The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (the “Administrator”) may transfer amounts made available under the heading “Environmental Protection Agency—State and Tribal Assistance Grants” in the USMCA Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019 (title IX of
[Public Law 116–113]) to the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (the “Commission”), by entering into an interagency agreement or by awarding a grant, to support the construction of treatment works (as that term is defined in
section 1292(2) of title 33), that will be owned or operated by the Commission:
Provided, That the Commission shall, in consultation with the Administrator and subject to the requirements of sections 1372 and 1388 of title 33, use amounts transferred pursuant to this section for general, administrative, or other costs (including construction management) related to the planning, study, design, and construction, of treatment works that, as determined by the Commissioner of the Commission, will—
(1)
protect residents in the United States-Mexico border region from water pollution resulting from—
(A)
transboundary flows of wastewater, stormwater, or other international transboundary water flows originating in Mexico; and
(B)
any inadequacies or breakdowns of treatment works in Mexico; and
(2)
provide treatment of the flows and water pollution described in subparagraph (A) in compliance with local, State, and Federal law: Provided, That the Commission may also use amounts transferred pursuant to this section to operate and maintain any new treatment work constructed, which shall be in addition to any amounts otherwise available to the Commission for such purposes.