Summary

Authorizes $500,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by amending the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The change adds a new subclause to permit that level of annual authorization; it does not itself appropriate the money but sets the authorized funding level for future appropriations. The amendment also makes minor punctuation edits to existing statutory subclauses to accommodate the new insertion. Implementation would rely on EPA and federal grant programs to distribute funds to projects, states, tribes, and local partners if and when Congress provides appropriations at those levels.

Key Points

• Authorizes $500 million per year for FY2027–FY2031 for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
• Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act by inserting a new subclause that sets the authorization level.
• The change is an authorization, not an appropriation — actual funding requires future appropriations acts.
• Applies for five fiscal years (2027–2031), totaling up to $2.5 billion in authorized funding.
• Implementation would be carried out by EPA and flow through grants/contracts to states, tribes, local governments, nonprofits, and other partners.
• No new program eligibility rules or administrative requirements are created by this amendment.
• Only minor editorial/punctuation edits are made to adjacent statutory language to enable insertion of the new subclause.
• Does not include emergency spending designations, tax changes, or unrelated policy riders.

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