Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2025
A BILL
To establish a trust fund to provide for adequate funding for water and sewer infrastructure, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund
Establishment—
In general— Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:
“9512. Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund
“(a) Creation of trust fund—There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the “Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund” (referred to in this section as the “Trust Fund”), consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to such Trust Fund as provided in this section or section 9602(b).
“(b) Transfers to fund
“(1) In general—There are hereby appropriated to the Trust Fund such amounts as the Secretary from time to time estimates are equal to the increase in Federal revenues attributable to the amendment made by section 2(b) of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2025.
“(2) Limitation—The sum of the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) during any fiscal year shall not exceed the larger of—
“(A) $35,000,000,000, and
“(B) one-twentieth of the sum of—
“(i) the 20-year need identified in the most recent assessment conducted by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with section 1452(h) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–2(h)), plus
“(ii) the 20-year need identified in the most recent needs survey submitted by the Administrator pursuant to sections 205(a), 516, and 609 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1285(a), 1375, 1389).
“(c) Expenditures—Amounts in the Trust Fund are available, without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, for the purposes described in section 2(c) of the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Act of 2025.”
Clerical amendment— The table of parts for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 9511 the following new item:
Increase in corporate tax rate—
In general— Section 11(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking “21” and inserting “24.5”.
Effective date— The amendment made by this subsection shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.
Allocation of funds— The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Labor shall allocate, for a fiscal year, the funds available, at the beginning of such fiscal year, in the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability Trust Fund, established by section 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as follows:
Clean water programs— Of such amount, the Administrator shall make available—
0.5 percent for making grants under section 104(b)(8) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
1.5 percent for making grants under section 106 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1256);
2.5 percent for making grants under section 226 of such Act;
2.5 percent for making grants under section 319 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1329); and
42 percent for making capitalization grants under section 601 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1381).
Safe drinking water funding— Of such amount, the Administrator shall make available—
0.5 percent for providing technical assistance under section 1442(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–1(e));
42 percent for making capitalization grants under section 1452 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12);
3 percent for making grants under section 1465 of such Act; and
0.5 percent for making grants under section 1456 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–16) and for making grants under section 307 of the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996 (33 U.S.C. 1281 note).
Household water well systems— Of such amount, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make available 1 percent for making grants under section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e).
Colonias— Of such amount, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make available 0.5 percent for making grants under section 306C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926c) described in subsection (c) of such section.
Indian health services— Of such amount, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service, shall make available 3 percent for making grants for the planning, design, construction, modernization, improvement, and renovation of water, sewer, and solid waste sanitation facilities that are funded, in whole or part, by the Indian Health Service—
through, or provided for in, a contract or compact with the Indian Health Service under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.);
pursuant to section 7 of the Act of August 5, 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2004a); or
pursuant to section 302 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1632).
Water operators job training grants— Of such amount, the Secretary of Labor shall make available 0.5 percent for providing job training grants under section 414(f) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1988.
Prohibition— None of the funds allocated pursuant to subsection (c) may be used for any activity described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 203(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 433(a)).
Sec. 3 Report on affordability, discrimination and civil rights violations, public participation in regionalization, and data collection
Study—
In general— The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall conduct a study on water and sewer services, in accordance with this subsection.
Affordability— In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall study water affordability nationwide, including—
rates for water and sewer services, increases in such rates during the ten-year period preceding such study, and water service disconnections due to unpaid water service charges; and
the effectiveness of funding under section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act and under section 601 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for promoting affordable, equitable, transparent, and reliable water and sewer service.
Discrimination and civil rights— In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator, in collaboration with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, shall study—
discriminatory practices of water and sewer service providers;
discriminatory practices of State program administrators in allocating funding; and
violations by such service providers and program administrators that receive Federal assistance of civil rights under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with regard to equal access to water and sewer services.
Public participation in regionalization— In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall evaluate efforts to regionalize public water systems, as defined in section 1401(4) of the Safe Water Drinking Act (42 U.S.C. 300f(4)), and sewer services with respect to public participation in—
the decision to undergo such regionalization; and
decision making by the board of directors (or other governing body) of the entity that provides, or oversees or coordinates the provision of, water by the public water systems subject to such regionalization.
Data collection— In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall collect information, assess the availability of information, and evaluate the methodologies used to collect information, related to—
people living without water or sewer services;
water service disconnections due to unpaid water service charges, including disconnections experienced by households containing children, elderly persons, disabled persons, chronically ill persons, or other vulnerable populations;
tax liens and foreclosures due to unpaid water service charges; and
disparate effects, on the basis of race, gender, or socioeconomic status, of water service disconnections, tax liens and foreclosures due to unpaid water service charges, and the lack of public water service.
