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Water Emergency and Technical Assistance Act of 2026
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize emergency technical assistance, to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize emergency technical assistance and grants, and for other purposes.
Summary
- Increases emergency technical assistance funding for drinking water from $35 million to $50 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
- Authorizes the EPA to provide emergency technical assistance and grants to states and treatment works facing emergencies affecting public health, including sewer overflows and cybersecurity events.
- Limits emergency grants to activities necessary for preventing public health danger that would not be economically feasible for ratepayers without federal assistance.
- Authorizes $50 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for emergency technical assistance and grants for clean water treatment works.
- Adds consideration of ratepayer economic feasibility to the Safe Drinking Water Act's emergency response provisions.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
Actions (2)
- Jul 14, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. · senate
- Jul 14, 2026 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 14, 2026
Mr. Markey (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
A BILL
To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize emergency technical assistance, to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize emergency technical assistance and grants, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.—This Act may be cited as the “Water Emergency and Technical Assistance Act of 2026”.
(b) Table of Contents.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—DRINKING WATER
Sec. 101. Emergency situations.
TITLE II—CLEAN WATER
Sec. 201. Emergency technical assistance and grants for treatment works.
TITLE I—DRINKING WATER
SEC. 101. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.
Section 1442 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-1) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b), in the second sentence, in clause
(ii), by inserting “or be economically feasible for ratepayers” after “be taken”; and
(2) in subsection (d), by striking “$35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026” and inserting “$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031”.
TITLE II—CLEAN WATER
SEC. 201. EMERGENCY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS FOR TREATMENT WORKS.
Title II of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1281 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“SEC. 228. EMERGENCY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS.
“(a) In General.—The Administrator may provide technical assistance and grants to States or publicly owned treatment works to assist in responding to and alleviating an emergency situation affecting treatment works (including an emergency situation resulting from a cybersecurity event) that, as determined by the Administrator, present substantial danger to the public health, such as heightened exposure to contaminants from sewer overflows.
“(b) Use of Funds.—A grant under this section shall only be used to support an activity that—
“(1) is necessary for preventing, limiting, or mitigating danger to the public health in the applicable emergency situation; and
“(2) would not, in the judgment of the Administrator, be taken or be economically feasible for ratepayers without the grant.
“(c) Coordination With Other Programs.—
“(1) In general.—The Administrator may, subject to paragraph (2), carry out this section as part of, and in accordance with the terms and conditions of, any other program of assistance for environmental emergencies that the Administrator is authorized to carry out under any other provision of law.
“(2) Applicability of limitations.—No limitation on appropriations for any program described in paragraph (1) shall apply to amounts made available under this section.
“(d) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.”. <all>
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