American Water Stewardship Act

Mississippi Sound, Mississippi is added as a new national estuary under section 320 of the Clean Water Act. However, EPA may not use FY2026 appropriations for this addition, and may not use FY2027 appropriations unless they are at least $850,000 more than FY2024 levels.

States and local governments receiving coastal recreation water quality grants may now use those funds to identify specific sources of contamination for coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar public access points.

San Francisco Bay restoration program funding mechanisms are expanded from 'or other means to State and local agencies, special districts, and public or nonprofit agencies' to 'interagency agreements, contracts, or other funding mechanisms to Federal, State, and local agencies, special districts, public or nonprofit agencies, and other public or private entities.' This adds Federal agencies and private entities as eligible recipients.

A new 75 percent cap is added for San Francisco Bay restoration projects: federal amounts provided for any project, activity, or study shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost. The existing 25 percent non-Federal match requirement is retained.

The definition of 'coastal recreation waters' is expanded from '(including coastal estuaries)' to '(including coastal estuaries, the mouths of rivers and streams, nearby shallow waters, and waters present on beaches),' significantly broadening which waters qualify for monitoring grants.

The foreign country of concern funding restriction in section 8 is narrowed. Previously, no funds could go to any non-Federal entity 'that has in place any agreement or partnership with a foreign country of concern.' Now the restriction applies only to entities 'for projects conducted with a foreign country of concern,' removing the blanket ban on entities that merely have some partnership.

Authorization of appropriations for coastal recreation water quality monitoring is extended from fiscal years 2001 through 2005 to fiscal years 2026 through 2031, effectively reauthorizing the program for six years.