Report— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall submit to Congress a report that contains—
the results of the study conducted under subsection (a)(1); and
recommendations for utility companies, Federal agencies, and States relating to such results.
Sec. 4 Household water well systems
Section 306E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e(d)) is amended by striking “$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023” and inserting “$348,500,000 for each fiscal year”.
Sec. 5 State water pollution control revolving funds
Specific requirements— Section 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended—
in paragraph (2), by striking “will be made to the State with funds to be made available” and inserting “were made to the State with funds made available for fiscal year 2021”;
in paragraph (13), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(15) the State will not provide financial assistance using amounts from the fund for any project that will provide substantial direct benefits to new communities, lots, or subdivisions, other than a project to construct an advanced decentralized wastewater system; and”
Projects and activities eligible for assistance— Section 603(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(c)) is amended—
in paragraph (11)(B), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (12)(B), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(13) to any municipality or intermunicipal, interstate, or State agency for—
“(A) purchasing from a willing or unwilling seller a privately owned treatment works; and
“(B) expenses related to canceling a contract for the operation or management of a publicly owned treatment works.”
Increasing the amount of additional subsidization by the State— Section 603(i)(3)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1383(i)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
“(B) Additional limitation—A State may use not less than 50 percent of the total amount received by the State in capitalization grants under this title for a fiscal year for providing additional subsidization under this subsection.”
Sec. 6 Use of State revolving loan funds under the Safe Drinking Water Act
Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (A), by inserting “publicly owned, operated, and managed” before “community water systems”; and
in subparagraph (E), by striking “The funds under this section shall not be used for the acquisition of real property or interests therein, unless the acquisition is integral to a project authorized by this paragraph and the purchase is from a willing seller.” and inserting “The funds under this section may also be used for purchasing from a willing or unwilling seller a privately owned community water system, or for the expenses related to canceling a contract for the operation or management of a community water system.”; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(6) Exception to public ownership, operation, and management requirement—Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(A), public water systems that regularly serve fewer than 10,000 persons, and which are not owned, operated, or managed by any person who owns, operates, or manages any other public water system, may receive assistance under this section.”
by amending subsection (d)(2) to read as follows:
“(2) Total amount of subsidies—To the extent that there are sufficient applications for loans to communities described in paragraph (1), of the amount of the capitalization grant received by a State in a fiscal year, the total amount of loan subsidies made by the State in the fiscal year pursuant to paragraph (1) may not be less than 50 percent.”
in subsection (e), by striking “to be made to the State” and inserting “that was made to the State in fiscal year 2021”;
in subsection (g)(3)—
in paragraph (B), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
“(D) guidance to ensure affordable, equitable, transparent and reliable water service provision, to provide protections for households facing service disconnection due to unpaid water service charges, and to promote universal equal access to water services.”
in subsection (k)(1), by adding at the end the following:
“(E) Provide assistance in the form of a grant to a publicly owned, operated, and managed community water system, for the purpose of replacing a lead service line (as defined in section 1459B) on private or public property with a copper service line that is lead-free (as defined in section 1417(d)) at no cost to the owner of the property.
“(F) Provide assistance to a publicly owned, operated, and managed community water system for the purpose of updating treatment plants or switching water sources due to contamination from a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance that contains at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.
“(G) Provide assistance in the form of a grant to owners of a household water well that has been contaminated by a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance that contains at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom, for the purpose of purchasing and installing a household filtration system.”
Sec. 7 Drinking water grant programs
School drinking water improvement— Section 1465 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–25) is amended—
in the section heading, by striking “fountain” and inserting “infrastructure”;
in subsection (a), by striking “fountains manufactured prior to 1988” and inserting “infrastructure”;
by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
“(b) Use of funds—Funds awarded under the grant program may be used to pay costs associated with—
“(1) installing, repairing, or replacing the infrastructure necessary to ensure that drinking water fountains, drinking water coolers, and bottle filling stations at schools are lead free; and
“(2) monitoring and reporting of lead levels in the drinking water of schools, as determined appropriate by the Administrator.”
in subsection (d)—
by striking “$5,000,000” and inserting “$1,050,000,000”; and
by striking “2021” and inserting “2027”.
Tribal drinking water— Section 1452(i)(1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(i)(1)) is amended, in the first sentence—
by striking “1½” and inserting “Three”; and
by striking “may” and inserting “shall”.
