H.R. 3346 — Sovereign State Environmental Quality Assurance Act

This section abolishes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—the independent federal agency established in 1970 to protect human health and the environment by administering statutes such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act—effective 270 days after enactment. It abolishes all EPA functions (i.e., duties, powers, activities, and programs); directs the EPA Administrator to wind up outstanding obligations prior to that date; requires a progress report to Congress within 90 days of enactment; and repeals, to the extent applicable to the EPA, all provisions of law authorizing or requiring any EPA function. (Thus, EPA enforcement, regulations, and programs under dozens of environmental statutes terminate on the specified date.)

This section establishes a block grant program administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, authorizing appropriations of $4,400,000,000 for each of FY2026 through 2029 to covered states (i.e., the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa), allocated proportional to each state's population per the latest decennial census. To receive funds, a state's governor must designate one or more environmental quality departments—which must use the funds for air quality, water quality (including drinking water protection and safety), solid and hazardous waste management, chemical safety and emergency response, radiation protection, and contaminated site remediation—and commit to Treasury-determined audits of fund use. (Thus, the designated departments administer state-level environmental protection programs typically supported by the Environmental Protection Agency.) The section further authorizes misuse recovery by Treasury (via repayment and fund withholding) and appropriates necessary sums for Treasury administration and congressional reporting on audits for FY2026 through 2029.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct annual studies on the implementation and effectiveness of the Act for each of FY2026 through FY2029 and submit reports on those studies to Congress not later than 180 days after the end of each fiscal year. It authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary to the Comptroller General for FY2026 through FY2029 to carry out this section.