Division B — ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2026
Division Overview
1. Overview
Division B funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (civil works programs under the Department of the Army), the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project, the Department of Energy (including energy research, nuclear activities, defense programs, and power marketing), and independent agencies like regional development commissions and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Its overall purpose is to support water infrastructure (flood control, rivers, harbors, dams), energy research and development, nuclear security and cleanup, and economic development in underserved regions.
2. Total Spending
The total appropriation amount is not explicitly stated or summed in the text. Major accounts total tens of billions of dollars across agencies (e.g., roughly $10.4 billion for Corps of Engineers, over $50 billion for Department of Energy including defense activities, $1.6 billion for Bureau of Reclamation). No prior-year or request context is provided for comparison.
3. Key Funding Areas
- Operation and Maintenance (Corps of Engineers): $6.01 billion — upkeep of rivers, harbors, flood control projects, security, dredging, and emergency response; includes $3.25 billion from Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.
- Weapons Activities (DOE National Nuclear Security Administration): $20.38 billion — atomic energy defense weapons programs, plant construction, and maintenance.
- Science (DOE): $8.4 billion — research facilities, equipment, and basic science activities.
- Defense Environmental Cleanup (DOE): $7.375 billion — cleanup of atomic energy defense sites and facilities.
- Construction (Corps of Engineers): $3.17 billion — building flood/storm damage reduction, shore protection, ecosystem restoration; includes trust fund contributions.
- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE): $3.1 billion — energy-saving tech, renewables, plant/equipment acquisition.
- Water and Related Resources (Bureau of Reclamation): $1.466 billion — water management, dam operations, Native American responsibilities, grants.
- Nuclear Energy (DOE): $1.785 billion — nuclear power research, development, and facilities.
- Mississippi River and Tributaries (Corps): $532 million — flood damage reduction in the Mississippi alluvial valley.
- Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DOE NNSA): $2.37 billion — preventing nuclear proliferation, facility security.
4. Notable Provisions
- Reprogramming restrictions (Secs. 101, 201, 301, 402): Strict limits on shifting funds between programs/projects without congressional approval; detailed thresholds by account (e.g., 15% for Corps construction over $2M base).
- Work plan requirements: Corps and Assistant Secretary cannot deviate from plans submitted to Congress (multiple provisos).
- Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund allocations: Specific uses for coastal/inland harbors, donor/energy ports (e.g., $416.8 million).
- Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (WIFIA) program: $2.2 million for dam/levee safety loans up to $500 million in guarantees; new rulemaking for non-Federal levees; excludes federally owned/jointly owned dams.
- Transfers from prior laws (Sec. 311): Repurposes ~$5.2 billion in unobligated Inflation Reduction Act/IIJA funds to nuclear reactors, grid supply chain, and other energy programs.
- Dredging restrictions (Sec. 105): No open lake placement of Lake Erie dredged material without state water quality certification.
- Loan guarantee limits (Title 17): $150 million for advanced nuclear reactors; prohibits federal support dependencies.
- Nuclear access ban (Sec. 308): No Russian/Chinese non-citizens at nuclear weapons facilities without 30-day notice.
- Entity of concern restriction (Sec. 307): No grants/contracts ≥$10 million to Chinese/Russian-linked entities.
5. Who Benefits
- Communities and infrastructure: Flood-prone areas, ports, rivers (e.g., Mississippi Valley), Western water users (farms, cities, tribes via Reclamation).
- Energy sector and national security: Nuclear labs, utilities, researchers, defense sites; power marketing benefits Pacific Northwest/Southeast/Southwest ratepayers.
- Regional economies: Appalachia ($200 million), Delta/Northern Border/Southeast Crescent/Southwest Border commissions; Alaska (Denali), Great Lakes.
- Specific groups: Non-federal dam/levee owners (WIFIA loans), small businesses/tribes (energy programs), science community ($8.4 billion DOE Science).
6. Plain English Summary
This chunk of the bill is like the government's check for keeping our rivers, dams, and floods in check—about $10 billion to the Army Corps for fixing harbors, fighting floods, and maintaining waterways nationwide—plus $1.5 billion to the Bureau of Reclamation for Western water projects. It pours over $50 billion into the Energy Department for everything from renewable energy research and nuclear weapons upkeep ($20 billion just for that) to cleaning up old atomic sites and basic science labs. Toss in funds for regional economic boosts in places like Appalachia or the Delta, and watchdogs like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Lots of rules to prevent money-shuffling without Congress's okay, and some targeted loans for safer dams—basically keeping the lights on, waters flowing safely, and nukes secure without big surprises.
