This CRS In Focus report (8 March 2019) was penned by Elena H. Humphreys: WaterSense Program: Congressional Authorization.
Download CRS_IF_EPA_WaterSense_8March2019
Introduction
WaterSenseis a voluntary labeling program created by the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to encourage the development and use of water-efficient products and services. Through WaterSense, EPA develops water efficiency specifications for products, certain services, and homes; licenses third-party certification bodies; and maintains a registry of WaterSense-labeled products and certified services.
EPA initially established WaterSense in 2006. The 115thCongress authorized and expanded WaterSense inAmerica’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA; P.L. 115-270), Section 4306 (42 U.S.C. §6294b).
WaterSense funding has garnered public and congressionalinterest as a result of the Trump Administration’s proposalsto eliminate program funding for FY2018 and FY2019. In FY2018, EPA funded WaterSense with $3.1 million fromthe agency’s discretionary appropriations. The ConsolidatedAppropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6) included FY2019 appropriations for EPA and other federal agencies: FY2019 funding for WaterSense is the same as the FY2018 enacted level, according to the conference report (H.Rept. 116-9) that accompanied P.L. 116-6. AWIA does not include an authorization of appropriations for WaterSense.
A description of the WaterSense program, authorization, and revisions follows.
Fix a Leak Week is 18-24 March 2019!
Enjoy!
"Any plan conceived in moderation must fail when the circumstances are set in extremes." - Klemens von Metternich (quoted in @FDRLST via @TheWeek)
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