§9058b. Funding for water assistance program

(a) In general

In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the "Secretary") for fiscal year 2021, out of any amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $500,000,000, to remain available until expended, for grants to States and Indian Tribes to assist low-income households, particularly those with the lowest incomes, that pay a high proportion of household income for drinking water and wastewater services, by providing funds to owners or operators of public water systems or treatment works to reduce arrearages of and rates charged to such households for such services.

(b) Allotment

The Secretary shall-

(1) allot amounts appropriated in this section to a State or Indian Tribe based on-

(A) the percentage of households in the State, or under the jurisdiction of the Indian Tribe, with income equal or less than 150 percent of the Federal poverty line; and

(B) the percentage of households in the State, or under the jurisdiction of the Indian Tribe, that spend more than 30 percent of monthly income on housing; and

(2) reserve up to 3 percent of the amount appropriated in this section for Indian Tribes and tribal organizations.

(c) Definition

In this section, the term "State" means each of the 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

( Pub. L. 117–2, title II, §2912, Mar. 11, 2021, 135 Stat. 51 .)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section was enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and not as part of the CARES Act which in part comprises this chapter.