Titles
Title Summary
Title I funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' civil works programs under the Department of the Army, focusing on river and harbor improvements, flood and storm damage reduction, shore protection, aquatic ecosystem restoration, and related activities. Key areas include investigations, construction, operation and maintenance, regulatory enforcement, site remediation, emergency response, administrative expenses, leadership office support, and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (WIFIA) loan program.
Spending Breakdown
| Line Item | Amount | Purpose |
| Investigations | $150,384,000 | Collection of data, surveys, studies, and plans for river/harbor, flood/storm reduction, shore protection, and ecosystem restoration projects prior to construction. |
| Construction | $3,169,966,000 | Construction of authorized river/harbor, flood/storm reduction, shore protection, and ecosystem projects; includes $217,983,000 from Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for dredged material facilities and Inland Waterways Trust Fund contributions for inland projects. |
| Mississippi River and Tributaries | $531,588,000 | Flood damage reduction and related efforts in the Mississippi River alluvial valley; includes $9,768,000 from Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for inland harbor operations/maintenance. |
| Operation and Maintenance | $6,013,217,000 | Operation, maintenance, and care of existing projects; infrastructure security; harbor channels; includes $3,245,249,000 from Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund ($416,760,000 for donor/energy ports), $40,000,000 for dredge replacement, and $62,000,000 for regional maintenance. |
| Regulatory Program | $221,000,000 | Administration of laws regulating navigable waters and wetlands. |
| Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program | $75,000,000 | Cleanup of contamination from early atomic energy sites. |
| Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies | $40,000,000 | Preparation for and response to floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. |
| Expenses | $220,000,000 | Supervision, general administration, and support for civil works program management. |
| Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works | $7,000,000 | Operations of the office, with 75% hold until report and work plan submitted. |
| Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program Account | $2,200,000 (+ fees; $5,000,000 admin) | Direct/guaranteed loans up to $500,000,000 for dam/levee safety projects owned by non-Federal entities; administrative expenses. |
Notable Sections
- Multiple provisos require submission of work plans to congressional appropriations committees, prohibiting deviation without approval.
- Sec. 101 imposes strict reprogramming limits (e.g., 25% up to $150,000 for investigations; 15% up to $3,000,000 for construction) and requires a baseline report within 60 days.
- Water Infrastructure Finance expands eligibility to non-Federal levees/ancillary features, mandates rulemaking within 60 days, prohibits Federal joint-owner projects, and requires certifications/ notices.
- Sec. 104 allows transfer of up to $8,733,000 from Operation and Maintenance to Fish and Wildlife Service for fisheries mitigation.
- Sec. 105 restricts open lake dredged material placement from Lake Erie tributaries without state water quality certification.
- Sec. 108 prohibits funds for Wolf Creek Dam water supply reallocation study.
- Sec. 109 amends recreation fee use to any site/facility at a civil works project.
Plain English
This title provides billions to the Army Corps of Engineers for building and maintaining waterways, preventing floods, protecting coasts, and cleaning up old nuclear sites, which helps communities avoid disaster damage and keeps shipping lanes open.
1. Title Summary
This title funds water resource management and restoration activities primarily through the Central Utah Project Completion Account and the Bureau of Reclamation. It supports the Bureau's core functions, including water development, operations, maintenance, habitat restoration, and policy administration, with specific allocations for projects like the Central Valley Project, California Bay-Delta, and various river basin funds.
2. Spending Breakdown
| Line Item | Amount | Purpose |
| Central Utah Project Completion Account | $23,000,000 (of which $4,000,000 to Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Account; $1,950,000 available until September 30, 2027 for Secretary responsibilities; up to $2,186,000 for Commission admin expenses) | Activities under Central Utah Project Completion Act, including mitigation and conservation. |
| Water and Related Resources (Bureau of Reclamation) | $1,465,630,000 (of which $23,899,000 to Upper Colorado River Basin Fund; $7,679,000 to Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund; $3,237,000 to San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund) | Management, development, restoration of water resources; operations, maintenance, rehabilitation; Native American responsibilities; grants and agreements. |
| Central Valley Project Restoration Fund | Such sums as collected in FY 2026 | Programs under Central Valley Project Improvement Act; full assessment of mitigation payments required; no funds for in-stream water acquisition if already court-committed. |
| California Bay-Delta Restoration | $32,000,000 | Activities under Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act; transfers to other agencies; CALFED management and balanced implementation. |
| Policy and Administration (Bureau of Reclamation) | $64,000,000 (up to $5,000 for reception/representation) | Policy, administration in Commissioner's Office and regions; derived from Reclamation Fund. |
3. Notable Sections
- Sec. 201: Imposes strict reprogramming restrictions on Water and Related Resources funds, requiring congressional approval for new/eliminated programs, transfers over set limits (e.g., 15% for activities ≥$2M, $400,000 for <$2M), or category shifts; mandates quarterly reports and adherence to explanatory statement table.
