On July 15, 2026, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously advanced an amended S.4949, the Water Resources Development Act of 2026. The bill continued to include Section 2301, which reauthorized the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) at $475 million annually, with no markup changes to the GLRI provisions reflected in the updated bill.
This marks an important step forwards in efforts to reauthorize the GLRI and strengthen federal investments in water infrastructure. The committee’s unanimous bipartisan vote demonstrates broad support for advancing the legislation to the full Senate. We are especially grateful for Senator Jon Husted’s remarks highlighting the GLRI’s success in improving Great Lakes water quality, addressing emerging threats, and protecting the Great Lakes as a vital freshwater resource (put link from hustead press release here?)
The Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill, which determines how much funding specific federal agencies receive, will decide how much money the GLRI actually receives each fiscal year. On June 3rd, 2026, the full House Appropriations Committee approved the amended FY27 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill by a 35-27 vote. As of July, the Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet marked up or approved its FY7 Interior-Environment appropriations bill.
During the markup, committee members debated and approved several amendments to other portions of the bill before unanimously voting to report it favorably to the full Senate. Notable changes included provisions directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study technologies for removing microplastics from drinking water and wastewater, increasing oversight of EPA’s technical assistance funding, and improving transparency in federal water infrastructure financing.
State Revolving Funds (SRFs) were also a significant focus during the markup. Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse emphasized that the bill increases authorization levels for both the Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs to continue replacing lead service lines and addressing emerging contaminants such as PFAS. Whitehouse also noted that the bill authorizes nearly $7 billion for EPA water programs to improve water utility cybersecurity and digitization, assist small and disadvantaged communities, and support environmental restoration efforts.
