit riding operations assistance team to identify applicants approved for operations and maintenance assistance4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary of the ,interior to carry out this section #bj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe1 to remain available until expended4 ,december #ah1 #bjbj,reported from the ,committee on ,natural ,resources with an amendment,december #ah1 #bjbj;,committee on ,energy and ,commerce discharged2 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed