Bill > HR1261

This bill amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to expand financial assistance opportunities for states to undertake water quality improvement projects. Specifically, the bill allows states to include water quality improvement initiatives in their comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plans and enables the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance for water quality projects. These projects must focus on improving, restoring, remediating, or developing natural hydrological systems like wetlands, marshes, living shorelines, and near-shore estuarine waters, with the goal of reducing nutrient loads. The bill requires states to identify impaired bodies of water based on existing EPA water quality control plans and limits funding to new projects that have not already been completed or fully funded. The Secretary must consult with the EPA Administrator and cannot use this authorization to expand federal authority over non-navigable waters or to regulate water quality project conduct. The amendments are designed to support environmental restoration efforts at the state level by providing additional funding mechanisms through the existing LWCF framework.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1261/all-info