Federal water agency gains seat at state watershed table
H.R. 7788 — Maryland Whole Watershed Program Federal Partnership Act · Filed by Sarah Elfreth (D-MD) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 4, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill authorizes the Chesapeake Bay Program Office—a federal environmental agency—to join state watershed management teams in Maryland and similar states as an advisory member. It allows the office to coordinate with state and local governments, provide technical assistance, and fund watershed projects within the Chesapeake Bay region.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand the Chesapeake Bay Program Office's authority to participate in state watershed management and provide technical/financial assistance. It is a straightforward delegation of federal environmental coordination power.
What the text implies
- Federal funding for watershed projects may depend on state acceptance of federal advisory role, potentially shifting local water-management priorities toward federal priorities.
- The phrase 'substantially similar program' is undefined and could expand the Chesapeake Bay Program Office's reach beyond Maryland to other states without explicit congressional authorization for each expansion.
- No appropriations are specified; the bill's effectiveness depends on future budget allocations to the Chesapeake Bay Program Office.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill expands federal environmental coordination and funding for watershed protection in a region affecting millions of residents. Citizens benefit from increased technical expertise, federal resources, and coordinated water-quality management across state lines—a classic public good that individual states alone may underfund.
Named in the bill
Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Federal Water Pollution Control Act (section 117(b)), Maryland Whole Watershed Program, State Management Team, Chesapeake Bay watershed
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 4 Democrats.
- Mar 4, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 4, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $0 in lobbying spend. A filing names 2 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Sarah Elfreth, the sponsor, reported $513,564 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Environmental Litigation Group — $0 on 1 filing
- Firefighters Health Coalition Inc — $0 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (864 characters) on Nov 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,927 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-11-02.
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