In response to the President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request and the EPA’s FY 2026 Budget in Brief, NEIWPCC recently sent a letter to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate voicing concern about potential impacts to state and interstate Clean Water Act (CWA) programs.
The proposed budgets contain significant cuts to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) as well as several additional grants. In addition to funding drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater improvements, the SRF programs also provide states with flexibility to fund projects with direct water quality benefits including nonpoint source, estuary programs, and the implementation of watershed plans that will improve water quality.
Under the President and EPA’s proposals, funding to all states for the combined CWSRF and DWSRF would be reduced by 87%. Most constituents in the Northeast have benefited from the water infrastructure projects that these appropriations have helped build, and there is much work left to do to keep New England and New York waters clean and safe for drinking and recreating. If these cuts are approved, significant water resource impacts will occur in the communities with wastewater and drinking water infrastructure needs.
The proposed elimination of State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG), particularly Clean Water Act (CWA) Sec. 106, 319, and 604(b), would also have profound effects on interstate, state, and other water programs across the country. These grants currently support essential water quality programs including permitting, compliance, enforcement, monitoring, nonpoint source pollution control, and watershed planning.
NEIWPCC’s letter outlines the variety of ways in which the funds are used to implement the CWA, including training and licensing more than 2,800 wastewater treatment plant operators in fiscal year 2024 alone. It also explains how the loss of these critical funds will detrimentally impact public health, the environment, and growing economies.