Lawmakers Push $35 Million Annual Boost for Lake Champlain Amid Phosphorus Woes and Invasive Threats

A central feature of the 2026 legislation is a required evaluation of the program’s fiscal agent, the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, and its overall cost-effectiveness.

A bipartisan coalition of federal lawmakers introduced legislation in February 2026 to reauthorize the Lake Champlain Basin Program through 2032 with $35 million in annual funding, according to press releases from Senator Peter Welch, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Elise Stefanik. The Lake Champlain Basin Program Enhancements Act would extend federal support for water quality improvements, invasive species management, and administrative oversight of the program that has managed the lake since its designation as a resource of national significance in 1990.

The legislation arrives as the program faces multiple pressures: the scheduled expiration of supplemental infrastructure funding in 2027, persistent water quality challenges despite decades of investment, and an invasive fish species advancing through canal systems toward the lake.

Three Decades of Federal Involvement

The Lake Champlain Basin Program was established by Congress in 1990 to develop and implement a comprehensive management plan for the 435-mile-long lake system shared by Vermont, New York, and Québec. The program operates through a partnership structure where the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission serves as fiscal agent, managing financial and contractual operations while program staff remain employees of the commission rather than direct federal employees.

Previous authorization levels have varied considerably. The Daniel Patrick Moynihan Lake Champlain Basin Program Act of 2002 authorized up to $11 million annually. The program received a significant boost from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which provided $40 million over five years—approximately $8 million annually through 2027.

The 2026 proposal of $35 million annually would replace the expiring infrastructure funds while increasing the baseline authorization above historical levels.

Administrative Efficiency Under Scrutiny

A central feature of the 2026 legislation is a requirement for periodic evaluation of the program’s fiscal agent. The House Appropriations Committee directed the EPA to evaluate the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission’s performance, focusing on the timeliness of awarding and completing projects and overall cost-effectiveness.

The evaluation must include “significant input” from local stakeholders and the Lake Champlain Steering Committee. If the review determines the current arrangement is not meeting efficiency benchmarks, the legislation provides authority to select a new fiscal agent.

NEIWPCC currently employs program staff with benefits including a 10% employer retirement contribution and qualification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. These employment costs are funded through the federal grants the commission manages. As the program’s budget has grown from roughly $11 million in the early 2000s to the currently requested $35 million, congressional interest in administrative overhead has intensified.

Persistent Phosphorus Problems

The legislative push for increased funding comes against a backdrop of stubborn water quality challenges documented in the 2024 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators Report. The report, produced every three years, tracks progress on clean water, healthy ecosystems, thriving communities, and public engagement.

Phosphorus targets were established in 1991 for each of the lake’s 13 segments to protect swimming, fishing, and drinking water uses. Since monitoring began in 1990, none of these segments have consistently maintained phosphorus levels below their targeted limits. Problem areas include Missisquoi Bay, St. Albans Bay, and the South Lake, which continue to exceed targets significantly.

A major challenge is “legacy phosphorus”—nutrients deposited in lake bottom sediments from historical activities that can release back into the water column when oxygen levels are low, a process that increases as lake temperatures rise.

Extreme weather events compound the problem. In July 2023, a massive storm delivered over 300 billion gallons of water and more than 300 metric tons of phosphorus to Lake Champlain in seven days—roughly half the annual targeted phosphorus load for the entire basin in a single week.

The report indicates that approximately 164,000 people, about one-quarter of the basin’s population, rely on Lake Champlain for drinking water.

Round Goby on the Doorstep

A significant portion of the 2026 legislation addresses the threat of the round goby, an invasive fish that has devastated Great Lakes ecosystems and is now advancing through the New York State Canal System. First discovered in the Hudson River near Troy in July 2021, the species poses multiple threats to Lake Champlain.

As bottom-dwellers, round gobies outcompete native fish like sculpins and darters for food and habitat. They consume the eggs of native game fish including smallmouth bass and lake trout, potentially affecting the region’s recreational fishing industry. The fish also consume large quantities of zebra mussels, which can cause them to bioaccumulate toxins that move up the food chain to larger fish and waterbirds.

Current management strategies include “double draining” of locks C-1 through C-4 along the Champlain Canal, where a lock is emptied and refilled twice before admitting vessels to create currents that flush fish away from lock chambers. Lock C-1 is also restricted to northbound traffic at specific daily intervals to minimize fish passage opportunities.

These deterrence measures are temporary solutions. A permanent barrier would require physical or mechanical separation of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain basins, with significant implications for recreational boating and the regional economy.

Great Lakes Partnership Formalized

The legislation formalizes a partnership between the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, originally established by a 1954 convention between the United States and Canada to manage sea lamprey and coordinate fisheries research in the Great Lakes.

The commission’s work in Lake Champlain has already produced results. Through coordinated lampricide treatments in tributaries and operation of lamprey barriers, wounding rates on lake trout from sea lamprey have been kept below targeted limits for the last three years. This success contributed to the restoration of wild, self-sustaining populations of lake trout, a milestone celebrated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2025.

The commission maintains a separate account for U.S. funds allocated specifically for Lake Champlain species and habitat restoration, distinct from its Great Lakes sea lamprey control funds.

Economic Connections

The legislation’s sponsors emphasize connections between lake health and regional economic activity. Lake Champlain lacks the major shipping ports found in the Great Lakes, making its economic value largely dependent on water quality for tourism and recreation.

Beach closures due to harmful algal blooms remain a significant issue for summer tourism. The introduction of round gobies would alter the fishing experience, as these aggressive fish can dominate anglers’ lines and make it harder to catch target species.

The program also works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state agencies to provide financial and technical assistance for best management practices on farms, including cover cropping, no-till agriculture, and riparian buffers designed to reduce phosphorus runoff. Previous legislation increased federal cost-sharing to up to 90% for certain projects.

International Dimensions

While the Lake Champlain Basin Program operates as an international partnership with Québec as a signatory to cooperative agreements, the federal legislation focuses on U.S. funding and does not directly address binational mechanisms for managing shared waters like Missisquoi Bay, which receives inputs from the Pike and Rock Rivers in Québec.

What Happens Next

The Lake Champlain Basin Program Enhancements Act of 2026 now moves through the congressional legislative process. The bipartisan, bicameral sponsorship suggests potential for passage, though timing remains uncertain.

If enacted, the legislation would provide funding certainty through 2032 and trigger the first formal evaluation of the program’s administrative structure since its creation. The EPA and Lake Champlain Steering Committee would conduct the fiscal agent review with stakeholder input, potentially resulting in recommendations for operational changes or continuation of the current arrangement.

The program would continue existing work on phosphorus reduction, invasive species monitoring, and habitat restoration while facing the scheduled 2027 expiration of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act supplemental funding. Without reauthorization, the program would face a funding reduction just as climate-driven extreme precipitation events and advancing invasive species increase management challenges.

The round goby monitoring and deterrence efforts would continue through the formalized Great Lakes Fishery Commission partnership, with environmental DNA surveillance tracking the species’ progress through the canal system. The ultimate question of a permanent biological barrier in the Champlain Canal would require separate feasibility studies and decision-making beyond this legislation’s scope.