Summary#
This bill is the "Water Resources Development Act of 2026." It updates many authorities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill: authorizes specific Corps projects for navigation, flood risk management, ecosystem restoration, and coastal storm risk reduction; directs many feasibility studies and requires the Corps to speed up or resume certain studies and reports; changes procedures for project review, real estate, and non-Federal contributions; and sets or extends authorizations for many drinking water and clean water programs at the EPA. It also adds or changes many project- and region-specific items, such as environmental infrastructure grants, deauthorizations or conveyances of some Corps project areas, pilot programs, and new reporting or briefing requirements to Congress.
What it means for you#
- The Corps of Engineers will carry out or study many water projects across the country (navigation channels, dams, shorelines, levees, flood risk projects, and ecosystem work).
- The Environmental Protection Agency programs for drinking water and clean water get updated funding authorizations and new grant or pilot programs (for example, digital infrastructure technology grants and point-of-use filtration pilots).
- The bill asks agency leaders to provide schedules, briefings, and reports to congressional committees about project status, leases, dredging, and other activities.
Expenses#
The bill includes many specific funding authorizations and project cost figures. Examples included in the text:
- Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds: authorized amounts of $3,750,000,000 for FY2027; $4,000,000,000 for FY2028; $4,250,000,000 for FY2029; and $4,500,000,000 for FY2030 (sec. 2102).
- Clean Water State Revolving Funds: authorization of $3,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030 (sec. 2205, reauthorization language).
- Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: $475,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030 (sec. 2301).
- Many individual environmental infrastructure grants and project authorizations appear in section 219 and other sections. For example, Rhode Island assistance of $71,000,000 (sec. 1301(b)(665)), Willamette Valley assistance of $33,000,000 (sec. 1301(b)(664)), and dozens of other named community amounts.
- Several pilot programs and accounts have smaller authorizations, such as $15,000,000 for the digital infrastructure technology grant program over FY2027–2030 (sec. 2109), $10,000,000 for a point-of-use filtration pilot (sec. 2110), and $10,000,000 per year for water cyber and security work (sec. 2401).
This summary lists major examples but does not include every dollar or project authorization in the bill. The bill text contains many more project-specific cost figures and funding authorizations.
Proponents' View#
The bill text includes several "sense of Congress" statements and findings. Those statements note that Corps studies help identify solutions to water problems, that navigation and certain waterways are important for economic activity, and that expediting studies and improving coordination can improve project delivery. The bill also directs agencies to speed up studies, provide briefings, and use existing authorities to support project delivery and habitat or infrastructure restoration.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information.