US Federal Senate Bill SB2753

US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 9/10/25
• Refer: 9/10/25

Caption

Urban Canal Modernization Act

Summary

The Urban Canal Modernization Act would amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to expand federal authority for extraordinary operation and maintenance work on certain urban canals. It creates a new category called an “urban canal of concern,” defined as a transferred works canal reach where a failure would place more than 100 people at risk and that the Secretary of the Interior classifies as an urban canal reach. For those canals, the Secretary of the Interior, or the transferred works operating entity, could carry out extraordinary operation and maintenance work when needed under existing guidelines and criteria. The bill also sets a new cost-sharing arrangement for this work. For extraordinary operation and maintenance on an urban canal of concern, 35 percent of total costs would be provided by the Secretary on a nonreimbursable basis, while the remaining costs would be advanced by the Secretary and repaid by the operating entity, except in emergency work situations governed by separate provisions. The bill further specifies that reimbursable funds provided under this section count as non-federal funds for purposes of other federal grant matching requirements.

Impact

This bill would amend sections of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, particularly the definitions and extraordinary operation and maintenance provisions governing transferred works. It would give the Department of the Interior a clearer statutory basis to fund and authorize maintenance on high-risk urban canal segments, and it would alter the federal-local cost split for those projects by making a portion of the funding nonreimbursable. The change could affect canal operators, local water districts, and other transferred works entities that manage canal infrastructure in urban areas.

Sentiment

The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill. It was ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, indicating committee support. No recorded votes or hearing transcript excerpts are provided, so there is no evidence in the record supplied here of organized opposition or divided debate.

Contention

The main policy issue appears to be how much federal support should be provided for maintenance of urban canals and how costs should be allocated between the federal government and the transferred works operating entities. The bill’s 35 percent nonreimbursable federal share may be viewed as a targeted infrastructure investment, while the remaining reimbursable share preserves local responsibility. Potential points of contention could include the definition of an “urban canal of concern,” the Secretary’s discretion to classify canals, and whether the population-at-risk threshold and funding terms are sufficient or too broad, but no specific objections are documented in the provided materials.