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Water Infrastructure Improvement Act

Public Law 115-436 · H.R. 7279 · 115th Congress · began in the House

Signed by Donald Trump (R) on Jan 14, 2019 · Environmental Protection

Sponsor: Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH-7)

Cosponsors (6): Rep. Grace Napolitano,

Passage votesYeaNay

  • HouseRecorded vote: 351 yea, 10 nay351–10
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Water Infrastructure Improvement Act

(Sec. 3) 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, such as requirements relating to combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer collection systems, and total maximum daily loads. A plan that is incorporated into a permit may include the implementation of green infrastructure and projects to reclaim, recycle, or reuse water. Green infrastructure includes measures that mimic natural processes to store, reuse, or reduce stormwater.

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.

A municipality under an administrative order or settlement agreement may request a modification of the order or settlement based on the municipality's integrated plan.

The EPA must report on each integrated plan developed and implemented through a permit, order, or judicial consent decree since June 5, 2012, including a description of the control measures, levels of control, estimated costs, and compliance schedules for the requirements implemented through such a plan.

(Sec. 4) 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 (2) information to the EPA to ensure that agency policies are implemented by all EPA offices.

(Sec. 5) The EPA must promote the use of green infrastructure.

Who voted for it

Every House member of the 115th Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 351 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.

351 yea10 nay71 present or did not vote

ProEstablishmentAnti
Economic left–right
More liberalMore conservative

Democrats who voted yea(165)

Republicans who voted yea(186)

Data notes

The House’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 1148 in Voteview), matched to the vote the record cites and checked against its totals. Positions are each member’s DW-NOMINATE score for that Congress, as on the Ideology page; left to right is more liberal to more conservative. Paired and announced yea votes count as yea. Lists follow the compass, most liberal first. A name links to a profile only for members of the current Congress. A law passed by voice vote or unanimous consent has no member list, and neither does a vote Voteview has not yet recorded.

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Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Related bills

3 bills the Library of Congress relates to this one.

  • H.R. 1971Related bill

    Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act

  • H.R. 2355Related bill

    Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act

  • S. 692Related bill

    Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act

Data notes

Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 16 actions.

  1. Jan 14, 2019Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 115-436.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Jan 2, 2019FloorFloor · Presented to President.
  4. Dec 22, 2018FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
  5. FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  6. Dec 20, 2018CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
  7. Dec 19, 2018FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  8. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by recorded vote (2/3 required): 351 - 10 (Roll no. 441).House roll call 441
  9. FloorFloor · Considered as unfinished business.
  10. FloorFloor · At the conclusion of debate, the chair put the question on the motion to suspend the rules. Mr. Massie objected to the Yea - Nay vote on the grounds that a quorum was not present. Further proceedings on the motion were postponed. The point of no quorum was considered as withdraw…
  11. FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 7279.
  12. FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
  13. FloorFloor · Mr. Gibbs moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  14. Dec 13, 2018CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
  15. Dec 12, 2018CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  16. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes

Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.

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Amendments

No amendments to this bill are on record.

Data notes

Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.

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Official record

The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.