The Urban Waters Federal Partnership Act of 2025 codifies and enhances a program to restore urban waterways through interagency coordination, community engagement, and targeted investments.
Greg Stanton
Representative
AZ-4
The Urban Waters Federal Partnership Act of 2025 codifies the Urban Waters Federal Partnership program, which aims to improve coordination among federal agencies to reconnect urban communities with their waterways. This will be achieved through technical assistance, project funding, and the establishment of Urban Waters ambassadors in designated partnership locations. The Act also establishes a steering committee to guide member agencies and requires annual reports to Congress on the program's progress. Finally, the act authorizes $10,000,000 annually for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the Urban Waters program.
Feds Propose $10M Annually Starting 2026 to Team Up on Revitalizing Urban Waterways
This bill, the Urban Waters Federal Partnership Act of 2025, formally establishes a program aiming to get various federal agencies working together to help reconnect city communities with their local rivers, streams, and waterfronts. It authorizes $10 million per year specifically for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from fiscal year 2026 through 2030 to lead this effort, focusing particularly on areas described as 'overburdened or economically distressed'. The main goal is to coordinate federal resources more effectively for improving these urban water environments.
Making DC Work Together for Your Local River
Ever feel like different government agencies don't talk to each other? This program tries to fix that for urban water issues. It sets up a formal partnership involving the EPA, Interior, Agriculture, Housing, Transportation, Energy, Education departments, plus others like the Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA (Section 2). A steering committee, led by the EPA, is tasked with setting priorities and finding funding across these agencies (Section 3(b)). The idea is to pool resources and know-how, avoiding duplicated efforts and making federal support more streamlined for local projects.
Boots on the Ground: Ambassadors and Local Projects
The plan isn't just about meetings in DC. The bill calls for maintaining 'Urban Waters partnership locations' – specific sites designated for focused federal help. These spots get technical assistance (think expert advice on restoration or planning), potential funding for projects, and support for a locally-based 'Urban Waters ambassador' to coordinate the work (Section 3(c) & 2). Member agencies can fund these ambassadors and help develop local 'workplans' outlining specific projects (Section 3(d)). What kind of projects? Things like improving water quality or wildlife habitat, adding recreational features like trails or boat launches, boosting community resilience to flooding, installing green infrastructure, or running community engagement programs (Section 3(d)(2)). There's also mention of an 'Urban Waters Learning Network' to share success stories and build local skills (Section 3(e)).
Following the Flow: Focus and Funding
The program specifically targets 'overburdened or economically distressed' urban communities. While these terms aren't rigidly defined in this section, the intent is to direct help towards places facing significant environmental justice challenges or economic hardship alongside waterway issues. The $10 million annual authorization (Section 3(g)) is designated for the EPA to carry out the program, but it's noted these funds can be combined with money from other participating federal agencies and non-federal partners. To keep things transparent, the bill requires regular updates on local workplan progress and annual reports to Congress detailing how the money is spent and what results are being achieved (Section 3(f)). While the focus is on designated partnership locations, the bill also acknowledges 'nonpartnership locations' that might receive some federal support without the full formal structure (Section 2).