Sponsor
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Representative · D-DC
Representative · D-DC
The bill expands and clarifies tribal access to Save Our Seas programs and reduces statutory ambiguity for administrators, at the trade-off of modestly increased competition for limited program funds for state and local applicants.
Indian Tribes are explicitly eligible to apply to or participate in Save Our Seas 2.0 Act programs, increasing tribal governments' access to federal funding and program benefits.
EPA staff, state and local grant administrators, and utilities can apply the law more consistently because a punctuation clarification reduces ambiguity in the statutory text, lowering administrative burden and legal uncertainty.
State and local governments may face modestly increased competition for limited program funds because Indian Tribes are now explicitly eligible, potentially reducing the share available to non-tribal applicants.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Explicitly adds Indian Tribes as eligible applicants under 33 U.S.C. § 4282 and makes two minor punctuation clarifications.
Official title: To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to expand eligibility for certain wastewater infrastructure grants, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 12, 2025 by Eleanor Holmes Norton · Last progress February 12, 2025
Adds Indian Tribes explicitly to the list of eligible applicants under the Save Our Seas Act grant authority at 33 U.S.C. § 4282 and makes two non-substantive punctuation corrections. The change simply clarifies that tribes may apply or participate where that subsection lists eligible applicants; the punctuation edits do not change meaning.