LCBP Enhancements Act of 2026

Summary

Changes how the Lake Champlain Basin Program chooses and oversees its fiscal agent, adding regular assessments, stakeholder input, and transition rules to keep program work continuous. It also authorizes the U.S. Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to carry out and support fisheries, invasive species, and public engagement work in Lake Champlain and parts of the Saint Lawrence River basin, and updates related definitions.

• Establishes a defined, recurring fiscal-agent selection and assessment process for the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
• Requires joint selection of the fiscal agent by the Program Steering Committee and the EPA Administrator.
• Mandates fiscal-agent evaluations at least every five years, with stakeholder input and a 90-day post-assessment report to Congress.
• Allows EPA to award funds directly to the selected fiscal agent without competition until a new agent is chosen.
• Permits de-obligation and re-obligation of unobligated/unexpended funds to a newly selected fiscal agent to maintain program continuity.
• Authorizes the U.S. Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to work in Lake Champlain and parts of the Saint Lawrence River basin on fisheries and invasive-species activities.
• Adds statutory definitions for "fiscal agent" and "Steering Committee" and updates subsection designations.
• Does not itself create an appropriation but changes program administration and eligible actors for funded work.