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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7408

House Bill Would Fund "Navigator" Staff to Help Rural and Tribal Communities Secure Water Project Grants

Water Project Navigators Act

about 2 months ago·View on Congress.gov
Part of: Congress Proposes $90M for Tribal and Rural Water Project Navigators

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law

Key Points

  • Creates a new Interior Department program to fund “navigator” staff who help plan and deliver local water projects.
  • Gives grants to states, Tribes, local water agencies, and partner nonprofits to hire or keep people who can write grants and manage projects.
  • Prioritizes help for Tribal, rural, and lower-income communities that often lack staff time and expertise to get projects off the ground.
  • Limits grants to up to 3 years at a time, with a possible extension of up to 2 more years if performance is strong.
  • Authorizes $15 million per year from 2027–2032, with most projects requiring a local match unless waived for hardship.
InfrastructureEnvironmentClimate Change

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Positive Impacts(3)
Housing Assistance
Helps
Tribal Member
Helps
Farmer Rancher
Helps

State Impacts

AlaskaAK
Positive

Alaska is explicitly an eligible state. State agencies, Tribes, and local entities could apply for navigator funding to plan multi-benefit water projects (including improving safe drinking water access and resilience to weather-related water infrastructure risks).

HawaiiHI
Positive

Hawaii is explicitly an eligible state. Eligible entities could use navigator positions to speed up planning and funding applications for water reliability, conservation, recycling/advanced treatment, and watershed health projects.

Puerto RicoPR
Positive

Puerto Rico is explicitly eligible. Commonwealth agencies and local partners could seek navigator funding to develop water supply and drinking water reliability projects and coordinate multi-benefit watershed work.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Feb 5, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Feb 5, 2026

Introduced in House

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

After the program is established and funding is appropriated

First round(s) of grants/cooperative agreements become available

Eligible entities can apply for money to create or keep navigator positions; that can speed up grant writing, project planning, and early engineering for water supply, drinking water, and watershed projects.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Water Project Navigators Act

Bill NumberHR 7408
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)
R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.