GRANTS FOR WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PROGRAMS

[SEC. 5.] SEC. 7. (a) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1957, and for each succeeding fiscal year to and including the fiscal year ending June 30, 1961, $3,000,000, and for each succeeding fiscal year to and including the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, $5,000,000, for grants to States and to interstate agencies to assist them in meeting the costs of establishing and maintaining adequate measures for the prevention and control of water pollution.

(b) The portion of the sums appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) for a fiscal year which shall be available for grants to interstate agencies and the portion thereof which shall be available for grants to States shall be specified in the Act appropriating such sums.

(c) From the sums available therefor for any fiscal year the Secretary shall from time to time make allotments to the several States, in accordance with regulations, on the basis of (1) the population, (2) the extent of the water pollution problem, and (3) the financial need of the respective States.

(d) From each State's allotment under subsection (c) for any fiscal year the Secretary shall pay to such State an amount equal to its Federal share (as determined under subsection (h)) of the cost of carrying out its State plan approved under subsection (f), including the cost of training personnel for State and local water pollution control work and including the cost of administering the State plan.

(e) From the sums available therefor for any fiscal year the Secretary shall from time to time make allotments to interstate agencies, in accordance with regulations, on such basis as the Secretary finds reasonable and equitable. He shall from time to time pay to each such agency, from its allotment, an amount equal to such portion of the cost of carrying out its plan approved under subsection (f) as may be determined in accordance with regulations, including the cost of training personnel for water pollution control work and including the

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cost of administering the interstate agency's plan. The regulations. relating to the portion of the cost of carrying out the interstate agency's plan which shall be borne by the United States shall be designed to place such agencies, so far as practicable, on a basis similar to that of the States.

(f) The Secretary shall approve any plan for the prevention and control of water pollution which is submitted by the State water pollution control agency, or, in the case of an interstate agency, by such agency, if such plan—

(1) provides for administration or for the supervision of ad

ministration of the plan by the State water pollution control agency or, in the case of a plan submitted by an interstate agency, by such interstate agency;

(2) provides that such agency will make such reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may from time to time reasonably require to carry out his functions under this Act;

(3) sets forth the plans, policies, and methods to be followed in carrying out the State (or interstate) plan and in its administration;

(4) provides for extension or improvement of the State or interstate program for prevention and control of water pollution;

(5) provides such accounting, budgeting, and other fiscal methods and procedures as are necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the plan; and

(6) sets forth the criteria used by the State in determining priority of projects as provided in section [6 (b) (4)] 8 (b) (4). The Secretary shall not disapprove any plan without first giving reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the State water pollution control agency or interstate agency which has submitted such plan.

(g) (1) Whenever the Secretary, after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to a State water pollution control agency or interstate agency finds that—

(A) the plan submitted by such agency and approved under this section has been so changed that it no longer complies with a requirement of subsection (f) of this section; or

(B) in the administration of the plan there is a failure to comply substantially with such a requirement.

the Secretary shall notify such agency that no further payments will be made to the State or to the interstate agency, as the case may be, under this section (or in his discretion that further payments will not be made to the State, or to the interstate agency, for projects under or parts of the plan affected by such failure) until he is satisfied that there will no longer be any such failure. Until he is so satisfied, the Secretary shall make no further payments to such State, or to such interstate agency, as the case may be, under this section (or shall limit payments to projects under or parts of the plan in which there is no such failure).

(2) If any State or any interstate agency is dissatisfied with the Secretary's action with respect to it under this subsection, it may appeal to the United States court of appeals for the circuit in which such State (or any of the member States, in the case of an interstate agency) is located. The summons and notice of appeal may be served at any place in the United States. The findings of fact by

the Secretary, unless contrary to the weight of the evidence, shall [p. 24]

be conclusive; but the court, for good cause shown, may remand the case to the Secretary to take further evidence, and the Secretary may thereupon make new or modified findings of fact and may modify his previous action. Such new or modified findings of fact shall likewise be conclusive unless contrary to the weight of the evidence. The court shall have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the Secretary or to set it aside, in whole or in part. The judgment of the court shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court of the United States upon certiorari or certification as provided in title 28, United States Code, section 1254.

(h) (1) The "Federal share" for any State shall be 100 per centum less than percentage which bears the same ratio to 50 per centum as the per capita income of such State bears to the per capita income of the United States, except that (A) the Federal share shall in no case be more than 66% per centum or less than 33 per centum, and (B) the Federal share for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands shall be 663 per centum.

(2) The "Federal shares" shall be promulgated by the Secretary between July 1 and September 30 of each even-numbered year, on the basis of the average of the per capita incomes of the States and of the continental United States for the three most recent consecutive years for which satisfactory data are available from the Department of Commerce. Such promulgation shall be conclusive for each of the two fiscal years in the period beginning July 1 next succeeding such promulgation: Provided, That the Federal shares promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to section 4 of the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1956, shall be conclusive for the period beginning July 1, 1956, and ending June 30, 1959.

