Sponsors (9)
The bill channels federal money and interagency coordination to accelerate San Francisco Bay restoration, but requires local cost‑sharing and foreign‑tie exclusions that may exclude some applicants and create added administrative burdens.
Local, state, and nonprofit organizations can receive federal grants or cooperative agreements to fund San Francisco Bay restoration projects, increasing access to federal restoration dollars.
Federal funds can cover up to 75% of eligible project costs, enabling larger restoration projects and encouraging local buy‑in through a required 25% non‑Federal match.
Federal agencies may use funds via interagency agreements to carry out priority activities, improving coordination and delivery of restoration efforts.
The required minimum 25% non‑Federal match may strain budgets of smaller local governments and community groups, limiting their ability to participate.
Compliance checks on foreign‑ties and match requirements will increase administrative burden for applicants and for EPA program staff, raising costs and slowing grant processing.
Entities with ties to listed 'foreign countries of concern' are barred from receiving funds, which could exclude some nonprofits or firms and reduce the applicant pool.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands how San Francisco Bay restoration projects may be funded, sets a 75% federal / 25% non‑federal cost share, and bars certain non‑federal recipients with ties to defined foreign countries of concern.
Official title: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act with respect to San Francisco Bay restoration, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 14, 2025 by Jared Huffman · Last progress February 14, 2025
Authorizes the Director to fund projects on the San Francisco Bay restoration annual priority list through a range of mechanisms (cooperative agreements, grants, interagency agreements, contracts, or other mechanisms) to federal, state, local, special district, public, nonprofit, and other public or private entities, including the Estuary Partnership. Sets cost‑share rules (federal share up to 75%, non‑federal at least 25%), bars certain non‑federal recipients tied to a defined “foreign country of concern,” and clarifies that interagency agreement funds to federal agencies can be used to carry out specified program activities. The change updates program implementation authority and funding conditions for the San Francisco Bay restoration grant program, expanding payment mechanisms and tightening eligibility by excluding entities with specified foreign-country ties while preserving federal cost-share limits and allowing federal agency participation via interagency agreements.