Current law approves up to $50 million a year for the National Estuary Program, and that approval runs only through fiscal year 2026.
This bill aims to protect and manage important coastal areas known as estuaries by extending a federal program and ensuring adequate funding. It helps maintain the health of these ecosystems, which are vital for wildlife and local communities.
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No committee member filed a written objection. The committee approved it 57 to 2.
Enhancing Science, Treatment, and Upkeep of America’s Resilient and Important Estuarine Systems Act or the ESTUARIES Act This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 grants provided under the National Estuary Program to protect and restore estuaries of national significance. Estuaries are coastal waterbodies where freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with the ocean’s saltwater. Under the existing program, the Environmental Protection Agency provides grants for (1) developing and implementing comprehensive conservation and management plans for estuaries of national significance, and (2) addressing issues that threaten the ecological and economic well-being of such estuaries. The existing program provides grants to states, regional water pollution control agencies and entities, state coastal zone management agencies, interstate agencies, other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations, and individuals.
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