Sec. 8 Labor provisions
Prevailing rate of wage— Nothing in this Act shall affect the applicability of the requirements relating to labor standards of sections 513 and 602(b)(6) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1372, 1382(b)(6)) and section 1450(e) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–9(e)) to projects carried out under those Acts.
Project labor agreements—
Clean water revolving funds— Section 602(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1382(b)), as amended by section 7, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
“(16) the State will—
“(A) permit recipients of assistance under this title to enter into agreements authorized under section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (commonly known as “project labor agreements”) with respect to projects for building or construction carried out with such assistance; and
“(B) ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, recipients of assistance under this title carry out such projects through the use of such agreements.”
Drinking water revolving funds— Section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12) is amended—
in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
“(7) Project labor agreements—Each agreement under this subsection shall require that the State permit recipients of assistance under this section to enter into agreements authorized under section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (commonly known as “project labor agreements”) with respect to projects for building or construction carried out with such assistance.”
in subsection (b)(3)(A)—
in clause (ii), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(iv) with respect to projects for building or construction, will be carried out through the use of agreements authorized under section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act.”
Sec. 9 Water operator jobs training grants
Section 414 of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(f) Water operator jobs training grants
“(1) In general—Not later than the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Labor shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to provide job training (including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships) and related activities, which are coordinated with the public workforce investment system, for workers to assist such workers in obtaining or upgrading employment in the drinking water, wastewater (including stormwater), and related sectors.
“(2) Uses of funds—Funds under this section may be used to provide jobs training services (including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships) and related activities that are designed to assist workers (including unemployed and employed workers) in gaining the skills and competencies needed to obtain or upgrade employment positions in the drinking water, wastewater (including stormwater), and related sectors.
“(3) Prioritization of funding—Notwithstanding any other provision of law and to the extent that there are sufficient applications for this purpose, at least 50 percent of the funds awarded to eligible entities under this subsection shall be used to carry out the job training services (including pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships) and related activities described in paragraph (2)—
“(A) for low- and very low-income persons residing within the geographical boundaries of the geographical area to be served by such services and activities, which shall include high-poverty, high-unemployment ZIP Codes;
“(B) for low- and very low-income persons residing within the metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan county to be served by such services and activities;
“(C) for low- and very low-income persons residing in a metropolitan area or nonmetropolitan county with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and indigenous communities, that experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects than another such area or county; or
“(D) for members of labor unions or worker organizations representing the individuals described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
“(4) No match required—The Secretary of Labor may not require the provision of specified levels of a matching share of cash or noncash resources from resources other than the funds provided under this section for projects funded under this section.
“(5) Performance accountability—The Secretary of Labor shall require grantees to report on the employment outcomes obtained by workers receiving training under this section using indicators of performance that are consistent with other indicators used for employment and training programs administered by the Secretary, such as entry into employment, retention in employment, and increases in earnings. The Secretary of Labor may also require grantees to participate in evaluations of projects carried out under this section.
“(6) Definitions—In this section:
“(A) The term apprenticeship means an apprenticeship registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the “National Apprenticeship Act”; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.).
“(B) The term eligible entity may include any of the following:
“(i) One or more local governments.
“(ii) One or more State governments.
“(iii) One or more nonprofit organizations.
“(iv) One or more community-based organizations.
“(v) One or more labor unions.
“(vi) One or more joint labor-management partnerships.
“(vii) One or more worker organizations representing the individuals described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (3).
“(viii) One or more education and training providers, including community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a Hispanic-serving institution, a Tribal College or University, and other minority-serving institutions listed in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)).
“(ix) One or more local boards or State boards (as such terms are defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)).
“(x) One or more Native American Tribal governments to provide job training programs for publicly owned community water systems (as defined in section 1401(15) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f(15))) and publicly owned treatment works (as defined in section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)).
“(C) The terms low-income person and very low-income person have the same meanings given the terms low-income families and very low-income families, respectively, in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
“(D) The term labor union means a labor organization (as defined in section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(5))), and an organization representing public sector employees.”
Sec. 10 Drinking water assistance to colonias
Section 1456 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–16) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:
“(2) Covered entity—The term covered entity means each of the following:
“(A) A border State.
“(B) A local government with jurisdiction over an eligible community.”
in subsection (b), by striking “border State” and inserting “covered entity”;
by striking subsection (d);
by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (d); and
in subsection (d), as so redesignated—
by striking “$25,000,000” and inserting “$100,000,000”; and
by striking “1997 through 1999” and inserting “2025 through 2029”.