Bresnahan and President Trump Deliver on Promise to Reverse Obama-Era “Rain Tax” Mandate

September 16, 2026
Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC: Today, U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr. (PA-08) joined President Donald J. Trump as he signed an executive order reversing the Obama-era executive order that created the “Rain Tax,” the unfunded federal stormwater mandate that has forced tens of thousands of homeowners and small business owners across Luzerne County to pay quarterly fees tied to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts. The Chesapeake Bay is more than 200 miles from Northeastern Pennsylvania.

This Executive Order removes the mandate established by Executive Order 13508, issued by President Obama, that threatened Northeastern Pennsylvania communities with fines if they did not comply. The Executive Order can be found here, and the fact sheet can be found here. 

“For too long, families in Luzerne County have opened their mailbox to find a bill for the rain that falls on their own roofs and driveways, all to fund a faraway cleanup effort that has fallen dramatically short of its goals after four decades and tens of billions of dollars,” said Rep. Bresnahan. “Today’s reversal is proof of what happens when you fight for solutions instead of just talking about it. I want to thank President Trump for listening to the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania and taking real action to end this unfunded mandate.”

Delivering relief on the “Rain Tax” has been a top priority for Rep. Bresnahan since before he was sworn into office. He fought to keep this issue front and center for the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and worked alongside both toward today's executive order. 

Background

The Rain Tax is the product of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup program, a more than 40-year-old effort that Washington and Harrisburg have steadily ramped up without a plan to pay for it, ultimately passing the bill onto local communities and property owners.

In 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13508, directing federal agencies to accelerate enforcement for Bay cleanup. In December 2010, the EPA followed this with the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), a “pollution diet,” that the EPA itself described as “a keystone commitment of a federal strategy to meet President Obama's Executive Order 13508.” The agency was clear about its enforcement plan, promising it would “hold jurisdictions accountable for results along the way.” 

Pennsylvania has been a willing partner with the federal government. First signing the original Chesapeake Bay Agreement in 1983, the Commonwealth has committed, over and over, to plans to cut pollution. The Commonwealth kept committing even after acknowledging its 2019 Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan had an annual funding gap of $324 million. It most recently adopted the latest version of the revised Watershed Agreement in 2025 and Governor Shapiro chairs the Chesapeake Executive Council. 

With these stricter requirements being forced on local municipalities, 32 municipalities in Luzerne County banded together through the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority to comply with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit requirements. However, without federal or state funding to cover the cost of compliance, a stormwater fee, which became known as the Rain Tax, was established. The WVSA saved small towns from fines totaling up to $10,000 a day due to their action. 

The policy has been met with resistance and become a fight in Luzerne County, with many, including residents, acknowledging the benefits are limited while the cost is not.

The issue has also threatened to spread outside of Luzerne County. In June 2025, the Scranton Times-Tribune reported Lackawanna County was working to enlist all 40 of its municipalities to back an application for a state grant to study the possibility of creating a countywide stormwater management plan, which has been met with local resistance.

The fight has extended to Congress, where Rep. Bresnahan has been working with EPA officials to eliminate the Rain Tax Federal Mandate in PA-08.

In March 2025, Rep. Bresnahan organized and hosted an environmental roundtable in Swiftwater, PA, bringing EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to the Eighth District to hear directly from local officials about the Rain Tax burden. At that roundtable, Bresnahan said the effort was “an important step in unleashing energy dominance and eliminating the Rain Tax in PA-08.” 

On August 26, 2025, EPA's Region 3 office confirmed in writing to Rep. Bresnahan's office, which had been advocating to the EPA on the issue, that stormwater fees are not required by federal or state law, even as municipalities remain bound by strict pollution-reduction targets under threat of fines. 

After more than 40 years of effort and tens of billions of dollars in cumulative spending across state and federal partners, the results of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup have fallen short of its goals while regulation costs and pressure on individuals have intensified.

The 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement promised a 40 percent reduction in nutrient pollution by 2000. The Chesapeake 2000 Agreement promised restored Bay water quality by 2010. The 2010 pollution diet set a midpoint of 60 percent of the necessary reductions by 2017 and a final deadline of full implementation by 2025. These were all missed. Pennsylvania has achieved only 29% of its nitrogen reduction goal. The Chesapeake Bay Program has now extended its deadlines to 2040.

Water Infrastructure and Affordability

Rep. Bresnahan has secured funding and worked to advance bipartisan legislation to modernize the local water and wastewater systems Northeastern Pennsylvania families depend on, and to keep costs down on their monthly bills, including:

Funding secured in FY26: 

  • $1,000,000 for Dallas Area Municipal Authority Wastewater Infrastructure Expansion (Interior/Environment) — This funding will be used to repair, construct, and expand wastewater infrastructure of three municipal authorities: Harvey’s Lake, Dallas Area, and Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authorities.
  • $1,250,000 for Eastern Pike County Sewer Extension (Interior/Environment) — This funding will be used to extend wastewater treatment from the Westfall Municipal Authority to connect the commercial and residential districts in both Matamoras Borough and Milford Borough.
  • $1,250,000 for Monroe County Wastewater Treatment Project (Interior/Environment) — This funding will be used for wastewater treatment, demolition, of the existing wastewater plant at the end of its operational life, and construction of a new facility outside a flood zone.

Funding requested in FY27:

  • $1,700,000 for Honesdale Borough Stormwater Management Updates (Interior/Environment) — This funding will go to a project to install 30 new inlet boxes and the extension of culvert piping to effectively capture and redirect stormwater from areas currently experiencing uncontrolled runoff.

Legislation Introduced:

  • H.R. 6075 - Water Infrastructure Modernization Act — This bipartisan bill would give communities the flexibility to use new technology including real-time monitoring, leak detection, and predictive maintenance, to upgrade aging water systems 

Legislation Cosponsored:

  • H.R. 4733 - Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment (LIHWAP) Act — This bipartisan bill would permanently reestablish LIHWAP, a program that assisted 1.5 million low-income households with water bills before expiring.  
  • H.R. 5661 - Water Preservation and Affordability Act — This bipartisan bill would update the Clean Water Act so federally funded water projects prioritize resource preservation techniques, including water reuse, energy efficiency, and stormwater mitigation.

 

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