Sponsors (3)
The bill directs substantial, indexed funding and faster planning to close long‑standing rural and tribal drinking‑water gaps in North Dakota, but increases federal spending and creates allocation, predictability, and permitting risks that could delay or shift benefits.
Rural and tribal residents in North Dakota (including Spirit Lake, Fort Berthold, Standing Rock, Turtle Mountain) receive dedicated, capped funding to build and complete water treatment and distribution systems, improving drinking water access and addressing long‑standing infrastructure gaps.
Local governments, utilities, and project sponsors get funded to finish final engineering reports within two years, accelerating project planning so construction can proceed sooner.
Authorizations are indexed to engineering cost indices, helping preserve the buying power of appropriations against construction cost inflation so allocated dollars go farther on actual project costs.
Taxpayers fund over $1 billion in new authorizations, increasing federal spending and potentially widening deficits or requiring trade-offs in other federal priorities.
Allowed transfers among projects could divert funds away from locally prioritized work, delaying or downsizing water projects for some rural and tribal communities.
Indexing funding to engineering cost indices can reduce predictability of federal payments and complicate local planning and budgeting if indices fluctuate.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes indexed federal funding and allocations for specific North Dakota water projects and tribal rural water systems, allows limited transfers, and requires final engineering reports within two years.
Introduced March 10, 2026 by John Hoeven · Last progress March 10, 2026
Authorizes additional, indexed federal funding for several named North Dakota water infrastructure projects and for rural and tribal water systems, sets rules for how those sums can be shifted among projects, and requires final engineering reports for major projects within two years of enactment. It also adjusts a cross-reference in existing water law and updates certain indexing and availability rules for prior authorized amounts.