Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
Congress Approves $8.1 Billion for EPA, Cuts State Revolving Fund, Other Programs
Congress approved $8.1 billion in fiscal year 2005 funding for the Environmental Protection Agency as part of an omnibus package that contained nine of the 13 appropriations bills.
The omnibus bill (H.R. 4818; H.Rep. 108-792), which was passed Nov. 20,
contained 0.8 percent in spending cuts across all agencies. For EPA, that
resulted in a decrease from the $8.4 billion approved in fiscal 2004, but is up
from the $7.76 billion requested by the Bush administration in February.
One of the most high-profile decreases was to the Clean Water Act state
revolving fund (SRF), which dropped from the $1.35 billion level that had been
appropriated annually since 1996 to $1.1 billion.
Money from this account mostly goes to provide low-interest loans to communities
for wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects, and it also pays for a
variety of other Clean Water Act programs.
The Safe Drinking Water Act revolving fund went up about $5 million, to $850
million in the conference report.
The largest account in the EPA budget, the state and tribal assistance grants
(STAG), is being funded at $3.6 billion, a decrease from $3.9 billion in FY
2004. This includes both the wastewater and drinking water SRF as well as other
grant programs for states.
State water pollution control officials criticized the cuts to the clean water
SRF, saying it could impede their ability to meet Clean Water Act goals.
"It is disconcerting that at a time when federal regulatory mandates are
increasing, new chemicals are being discovered in our waterways, and
environmental results are a required part of program planning, Congress would
curtail the single investment that simultaneously addresses all three," said
Mark Pifher, vice president of the Association of State and Interstate Water
Pollution Control Administrators and head of Colorado's water pollution control
programs.
Officials with the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies said they will
use the SRF cuts to push harder for a trust fund to provide a dedicated pool of
money for infrastructure and other clean water needs.
Arsenic Funding Deleted
The final bill omits language approved by Senate appropriators that would have
provided $30 million for a program to help communities build infrastructure to
reduce levels of arsenic in drinking water. Communities must meet the 10 part
per billion arsenic standard for their drinking water by 2006.
The bill directs EPA to submit a report to Congress by Aug. 15, 2005, on the
effect the arsenic rule has on communities, the cost of meeting its
requirements, and possible alternatives.
Congressional add-ons in the STAG account, which generally consist of water,
sewer, and stormwater projects in individual members' districts, were cut from
$325 million in fiscal 2004 to $310 million.
In one of the few increases in the conference report, Congress approved $45
million for drinking water and wastewater projects in Alaska, a modest boost
from $43 million in fiscal 2004. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is stepping down as
chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee because the Republicans have
limited committee chairmanships to six years.
Superfund Levels Remain the Same
Superfund will receive $1.257 billion, slightly less than the $1.265 billion in
fiscal 2004.
Money for the brownfields program is spread over several accounts and totals
$165 million with $90 million coming out of the STAG account to pay for
infrastructure projects, a decrease of $3 million from fiscal 2004 and the $123
million sought by the administration.
Another $50 million goes for congressional add-ons, also known as earmarks, and
$25 million is part of EPA's environmental programs and management (EPM)
account.
State air assistance grants are funded at $225 million, about the same as the
previous year.
Funding for nonpoint source water pollution control programs was cut to $209
million from $238 million the past two years, while funding under Clean Water
Act Section 106 was set at $210 million, a $10 million increase from fiscal 2004
and a $12 million drop from the president's request.
The conference report contains $18 million for targeted watershed grants,
including $8 million for the Chesapeake Bay. The level for the entire program is
$3 million more than FY 2004.
The conference report contains $7.5 million for a program to help localities
retrofit their diesel-powered school buses to emit fewer harmful pollutants.
Funding to help states implement Resource Conservation and Recovery Act programs
is set at $104 million, about $2 million less than the previous year.
The EPM account totals $2.3 billion, about $20 million above fiscal 2004, and
also includes money for the day-to-day operations of the agency.
By Susan Bruninga