Official Summaries

Surveilling Effluent Water for Epidemic Response Act or the SEWER Act

This bill provides statutory authority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) program, which detects and monitors pathogens in wastewater. It requires the CDC to expand and intensify the activities of the NWSS, including with respect to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). 

The NWSS provides funding and guidance to public health departments for wastewater surveillance activities. Under the NWSS, health departments and other partners coordinate on wastewater surveillance at sampling sites and share data with the CDC. The NWSS was initially implemented to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and has since expanded to include influenza A, avian influenza A, mpox, and RSV.     

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 766 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 766

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to 
award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities 
to establish, maintain, or improve activities related to the detection 
  and monitoring of infectious diseases through wastewater for public 
  health emergency preparedness and response purposes, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 28, 2025

  Mr. Garcia of California (for himself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to 
award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities 
to establish, maintain, or improve activities related to the detection 
  and monitoring of infectious diseases through wastewater for public 
  health emergency preparedness and response purposes, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Surveilling Effluent Water for 
Epidemic Response Act'' or the ``SEWER Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title XXVIII of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh-31 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 2827. NATIONAL WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM.

    ``(a) National Wastewater Surveillance System.--The Secretary, 
acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, and in coordination with Federal departments and agencies 
and relevant State and local departments and agencies, shall expand, 
intensify, and coordinate the activities of the National Wastewater 
Surveillance System to detect and monitor pathogens in wastewater, such 
as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and 
respiratory syncytial virus.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030, to remain available until expended.''.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in the amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall be construed as requiring a wastewater utility or 
service provider to comply with a request for wastewater surveillance.
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