Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Lisa Murkowski
In Committee
Summary
Provides FY2026 funding for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and related natural resource, tribal, and cultural programs. It would fund parks and public lands, water infrastructure, tribal services and education, wildfire response, and major cultural institutions.
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- Tribal communities: Tribal governments, schools, and trust programs would get targeted funding, including about $1.9 billion for Bureau of Indian Affairs operations and $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Indian Education, plus “such sums as may be necessary” for contract support costs.
- Local communities and water systems: State and Tribal Assistance Grants total about $4.4 billion to support water projects, and Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF programs receive capital funding with mandatory matching rules, generally requiring at least a 20 percent non‑Federal match.
- Parks, science, and wildfire response: Science and surveys would be funded with roughly $1.5 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey and about $1.1 billion for Interior wildland fire management to support preparedness, suppression, and fuels work.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
29 provisions identified: 16 benefits, 4 costs, 9 mixed.
Keep national parks running
If enacted, the bill would fund National Park Service operations and maintenance and require the Interior to continue operating lands designated as park units, trails, or wild rivers as Federal land. It would provide about $2.87 billion for NPS operations and set aside tens of millions for repair and cyclic maintenance. The bill also preserves staffing, fee collection, and other park operations.
More funding for water infrastructure
If enacted, the bill would provide large grants for state drinking and clean water programs. It would fund about $1.64 billion for Clean Water SRFs and $1.13 billion for Drinking Water SRFs, and about $4.39 billion for related state and tribal assistance. States must generally chip in at least 20% for construction projects, and must set aside parts of SRF grants for additional subsidy (10% for CWSRF, 14% for DWSRF). The EPA could reserve the larger of 2% or a set dollar floor for two special grant authorities, and the bill also funds WIFIA loan subsidies to back up to $11 billion in loans.
More wildlife and fisheries funding
If enacted, the bill would give the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about $1.46 billion for resource management and stewardship priorities. It would also provide about $72 million for wildlife conservation grants, including set‑asides for tribal competitive grants and plan implementation. Some funds carry multi‑year availability and limits on transfers to keep money focused on original purposes.
New Interior emergency and timing powers
If enacted, the Secretary of the Interior could use no‑year appropriations in this title for wildfire suppression and other emergencies once suppression funds will be exhausted within 30 days. The bill allows title funds for emergency reconstruction only after dedicated emergency funds are used up. Interior funding in this Act would be available for obligation within 60 days of enactment. The emergency law enforcement single-incident spending cap would rise to $500,000.
Smithsonian funding for operations
If enacted, the bill would give the Smithsonian about $925 million for salaries, exhibits, research, and upkeep. The funds would be available through September 30, 2027. The Smithsonian could sign leases up to 30 years and use limited funds for certain services and uniforms.
Extra wildfire funding from infrastructure law
If enacted, the bill would transfer about $764.5 million to DOI wildland fire management from unobligated IIJA balances. That includes $250 million from EPA State and Tribal Assistance Grants and about $515.06 million from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. If enacted, it would also transfer $67 million to the DOI Office of Inspector General. The bill would treat these transfers per prior IIJA rules and would bar using the wildland fire funds for wildfire suppression operations.
Higher offshore inspection fees
If enacted, the bill would fund BSEE at about $170.3 million for FY2026 and authorize $36 million to come from new nonrefundable offshore inspection fees. The bill sets a detailed FY2026 fee schedule for facilities and rigs, with billing rules, and requires at least half of fee spending go to personnel and mission-related costs to expand inspection capacity.
USGS funding and private survey limits
If enacted, the bill would provide about $1.49 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey. It would bar using ecosystem research funds to conduct new surveys on private property without written owner permission. The USGS also could not pay more than half the cost of cooperative mapping or water data collection with States and municipalities.
More support for firefighting crews
If enacted, the bill would let the Interior grant equipment and training to volunteer and rural fire departments and transfer excess DOI firefighting gear to them. It would also adjust a pay‑cap rule so some services that pay in the next year are disregarded when applying a cap, and it directs that premium and overtime pay waivers be applied in FY2026.
Navajo-Hopi relocation and housing aid
If enacted, the bill would give $7 million to the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation for certifying eligible applicants, reviewing appeals, and providing relocation homes. Funds would be available until September 30, 2027. The bill bars evicting certain Navajo households domiciled on partitioned lands as of November 30, 1985 unless a replacement home is provided.
New federal hiring and placements
If enacted, the bill would let EPA use up to $2 million to hire students and recent graduates for temporary work and let EPA hire up to 100 persons at a time through 2031 under a special authority. The Interior could grant placements for older Americans via nonprofits if those placements do not displace current employees. The Secretary may directly appoint qualified local residents into certain competitive field jobs up to GS‑9 or WG‑15.
More BLM land and project money
If enacted, the bill would give about $1.26 billion to the Bureau of Land Management for land and resource work. It would provide $115.5 million for Oregon and California grant lands and require BLM to join a unified wildfire protection system. The Secretary could sign up to 10-year contracts to care for excess wild horses on private land. The bill also allows limited informant payments (up to $100,000) and small emergency enforcement expenses (up to $10,000).
More conservation grants and waivers
If enacted, the bill would allow up to $368 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds to be transferred to other federal agencies to support restoration, research, and grants. It would authorize $3 million advances each to two conservation foundations that must match federal funds dollar-for-dollar. It would also allow certain contributed trust amounts to pay conveyance costs and let the Interior or Agriculture Secretary waive non‑Federal cost shares and pay up to 100% for eligible Public Lands Corps conservation projects.
