S1888

An Act establishing a grant program in the Department of Environmental Protection to facilitate the development and promotion of innovative drinking water supply and wastewater infrastructure projects, and making an appropriation.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Clean Water Innovation Challenge Act.”

2. a. There is established in the Department of Environmental Protection a two-year program to provide grants for the development and promotion of innovative drinking water supply and wastewater infrastructure projects that would improve the quality and functioning of the State’s publicly-owned drinking water supply and wastewater systems.

The program shall provide grants to individuals, businesses, business incubation facilities, not-for-profit corporations, and public and private institutions of higher education to develop and promote innovative technology that may be used as pilot or demonstration projects at publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater systems throughout the State to improve the quality and functioning of those systems. An upgrade or improvement to existing infrastructure shall not qualify for a grant pursuant to this act unless it is part of a pilot or demonstration project implementing an innovative new technology.

Innovative technologies and the pilot or demonstration projects developed pursuant to this program shall: improve the delivery of safe, clean water; improve overall water flow; improve water purification processes; aid in water conservation efforts; improve system infrastructure; or otherwise assist publicly-owned drinking water supply and wastewater facilities, as applicable, with better, affordable, and cleaner methods to clean, conserve, and deliver water.

b. The department shall:

(1) develop this program in consultation with the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust, established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-4), the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology established pursuant to P.L.1999, c.400 (C.13:1D-134 et seq.), and any other entities or individual experts the department deems appropriate to assist in the development and promotion of new and emerging technologies to improve the quality, infrastructure, or overall operations of the State’s drinking water supply or wastewater systems;

(2) solicit proposals for innovative technologies that may be used by a publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater system to improve the quality, infrastructure, or overall operations

of the system;

(3) issue guidelines or procedures for the submittal of proposals for funding, and criteria for the evaluation of such proposals for funding;

(4) notify all publicly-owned drinking water supply and wastewater systems of this program and any solicitation for a proposal for innovative technology, and provide an opportunity for publicly-owned drinking water supply and wastewater systems to identify to the department any particular issues they may have and suggestions for solicitations for proposals;

(5) facilitate the coordination of interested publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater systems, as appropriate, with grant recipients for the implementation of the innovative technology;

(6) establish guidelines or procedures for the use of any proposal at a publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater system, and measures to evaluate the efficacy of the proposal and its suitability for use on drinking water supply or wastewater systems, as appropriate, throughout the State;

(7) publicize on its Internet website, and through any other appropriate means, the application procedures for the submittal of proposals and the awarding of grants pursuant to this act;

(8) require all grant recipients and publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater systems participating in a pilot or demonstration project to report to the department on the implementation of an innovative technology; and

(9) adopt, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), such rules and regulations as may be necessary for implementation of this act.

c. The total amount of grants funded in each year of the program shall not exceed $20,000,000, and the amount of each grant awarded shall be determined by the department based on the proposals for innovative technologies it receives and the number of drinking water supply or wastewater systems at which each innovative technology may be implemented as a pilot or demonstration project.

d. A publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater system participating in a pilot or demonstration project may continue the pilot or demonstration project with a grant recipient after the expiration of the project established, and grant funding provided, pursuant to this section, provided that the department approves of the continuation. If the department determines that the continuation of the pilot or demonstration project is not appropriate, the department shall notify both the publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater system, as applicable, and the grant recipient of its determination and the reasoning therefor.

3. The Department of Environmental Protection shall submit, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a report to the Legislature detailing the program established pursuant to section 2 of this act and including a description of each grant awarded pursuant to this act. The report shall include an evaluation of each project funded and a recommendation as to whether the project is suitable for implementation Statewide. The report may also include recommendations, including any proposals for legislation and other appropriate legislative or regulatory action, to improve the quality, infrastructure, or overall operations of the State’s publicly-owned drinking water supply or wastewater systems.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (3) of subsection a. of section 12 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60), and any other law to the contrary, an amount not to exceed the sum of $20,000,000 from the societal benefits charge collected pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60) shall be appropriated annually to the Department of Environmental Protection for the purpose of providing innovative drinking water supply and wastewater infrastructure grants pursuant to section 2 of this act.

5. There is appropriated an amount not to exceed the sum of $20,000,000 from the societal benefits charge collected pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60) to the Department of Environmental Protection for the purpose of providing innovative drinking water supply and wastewater infrastructure grants pursuant to section 2 of this act.

6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on the first day of the 25th month after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill, to be known as the “Clean Water Innovation Challenge Act,” would establish, in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), a two-year program to provide grants for the development and promotion of innovative drinking water supply and wastewater infrastructure projects that would improve the quality and functioning of the State’s publicly-owned drinking water supply and wastewater systems.

Grants would be made available to individuals, businesses, business incubation facilities, not-for-profit corporations, and public and private institutions of higher education to develop and promote innovative technologies that may be used in pilot or demonstration projects at publicly-owned drinking water supply and wastewater systems, where appropriate, throughout the State to improve the quality and functioning of those systems. An upgrade or improvement to existing infrastructure would not qualify for a grant unless it is part of a pilot or demonstration project implementing an innovative new technology.

The bill would appropriate up to $20 million annually from the societal benefits charge (commonly referred to as the “Clean Energy Fund”) for the purpose of awarding grants pursuant to the bill. The total amount of grants funded in each year of the two-year program would not exceed $20 million, and the amount of each grant awarded would be determined by the DEP based on the proposals for innovative technologies it receives and the number of drinking water supply or wastewater systems at which each innovative technology may be implemented as a pilot or demonstration project.

This bill is a “call to action” to form a public-private partnership to help solve one of the most important environmental problems facing the State, i.e., the decay of its critical infrastructure that provides drinking water and treats wastewater for the health and welfare of the State, its citizens, and the environment. The program is intended to assist publicly-owned drinking water supply and wastewater facilities that are thinking about the future and are looking for better, affordable, and cleaner ways to clean, conserve, and deliver water.