Sponsors
The bill expands federal grant support for natural-hydrology-based waterbody restoration and eases state matching requirements, but narrows eligible methods, excludes reimbursement for completed projects, and increases federal spending.
State and local governments can receive new federal grants to restore impaired waterbodies (identified under CWA §303(d)), with emphasis on natural hydrological approaches that can improve ecosystem services and reduce nutrient pollution in local and rural communities.
State governments and project sponsors can count state funds toward the non‑Federal cost‑share for eligible water‑quality projects, lowering the local match burden and making projects more feasible to fund and complete.
State and local governments may be limited in their restoration options because the grant program is narrowly focused on natural hydrological methods, potentially excluding other effective restoration techniques for some impaired waters.
Taxpayers could face higher federal spending to support the new grant authority, increasing federal outlays for water‑quality projects.
Local governments and project sponsors cannot receive federal reimbursement for projects already completed or fully funded, which may discourage retroactive support for urgent past work or leave prior investments unsupported.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 12, 2025 by Brian Jeffrey Mast · Last progress February 12, 2025
Adds water-quality planning and grant authority to the Land and Water Conservation Fund statute. States must list waters the Clean Water Act identifies as impaired and any proposed water-quality restoration projects in their statewide recreation plans, and the Department of the Interior may fund eligible restoration projects and count some LWCF allocations toward the non‑Federal cost share. Defines eligible “water quality projects” (restoration projects in state 303(d) plans that restore impaired waterbodies) and limits funding to projects that restore natural hydrological features (wetlands, marshes, living shorelines, near‑shore estuarine waters, etc.). It requires consultation with the EPA Administrator, forbids reimbursement for already completed or fully funded projects, and clarifies this does not expand federal authority over nonnavigable waters or create new regulatory power over project conduct. The Act also establishes a short title for the law.