- Sec. 202: Prohibits finalizing San Luis Unit interceptor drain discharge without a state/Federal water quality plan; requires full reimbursability for drainage costs.
- Multiple amendments extend authorizations or raise caps: Sec. 203 raises cap to $1B (Omnibus Public Land Management Act); Sec. 204 extends Calfed Bay-Delta to 2026, raises amount to $32.6M; Sec. 206 raises drought relief to $130M; Sec. 209 raises Northwestern New Mexico projects to $1.815B; Sec. 210 authorizes additional $50M for certain activities with indexing.
- Provisos designate FY2025 funds for specific projects (e.g., Sites Reservoir, B.F. Sisk Dam); allow motor vehicle purchases (≤30 for replacement).
4. Plain English
This title allocates over $1.5 billion for Bureau of Reclamation water projects that maintain Western U.S. dams, reservoirs, irrigation, and environmental restoration to support farming, tribes, and communities.
Title Summary
Title III funds the Department of Energy (DOE) across energy programs (e.g., efficiency, renewables, nuclear, science), atomic energy defense activities under the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), defense environmental cleanup, and power marketing administrations (Bonneville, Southeastern, Southwestern, Western, Falcon/Amistad). It supports research, development, operations, loan guarantees, and infrastructure for energy security, nuclear weapons maintenance, nonproliferation, waste management, and electricity transmission/marketing.
Spending Breakdown
| Line Item | Amount | Purpose |
| Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | $3,100,000,000 | Energy efficiency and renewable energy activities, including plant/capital equipment (of which $224,000,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response | $190,000,000 | Energy sector cybersecurity, security, and emergency response (of which $24,000,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Electricity | $235,000,000 | Electricity-related activities (of which $19,700,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Grid Deployment | $25,000,000 | Grid deployment activities (of which $6,000,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Nuclear Energy | $1,785,000,000 | Nuclear energy activities (of which $88,000,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027); limits per explanatory statement. |
| Fossil Energy | $720,000,000 | Fossil energy R&D (of which $70,000,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Energy Projects | $97,557,000 | Community project funding per explanatory statement. |
| Science | $8,400,000,000 | Basic and applied science R&D (of which $226,831,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Weapons Activities (NNSA) | $20,378,000,000 | Atomic energy defense weapons programs (of which $149,244,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (NNSA) | $2,367,000,000 | Nonproliferation activities. |
| Naval Reactors (NNSA) | $2,134,000,000 | Naval reactors development (of which $61,540,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027; $96,740,000 transfer to Nuclear Energy). |
| Defense Environmental Cleanup | $7,375,000,000 | Atomic energy defense site cleanup (of which $312,818,000 for program direction until 9/30/2027). |
| Other major items (e.g., Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Non-Defense Cleanup, ARPA-E, FERC, Power Marketing Admin ops) | Varies ($100,000–$865,000,000) | Operations, reserves, cleanup, advanced R&D, admin, and power sales/offset collections (many offset to ~$0 general fund draw). |
Notable Sections
- Sec. 301: Imposes reprogramming restrictions (e.g., 3-day notice for awards ≥$1M; 30-day approval for shifts >$5M/10%); ties spending to explanatory statement tables.
- Sec. 306: Prohibits Strategic Petroleum Reserve drawdowns/sales to Chinese Communist Party-linked entities or for export to China.
- Sec. 307: Bars awards ≥$10M to "entities of concern" (e.g., China/Russia-linked) using risk-based approach.
- Sec. 308: Restricts non-U.S. citizens from Russia/China at nuclear weapons facilities without 30-day notice.