(3) As used in this subsection, the term "United States" means the fifty States and the District of Columbia.

(4) Promulgations made before satisfactory data are available from the Department of Commerce for a full year on the per capita income of Alaska shall prescribe a Federal share for Alaska of 50 per centum and, for purposes of such promulgations, Alaska shall not be included as part of the "United States." Promulgations made thereafter but before per capita income data for Alaska for a full three-year period are available for the Department of Commerce shall be based on satisfactory data available therefrom for Alaska for such one full year or, when such data are available for a two-year period, for such two years.

(i) The population of the several States shall be determined on the

basis of the latest figures furnished by the Department of Commerce. (j) The method of computing and paying amounts pursuant to subsection (d) or (e) shall be as follows:

(1) The Secretary shall, prior to the beginning of each calendar quarter or other period prescribed by him, estimate the amount to be paid to each State (or to each interstate agency in the case of subsection (e)) under the provisions of such subsection for such period, such estimate to be based on such records of the State (or the interstate agency) and information furnished by it, and such other investigation, as the Secretary may find necessary.

(2) The Secretary shall pay to the State (or to the interstate agency), from the allotment available therefor, the amount so estimated by him for any period, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any sum (not previously adjusted under this paragraph) by

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which he finds that his estimate of the amount to be paid such State (or such interstate agency) for any prior period under such subsection was greater or less than the amount which should have been paid to such State (or such agency) for such prior period under such subsection. Such payments shall be made through the disbursing facilities of the Treasury Department, in such installments as the Secretary may determine.

GRANTS FOR CONSTRUCTION

[SEC. 6.] SEC. 8. (a) The Secretary is authorized to make grants to any State, municipality, or intermunicipal or interstate agency for the construction of necessary treatment works to prevent the discharge of untreated or inadequately treated sewage or other waste into any waters and for the purpose of reports, plans, and specifications in connection therewith.

(b) Federal grants under this section shall be subject to the following limitations: (1) No grant shall be made for any project pursuant to this section unless such project shall have been approved by the appropriate State water pollution control agency or agencies and by the Secretary and unless such project is included in a comprehensive program developed pursuant to this Act; (2) except as otherwise provided in this clause, no grant shall be made for any project in an amount exceeding 30 per centum of the estimated reasonable cost thereof as determined by the Secretary, or in an amount exceeding [$600,000,] $1,000,000, whichever is the smaller: Provided, That the grantee agrees to pay the remaining cost: Provided further, That, in the case of a project which will serve more than one municipality (A) the Secretary shall, on such basis as he determines to be reasonable

and equitable, allocate to each municipality to be served by such project its share of the estimated reasonable cost of such project, and shall then apply the limitations provided in this clause (2) to each such share as if it were a separate project to determine the maximum amount of any grant which could be made under this section with respect to each such share, and the total of all the amounts so determined or [$2,400,000,] $4,000,000, whichever is the smaller, shall be the maximum amount of the grant which may be made under this section on account of such project, and (B) for the purpose of the limitation in the last sentence of subsection (d), the share of each municipality so determined shall be regarded as a grant for the construction of treatment works; (3) no grant shall be made for any project under this section until the applicant has made provision satisfactory to the Secretary for assuring proper and efficient operation and maintenance of the treatment works after completion of the construction thereof; (4) no grant shall be made for any project under this section unless such project is in conformity with the State water pollution control plan submitted pursuant to the provisions of [section 5] section 7 and has been certified by the State water pollution control agency as entitled to priority over other eligible projects on the basis of financial as well as water pollution control needs; and (5) no grant shall be made under this section for any project in any State in an amount exceeding $250,000 until a grant has been made thereunder for each project in such State (A) for which an application was filed with the appropriate State water pollution control agency prior to one year after the date of enactment of this clause and (B) which the Secretary determines met the requirements of this section and regula

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tions thereunder as in effect prior to the date of enactment of this clause.

(c) In determining the desirability of projects for treatment works. and of approving Federal financial aid in connection therewith, consideration shall be given by the Secretary to the public benefits to be derived by the construction and the propriety of Federal aid in such construction, the relation of the ultimate cost of constructing and maintaining the works to the public interest and to the public necessity for the works, and the adequacy of the provisions made or proposed by the applicant for such Federal financial aid for assuring proper and efficient operation and maintenance of the treatment works after completion of the construction thereof. The sums appropriated pursuant to subsection (d) for any fiscal year shall be allotted by the Secretary from time to time, in accordance with regulations, as follows: (1) 50 per ceentum of such sums in the ratio that the popula