News Update
EPA’s FY 2013 budget proposal announced
Staff report
Enviro-Net
The Obama Administration proposed a FY 2013 budget of $8.344 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This budget reflects a government-wide effort to reduce spending and find cost-savings, and is $105 million below the EPA’s enacted level for FY 2012.
The FY 2013 budget is the result of EPA’s ongoing efforts to consider potential cost savings and reductions while continuing its commitment to core environmental and health protections--safeguarding Americans from pollution in the air they breathe, the water they drink and the land where they build their communities.
Key FY 2013 budget highlights include:
Supporting state governments. The budget proposes $1.2 billion in categorical grants for states that are implementing environmental statutes such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
Protecting America’s waters. The proposal provides $2 billion for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving funds.
Cleaning up contaminated sites. The proposal includes $755 million in funding for the Superfund cleanup program, which maintains funding to support cleanup at hazardous waste sites that address emergencies at the nation’s highest priority sites.
Investing in research. EPA’s proposed budget provides $576 million to support research and innovation.
Ongoing support to vital water bodies. EPA is proposing $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. About $73 million will fund the Chesapeake Bay program.
Compliance. EPA’s budget proposal requests $36 million to support “Next Generation Complianceâ€, a new enforcement model designed to enhance EPA’s ability to detect violations that impact public health. The three components of this approach are: 1) promoting electronic reporting by facilities, 2) modifying data systems to implement electronic reporting, and 3) deploying modern monitoring technology.
More information is available at http://www.epa.gov/budget.