Sponsors (2)
The bill expands federal funding eligibility so rural and local governments can repair aging Carey Act dams and improve water supply and safety, but it risks diverting limited infrastructure dollars, increasing federal costs for taxpayers, and introducing administrative uncertainty for project recipients.
Rural communities and local/state governments gain eligibility to receive federal funds to rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace aging Carey Act dams, improving local water supply, flood protection, and reducing public-safety risks from deteriorating dam infrastructure.
State and local governments can access additional federal resources to finish critical dam projects once the bill’s prioritized dams receive required funding, helping move stalled or incomplete projects toward completion.
Taxpayers and other infrastructure priorities could lose out because using limited Section 40901(2)(B) funds for Carey Act dams may divert federal infrastructure dollars away from other projects or regions.
Taxpayers could face higher federal costs if expanded eligibility results in more funded dam projects without corresponding budget offsets.
Local and state beneficiaries may face uncertainty or delays because access to funds for Carey Act dams is contingent on affirmative determinations by the Secretary, adding an administrative hurdle.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced April 2, 2025 by James Risch · Last progress April 2, 2025
Allows the Secretary to use certain Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds to pay for rehabilitation, reconstruction, or replacement of dams developed and operating under the Carey Act, subject to two conditions: (1) that dams meeting the primary eligibility criteria have already received the funding needed to finish their projects under the existing program, and (2) that the specific pot of funds remains available. The change also reorganizes some statutory formatting and numbering but does not create new appropriations.