Dear WateReuse Members,

Over the last several days, the White House has issued a series of executive orders and subsequent memoranda regarding funding freezes and other important matters. We recognize that the rapid release of multiple—and sometimes conflicting—directives has created confusion across the country, including across national and local media outlets.

Yesterday afternoon, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo rescinding a previous memo entitled Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs (M-25-13). The White House, however, also clarified that President Trump’s recent executive orders remain in effect. This includes the President’s Executive Order entitled Unleashing American Energy, which directs federal departments and agencies to freeze a subset of federal programs pending review.

As we stated in our member alert dated January 23, 2025, it is our interpretation that water reuse programs administered by the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other federal departments and agencies will not be frozen under President Trump’s recent executive orders.  

While we do not anticipate that federal water reuse grant and loan programs will be frozen as part of recent orders, we do expect federal agencies and departments to be reviewing all programs to ensure alignment with the President’s priorities. This may cause a delay in project award processing, including fund disbursements. Agencies and departments have been directed to review Bureau of Reclamation and EPA water programs and to report to OMB any programs that are “supporting removable illegal aliens,” “burdening domestic energy production,” or supporting “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, environmental justice, or equity-related initiatives.”

Alongside the series of orders and memos related to federal funding, President Trump also signed an Executive Order focused on California water, entitled Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas. The Executive Order directs the Secretary of Interior and Secretary of Commerce to “immediately take actions to override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries” in Southern California. The Order directs the Departments of Interior and Commerce to develop a plan to suspend, revise, or rescind any Endangered Species Act or National Environmental Policy Act regulations or procedures that “obstruct, delay, curtail, impede or otherwise impose significant costs on the permitting, utilization, transmission, delivery, or supply of water resources and water infrastructure” in California. The Secretaries are further directed to review and report on the State’s use of federal programs, including water supply, storage, and delivery programs. This directive may also cause a delay in processing California project awards while the agencies complete their reviews but may lead to accelerated award timelines if federal permitting hurdles are ultimately relaxed. 

WateReuse is actively tracking the ongoing flurry of executive actions and is in contact with federal agencies and offices. As you receive communications directly from the Administration regarding this and future executive actions, we ask that you relay that information to us (along with relevant project details) so that we can see how information is being communicated to grant and loan recipients. This will help us as we advocate with the Administration and work to limit impacts on water recycling programs.