S. 1394: Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-05-20 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-05-20 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2015

Plain summary

Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a Columbia River Basin Restoration Program to reduce toxic contamination and clean up contaminated sites. The program must be collaborative and stakeholder-based. The EPA must: (1) assess trends in water quality and toxic contamination or toxics reduction; (2) collect, characterize and assess data on toxics and water quality to identify possible causes of environmental problems; (3) update the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Plan (Action Plan) and the Estuary Partnership Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (Estuary Plan) and ensure that the plans form a coherent toxic contamination reduction strategy; and (4) provide technical assistance in implementing and updating the Action Plan. The EPA must establish a Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Working Group to: (1) participate in developing updates to the Action Plan, (2) recommend and prioritize projects and actions for the Action Plan, and (3) review progress made. The Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership has to perform those duties and fulfill those responsibilities of the Working Group relating to the Lower Columbia River Estuary. The EPA must establish a Columbia River Basin toxics grant program to provide funding to develop or implement projects to implement the Action Plan and the Estuary Plan.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Columbia River Basin Restoration Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] reported raising $5.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s1394.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s1394 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114