ACWA submitted written testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies urging Congress to maintain FY 2026 funding levels for key Clean Water Act programs in FY 2027. The testimony pushes back on the President’s proposed EPA budget, which would cut the agency’s discretionary funding by roughly 52% including eliminating categorical grants that states rely on to run water quality programs and slashing more than $2.5 billion from the State Revolving Funds.
ACWA argues that eliminating these grants wouldn’t free states to manage their own programs — it would effectively convert a cooperative federal-state structure into an unfunded mandate, reducing permit writers, monitoring capacity, and enforcement presence. The letter also calls on Congress to preserve funding for geographic restoration programs like the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. ACWA notes that Congress rejected similar cuts in FY 2026 and urges it to do the same again.
