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H.R. 1971: Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act

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H.R. 1971: Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-04-06 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-04-06 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-16] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act

Plain summary

Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to allow municipalities to develop a plan that integrates wastewater and stormwater management. A permit for a municipal discharge under the national pollutant discharge elimination system that incorporates an integrated plan may integrate all requirements under the Act addressed in the plan. Those permits may include a schedule of compliance that allows actions for meeting water quality-based effluent limitations to be implemented over more than one permit term if the compliance schedules are authorized by state water quality standards. Those actions may include implementing green infrastructure as part of a water quality-based effluent limitation. (Green infrastructure includes measures that mimic natural processes to store, reuse, or reduce stormwater.) The bill establishes an Office of the Municipal Ombudsman in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide: (1) technical assistance to municipalities seeking to comply with the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, and (2) information to the EPA to ensure that agency policies are implemented by all EPA offices. The EPA must ensure that specified EPA offices promote the integration of green infrastructure into permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance. The bill establishes requirements for revising the EPA's 1997 guidance about combined sewer overflows, including by setting forth criteria for determining the ability of households to pay utility bills. (Combined sewer systems collect rainwater, sewage, and industrial wastewater into one pipe. During storms, the combined wastewater sometimes exceeds the capacity of the treatment plant. When this occurs, combined sewer overflows discharge directly into water bodies.)

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-16] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Robert E. Latta (R-OH)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-16] reported raising $1.9 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr1971 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115