- Sec. 311: Transfers ~$5.2B in prior-year unobligated balances (e.g., from IIJA) to Nuclear Energy ($3.1B for SMRs/demos), Grid Deployment ($375M for transformers/grid components), and others.
- Oversight: Requires independent cost estimates for projects >$100M; high-hazard nuclear facilities need safety oversight.
Plain English
This title allocates over $50 billion to DOE for advancing clean energy tech, maintaining nuclear weapons stockpile, cleaning up defense sites, managing oil reserves, and operating regional power grids, while adding safeguards against foreign adversaries and reprogramming.
Title Summary
Title IV funds independent agencies focused on regional economic development and nuclear safety oversight. It provides appropriations for the Appalachian Regional Commission, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Delta Regional Authority, Denali Commission, Northern Border Regional Commission, Northwest Regional Commission, Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, Southwest Border Regional Commission, Great Lakes Authority, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
Spending Breakdown
| Line Item | Amount | Purpose |
| Appalachian Regional Commission | $200,000,000 | Programs under Appalachian Regional Development Act, Federal Co-Chairman expenses, administrative share. |
| Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board—Salaries and Expenses | $42,000,000 | Activities under Atomic Energy Act; up to $1,000 for reception/representation. |
| Delta Regional Authority—Salaries and Expenses | $32,000,000 | Activities under Delta Regional Authority Act, waiving certain restrictions. |
| Denali Commission | $18,000,000 | Expenses including construction; up to 90% for distressed communities/Indian Tribes, 50% for others; allows non-Federal share payments. |
| Northern Border Regional Commission | $42,000,000 | Activities under subtitle V, title 40, U.S. Code; for administrative expenses. |
| Northwest Regional Commission | $1,000,000 | Establish commission in WA/OR/ID/MT for activities like other regional commissions. |
| Southeast Crescent Regional Commission | $20,000,000 | Activities under subtitle V, title 40, U.S. Code. |
| Southwest Border Regional Commission | $5,500,000 | Activities under subtitle V, title 40, U.S. Code. |
| Great Lakes Authority | $5,000,000 | Activities under subtitle V, title 40, U.S. Code. |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission—Salaries and Expenses | $952,700,000 (net ~$148,190,023 after $804,509,977 fees) | Purposes under Energy Reorganization/Atomic Energy Acts; $11,494,000 for Office of Commission. |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission—Office of Inspector General | $18,795,000 (net ~$3,910,000 after $14,885,000 fees; $1,572,000 for DNFSB) | Inspector General Act provisions. |
| Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board—Salaries and Expenses | $4,000,000 (from Nuclear Waste Fund) | Activities under Public Law 100–203. |
Notable Sections
- Establishes a new Northwest Regional Commission with $1M.
- Denali Commission provisos allow up to 90% funding for distressed communities/Indian Tribes and flexibility on non-Federal shares.
- NRC salaries/expenses and OIG funded partly by retained licensing fees, reducing net appropriations.
- Sec. 401 requires NRC to use 2011 Internal Commission Procedures for Congressional info requests.
- Sec. 402 imposes reprogramming restrictions on NRC (30-day notice for >$500K/10% changes, waivers for risks to health/security, monthly reporting, adherence to explanatory statement).
Plain English
This title allocates over $1.3 billion to regional commissions for economic development in underserved U.S. areas and to nuclear agencies for safety regulation and oversight.
Title Summary
Title V—General Provisions imposes restrictions on the use of funds appropriated elsewhere in the Act, rather than providing new funding. It prohibits lobbying Congress except as allowed by law (Sec. 501), limits transfers of funds from Title III with semiannual reporting requirements (Sec. 502), and mandates blocking pornography on government computer networks with exceptions for law enforcement (Sec. 503). No specific agencies, bureaus, or programs receive direct funding.
Spending Breakdown
| Line Item | Amount | Purpose |
| No direct appropriations | N/A | General restrictions on fund use across the Act |
Notable Sections
- Sec. 501: Prohibits use of any appropriated funds to influence congressional action on legislation, except as permitted under 18 U.S.C. 1913.
- Sec. 502: Restricts transfers into or out of Title III accounts without specific statutory authority or explanatory statement references; requires semiannual reporting on transfers by agency heads.
- Sec. 503: Requires all government computer networks funded by the Act to block pornography, with an exception for law enforcement activities.
Plain English
This title puts guardrails on taxpayer money to stop improper lobbying of Congress, tightly control fund transfers between accounts, and keep pornography off government computers (except for police work).