Shortly after President Trump signed his Executive Order, Unleashing American Energy on January 20, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a follow-up memorandum clarifying the scope of Section 7 requiring Agencies to immediately pause disbursement of all funds appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA). This original Order could be interpreted to include funding related to water projects.
The clarification memo released by OMB last night states: This pause only applies to funds supporting programs, projects, or activities that contravene the policy established in Section 2 of the order.
Section 2 of the Order states—
“It is the policy of the United States:
“(a) to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader long into the future;
“(b) to establish our position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals, which will create jobs and prosperity at home, strengthen supply chains for the United States and its allies, and reduce the global influence of malign and adversarial states;
“(c) to protect the United States’s economic and national security and military preparedness by ensuring that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible in every State and territory of the Nation;
“(d) to ensure that all regulatory requirements related to energy are grounded in clearly applicable law;
“(e) to eliminate the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate” and promote true consumer choice, which is essential for economic growth and innovation, by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access; by ensuring a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles; by terminating, where appropriate, state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles; and by considering the elimination of unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and effectively mandate their purchase by individuals, private businesses, and government entities alike by rendering other types of vehicles unaffordable;
“(f) to safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads, and to promote market competition and innovation within the manufacturing and appliance industries;
“(g) to ensure that the global effects of a rule, regulation, or action shall, whenever evaluated, be reported separately from its domestic costs and benefits, in order to promote sound regulatory decision making and prioritize the interests of the American people;
“(h) to guarantee that all executive departments and agencies (agencies) provide opportunity for public comment and rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific analysis; and
“(i) to ensure that no Federal funding be employed in a manner contrary to the principles outlined in this section, unless required by law.”
Given OMB’s clarification, we do not believe that it is the intention of the Executive Order to disrupt or pause disbursements of funds from the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency appropriated under the BIL and IRA that support water reuse projects. However, we are monitoring the situation closely and over the next several days will confirm this understanding with Agency officials. WateReuse is in regular contact with federal agency staff to ensure that the Executive Order is interpreted narrowly so as not to apply to important water reuse grant and loan programs. We will continue to report on this situation as information becomes available.
Read OMB’s follow-up memo here.
Read the Executive Order, Unleashing American Energy, here. | 