More EPA spill and tank cleanup money
If enacted, the bill would give EPA about $16.5 million from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for inland oil spill work, and about $87.4 million for leaking underground storage tank cleanup. EPA could also use some of this money to help tribes develop tank management programs. The funds would remain available until spent.
Blocks new environmental rules
If enacted, the bill would bar using funds to enforce certain 2011 EPA incinerator rules for small remote incinerators in Alaska and would stop agencies from regulating lead content in ammunition and fishing tackle. It would also block new Title V permits for specified biogenic livestock emissions and stop mandatory greenhouse gas reporting for manure systems. The bill would limit several EPA construction accounts to projects costing $300,000 or less each in FY2026.
Federal forest bioenergy policy push
If enacted, Energy, Agriculture, and EPA leaders would be directed to align and coordinate federal policy on forest bioenergy. The agencies would be told to recognize forest biomass benefits, treat certain biomass use as carbon neutral (if it does not cause forest conversion), and encourage private investment across the biomass supply chain.
New timber, grazing, and biomass rules
If enacted, the bill would change timber sale and export rules in Alaska Region 10 and require some cedar be offered first to domestic processors. It would let grazing permittees get up to a 50% credit against calculated National Grasslands grazing fees for preapproved conservation practices. The bill would fund rangeland work equal to 50% of certain prior receipts, not less than $9.43 million, and allow up to $30 million for grants to expand biomass use from National Forest lands.
Limits and funding for offshore leasing
If enacted, the bill would fund BOEM at about $200 million but require that amount be reduced by certain collections from lease rents and cost‑recovery fees. It would let BLM use permit processing fee money to cover oil and gas permit processing costs and allow fee collections to be used for land rehabilitation. The bill would pause oil and gas leasing in the Chaco withdrawal area and bar preleasing or leasing inside certain national monument boundaries as they existed in 2001. It also increases a specific permit renewal limit to seven renewals in a cited provision.
Denali name and $1 million payment
If enacted, the Secretary would be required to reinstate the mountain name "Denali" and USGS must update its geographic systems within 30 days. Federal public materials must use "Denali" within 60 days. After those changes, $1 million would become available for Department leadership and administration.
EPA water admin and tribal grants
If enacted, the EPA could use $19 million of State Revolving Fund capitalization money for salaries and administration tied to Community Project Funding, but it could not obligate those funds until a required report reaches Appropriations Committees. The bill would also let EPA award cooperative agreements directly to tribes or intertribal consortia when EPA runs a program and no acceptable tribal program exists.
Cancel $91M from two agency balances
If enacted, the bill would rescind $41 million from the EPA Buildings and Facilities account and $50 million from the JFK Center capital account. It would not cancel amounts Congress labeled as emergency. If enacted, those accounts would have less unobligated money available for those projects.
EPA pesticide fee authority, FY2026
If enacted, the EPA could collect and use pesticide registration fees for fiscal year 2026 to fund registration work. The authority would let EPA keep and spend those fees until expended and to assess fees despite a statutory limitation in subsection 33(d)(2).
No new federal mining patents
If enacted, the bill would stop using FY2026 funds to accept or process new patent applications for mining and mill-site claims under the general mining laws, except for some applications filed on or before September 30, 1994 that met all legal requirements. Applicants could fund third-party mineral exams under BLM rules upon request.
Rules for fish, hunters, and listings
If enacted, the Fish and Wildlife Service would be required to mass-mark hatchery salmon so fishers can identify hatchery fish. Fees collected for non-toxic shot reviews would be kept by the Service and used without another appropriation. The bill would also limit how certain Endangered Species Act "Listing" funds may be used, narrowing some listing activities. A $3 million BLM wildlife habitat grant program would require at least a dollar-for-dollar match by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
More notices and timing for projects
If enacted, agencies would have to notify Appropriations Committees and grantees when cancelling contracts or grants over $200,000. Grants funded by this Act must be awarded on a schedule tied to past averages. Community Project Funding tied to existing state or local contracts could be exempt from some federal procurement competition rules. Agencies would also need 180 days' notice before ending certain leases or disposing of Federal buildings, and 45 days' notice for reorganizations affecting at least 10 staff or 10% of a program.
New NEA rules and culture money
If enacted, the NEA would be told to prioritize projects serving underserved populations and create a national-impact/touring grant category. The NEA must limit most individual grants to specific fellowships and generally bar most recipients from making subgrants. The bill also provides about $13.5 million to the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development (available July 1, 2026).
Parks fees and LWCF admin changes
If enacted, the National Park Service could use franchise-fee sub-account balances to reduce or pay leasehold liabilities at any park unit, with rules to credit fees back over the contract term. The NPS could also keep up to 3% of certain Land and Water Conservation Fund disbursements for administration.
Stricter federal contract and tribal leases
If enacted, the bill would require federal contracts funded by this Act to follow major procurement laws and the Federal Acquisition Regulation, with exceptions for specific statutes and tribal contracting. It would also delay the start date of initial lease terms for certain tribal leases until the lease proposal is received, and it directs consultations with tribes on consistent payment processes in FY2026.
Tribal funding rules and accounting limits
If enacted, the Secretary could move Tribal Priority Allocation funds among tribes to fix inequities, but in FY2026 no tribe could have more than a 10% cut except in certain cases. The Bureau of Indian Affairs could record obligations against accounts receivable during FY2026. The bill also says FY2026 contract support costs are limited to the amounts in this Act and cannot be used to pay prior-year claims.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Lisa Murkowski
AK • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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