# 119-hr-4879: Emergency Rural Water Response Act of 2025

119-hr-4879, Emergency Rural Water Response Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4879
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4879
- Congress: 119
- Title: Emergency Rural Water Response Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-08-05
- Sponsor: Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Faster emergency water access for rural communities.** This bill would speed emergency water response by expanding disaster water grant uses and by temporarily waiving some discharge permit rules for portable treatment units. - Families and households in disaster zones would get cleaner water faster because portable water treatment and filtration units could operate without a permit for up to 6 months after a state disaster or emergency declaration. - Rural water systems and local governments would be eligible for broader grant support for water resources infrastructure, including potable water, wastewater, storm drainage, and solid waste projects. The bill would raise the program population cutoff from 10,000 to 35,000. - Emergency responders would be able to deploy portable treatment facilities more quickly because the bill would add an exemption to Section 402(l) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for discharges from those units during the 6‑month post-disaster window.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Edwards, Chuck [R-NC-11] (R-NC), 2025-08-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Luna, Anna Paulina [R-FL-13] (R-FL), 2025-09-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gray, Adam [D-CA-13] (D-CA), 2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More emergency water grants for small towns: benefit, medium. If enacted, this would let towns up to 35,000 people apply for emergency water grants. It would also allow grant funds to cover drinking water, sewer, storm drains, and solid waste facilities. Local governments and water systems could apply for this help. This could speed emergency water fixes for…
- Faster clean water after disasters: benefit, low. If enacted, this would waive Clean Water Act section 402 permits for some emergency portable water units. The waiver would apply in the affected area for the six months right after a State disaster or emergency is declared. It would cover discharges from portable treatment and filtration units inst…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-4879 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4879)

## Related
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4393)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4879 (as of 2026-04-21).