Reauthorization and funding of Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act, National Estuary Program remain top priorities
As the second session of the 119th U.S. Congress gavels to a start, Save the Sound is focused on legislation that reauthorizes the Long Island Sound Partnership and National Estuary Program and robust funding for both programs in Fiscal Years 2026 and 2027.
The Long Island Sound Partnership, formerly the Long Island Sound Study, is a collaborative effort involving the federal government and state and local governments, researchers, user groups, and other concerned organizations and individuals working together to protect and improve the health of the Sound.
The National Estuary Program was established in 1987 under the Clean Water Act to address threats facing estuaries across the country. It is an EPA place-based program to protect and restore the water quality and ecological integrity of estuaries of national significance. Long Island Sound is one of the 28 designated NEPs, and the Partnership is tasked with developing and implementing a Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) to guide its efforts to protect and restore the Long Island Sound.
Both federal programs are essential to the continued restoration and protection of Long Island Sound and support efforts to implement the recently adopted CCMP.
In the House, the American Water Stewardship Act (H.R. 6422) reauthorizes both programs through FY2031 and was voted favorably out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on December 18, 2025.
In the Senate, the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act of 2025 (S. 781) reauthorizes the Long Island Sound Partnership, and ESTUARIES Act of 2025 (S. 2063) reauthorizes the National Estuary Program.
“These programs support and empower the many collaborative efforts devoted to the continued restoration and stewardship of Long Island Sound. And this critical federal funding enables groups to monitor and protect water quality, reduce nitrogen pollution stemming from stormwater runoff and sewage treatment plants, restore vital coastal habitat, strengthen resilience in the face of rising seas and extreme weather fueled by climate change, and ensure that this estuary of national significance continues to be an economic engine for the region,” said Denise Stranko, executive vice president of programs at Save the Sound. “We will continue to stress the urgency of quick, decisive action to reauthorize these programs. We thank Rep. LaLota for co-sponsoring H.R. 6422, Rep. Courtney for co-sponsoring a prior bill reauthorizing the Partnership, and Minority Leader Schumer and Senators Gillibrand, Blumenthal, and Murphy, who are the sponsors on S. 781. We look forward to the bipartisan, bicameral support of our champions in Congress who recognize how essential these programs are for a healthy Long Island Sound, and to final passage of these bills in the 119th Congress.”