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APPROPRIATIONS: Prospects Low For Restoring EPA Wastewater Spending Account, Advocates Say
Darren Samuelsohn, E&E Daily senior reporter
Wastewater infrastructure advocates downplayed their chances yesterday for restoring a House Appropriations panel's recommended cut of $200 million for the U.S. EPA's low-interest state loan program.
A key House Democrat, environmentalists and one of the
industry's lead trade groups said fiscal year 2007 may be the most difficult to
date as they try to increase funding for the EPA's Clean Water State Revolving
Loan Fund. Competing budget priorities and the Bush administration's preference
to zero out the water program within six years make for difficult odds, the
funding proponents said.
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the House Interior and
Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, would not rule out an amendment in the
coming weeks to increase spending on the wastewater account -- one of the
largest in EPA's annual budget. But he cautioned that such a move is tough in
the current tight climate.
"If you're looking to do it and be credible, you have to be able to show an
offset," Dicks said.
EPA for the second year in a row has to compete for its annual budget with the
Interior Department under a House Republican reorganization plan. Heather
Taylor, deputy legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council,
said a tight $25.89 billion budget allocation for the entire subcommittee meant
a no-win situation as EPA and Interior are forced to square off over limited
resources.
"No matter what you're doing, you're going to be robbing Peter to pay Paul," she
said.
Adam Krantz, a spokesman at the National Association of Clean Water Agencies,
said he expected Congress may restore only a fraction of the cut from the fiscal
2006 budget of $887 million once final negotiations are completed with the
Senate. "It's clear there's no money there in a shrinking pot of money," he
said.
The Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which provides local communities with
low-interest loans for wastewater infrastructure repairs and upgrades, has been
the target of administration cuts for years. But lawmakers on both sides of the
aisle have fought cuts to the program. Their main argument centers around how
federal funding or the use of user fees is needed to patch a more than $350
billion funding gap for wastewater infrastructure
During yesterday's EPA-Interior budget markup, House Appropriations Committee
ranking member David Obey (D-Wis.) complained that the wastewater fund had crept
50 percent below its high mark of $1.35 billion in fiscal 2004. He said the
incremental cuts were the same as one large cut. Like Dicks, he also indicated
the prospect of restoring the wastewater funding was minimal under current
GOP-driven budget allocations.
House recommends $7.56 billion EPA budget
Overall, EPA would see its fiscal 2007 budget at $7.56 billion, a $65 million
cut from current levels under the House legislation. The figure is a slight
increase over Bush's proposal to spend $7.32 billion on EPA. It also is nearly
$500 million below the fiscal 2005 level of $8.02 billion.
House Republican and Democratic aides said yesterday there were no major EPA
policy riders in the subcommittee-approved legislation. But the aides also noted
that such items could emerge when the full committee considers the measure on
Wednesday. Floor action on the EPA budget could be held as soon as the week of
May 22, according to a House GOP aide.
Senate action has not been scheduled on the agencies' spending legislation.
Specific funding levels within the EPA budget went in many directions. The
agency's revolving loan program for drinking water managed better than its
sister wastewater account. The House bill provides $850 million, about $8
million above Bush's request.
Science and technology spending within the agency's largest budget chapter would
receive $808 million, an increase of more than $70 million compared with the
fiscal 2006 level of $731 million. Superfund spending goes up under the House
plan to $1.26 billion from $1.24 billion in fiscal 2006.
Following the administration's lead, the House panel cut $2.5 million in funding
for the EPA library system. The American Library Association and other groups
have warned that implementing Bush's request could lead to the closure of the
EPA headquarters library in Washington, as well as many of the agency's 27
regional and laboratory facilities.
The House panel also rejected some of Bush's budget proposals, including a plan
to cut funding for state air and water grants. The House panel recommended $220
million in grants for state agencies that conduct air quality monitoring, as
well as $204 million in grants for state implementation of water pollution
requirements.
Lawmakers further denied Bush's request for $5 million at EPA for one of the
administration's top global warming priorities, the Asia-Pacific Partnership for
sharing climate-friendly technologies. A House Republican aide explained that
the State and Energy departments receive the bulk of Bush's $52 million overall
request in fiscal 2007 for the partnership.
On homeland security, the House panel recommended $16.7 million for the "Water
Sentinel" program, a new administration effort that would help monitor water
infrastructure safety and develop response plans in the event of a terrorist
attack. Bush had requested $45 million, a 500 percent increase over its $8
million appropriation for fiscal 2006.
The House bill also includes $23 million for diesel retrofits, though it did
deny the administration's request to only fund such programs in areas of the
country that do not meet federal air quality standards.