Sponsors (9)
Introduced February 14, 2025 by Jared Huffman · Last progress February 14, 2025
The bill expands federal support for San Francisco Bay restoration and encourages local and private investment, but does so by requiring cost‑sharing and imposing eligibility restrictions that may exclude smaller organizations and shift costs to local communities.
Local and state governments, nonprofits, and other partners can receive federal grants and contracts to fund prioritized San Francisco Bay restoration projects, increasing available funding for regional restoration work.
Non‑Federal recipients (local/state governments and nonprofits) will leverage additional non‑Federal investment because grants are capped at 75% per year and require at least a 25% non‑Federal cost share, encouraging local buy‑in and diversified funding sources.
Federal agencies and employees can participate directly in restoration work because agencies may be reimbursed through interagency agreements to carry out program activities.
Smaller local governments and nonprofits with limited budgets may be unable to meet the required 25% non‑Federal match and could be excluded from receiving federal funding, leaving some community-led projects unfunded.
Requiring additional non‑Federal funding shifts more project costs onto local taxpayers or private donors, increasing the financial burden on communities that benefit from restoration.
The 75% federal funding cap could slow or reduce the scope of some projects that rely on larger federal shares to proceed quickly, delaying restoration outcomes and infrastructure improvements.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows the Program to fund San Francisco Bay restoration projects via grants, agreements, and contracts with up to 75% federal funding per year, requires a 25% non‑federal match, and bars recipients tied to certain foreign countries.
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to change how the San Francisco Bay Restoration Program can fund projects. The Director may use grants, cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, contracts, or other mechanisms to fund federal, state, local, special districts, public or nonprofit agencies, and private entities; federal funding is limited to 75% of a project’s cost per fiscal year and non‑Federal partners must provide at least a 25% match. Recipients with ties to a listed “foreign country of concern” are barred, and federal agencies can receive support through interagency agreements.