To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for the selection of a fiscal agent for the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Elise M. Stefanik (Republican-NY)February 12, 2026

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Extends Lake Champlain cleanup program and boosts Great Lakes Fishery Commission's local environmental work.

This bill would change how the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program gets its money managed, allowing a new group to take over this role. It would also let the Great Lakes Fishery Commission do more environmental work in the Lake Champlain area. These changes aim to continue and improve efforts to protect and restore the region's waters.

What Would Change

Today, the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission manages the money for the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program, and the program's authorization ends in 2027. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission does not have specific permission to work in the Lake Champlain region under this law. If this bill passes, a new "fiscal agent" would be chosen to manage the Lake Champlain program's money, with regular reviews every 5 years. The program's authorization would also be extended until 2032. Additionally, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission would gain explicit authority to conduct environmental work in the Lake Champlain area.

Key Provisions

Extends the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program's permission to operate until 2032.
Replaces the current fiscal agent for the Lake Champlain program with a new entity chosen jointly by program leaders.
Requires program leaders to assess the fiscal agent's performance at least every 5 years and allows them to pick a new one.
Requires program leaders to get feedback from local people and groups when assessing the fiscal agent.
Lets the United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission do and fund environmental work in the Lake Champlain area and parts of the Saint Lawrence River basin in Vermont and New York.
Allows the United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to work with federal, state, and local groups, as well as Canadian authorities, on this environmental work.

View on Congress.gov

HR 7560 · 119th Congress · February 12, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for the selection of a fiscal agent for the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program, and for other purposes.

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity