Congress extends water conservation funding for Delaware River region through 2033
S. 4102 — Delaware River Basin Restoration Program Reauthorization Act of 2026 · Filed by Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 16, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill extends a federal water conservation program for the Delaware River Basin by 10 years (from 2023 to 2033) and adds Maryland as a participating state alongside Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. It also directs the Secretary to prioritize funding for projects serving small, rural, or disadvantaged communities.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is straightforward: it extends an existing federal water conservation grant program and adds a state participant. The addition of Maryland and the disadvantaged-community priority are policy expansions, not deceptions.
What the text implies
- Maryland's inclusion may shift funding allocation among the five states, potentially affecting project selection in existing Basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania).
- The disadvantaged-community priority may increase administrative burden on the Secretary to identify and evaluate qualifying projects, potentially slowing grant distribution.
- A 10-year extension (2033 sunset) commits federal resources through 2033 without requiring reauthorization, locking in program structure unless Congress acts to modify it before expiration.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill extends federal funding for water conservation and infrastructure in a multi-state region and explicitly prioritizes disadvantaged communities, expanding public access to environmental and water-quality improvements. No restrictions on citizen rights or protections are imposed.
Who stands to gain
- water infrastructure contractors and engineering firms
- state and local water authorities in the Delaware River Basin and Maryland
- environmental nonprofits and conservation organizations operating in the region
Named in the bill
Delaware River Basin, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, Public Law 114–322, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
Where it stands
8 cosponsors: 8 Democrats.
- Mar 16, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Mar 16, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $120,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 35 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 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Lisa Blunt Rochester, the sponsor, reported $317,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Trout Unlimited — $120,000 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 (1,216 characters) on Aug 19, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 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 2026-10-20.
“Congress extends water conservation funding for Delaware River region through 2033” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s4102 Report an error
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