WHITE HOUSE LOOKS TO TRIM EPA’S BUDGET IN FY2014 REQUEST

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
4/10/13

The Obama Administration said today that it is looking to refocus program budgets within the Environmental Protection Agency in order to create a leaner organization during a time of deficit reduction. In its Fiscal Year 2014 budget request to Congress today, the White House requested $8.15 billion for EPA, a 3.5 percent decrease compared to the FY 2012 levels. The Administration said it aims to focus EPA’s operations on its “core priorities” of state and tribal assistance and climate change moving forward, and that it would look to eliminate waste elsewhere within the Agency. “This request reflects our ongoing effort to change the way EPA does business—to reduce spending wherever possible, to invest in more efficient ways for the Agency to operate and to preserve and enhance our ability to protect human health and the environment,” acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe told reporters this afternoon. He added that the proposed cuts are the product of “some long and difficult discussions.”

The FY2014 proposed budget calls for a slight increase in funding for categorical grants for states and tribes, the vehicle for which states, tribes and local governments implement EPA’s clean air rulemakings and programs. The White House requested $1.1 billion for that program, a $47 million increase above current funding levels. Within that allocation, the Administration requests $257 million specifically for state and local air quality management programs, which administer the bulk of EPA’s Clean Air Act regulations, an increase of $22 million above last year’s funding levels. The FY2014 budget requests $176.5 million to fund climate change research, a slight increase from last year’s funding levels. “These funds will help reduce emissions both domestically and internationally through careful, cost-effective rulemaking and voluntary incentive-based programs that focus on the largest entities and encourage businesses and consumers to limit unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions,” Perciasepe said. The account helps oversees programs like EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program and ENERGY STAR.

E-Enterprise Initiative

To offset those slight funding increases, the Administration proposed $472 million in cuts to EPA’s clean water state revolving funds, which fund water quality protection projects across the country. The White House proposed $1.9 billion for that account for FY2014, adding that EPA will now target its assistance under the revolving funds only to small and underserved communities with a limited ability to repay loans. The request also proposes cutting funding to EPA’s Hazardous Substance Superfund and eliminating $54 million from outdated, overlapping and underperforming programs.

The White House proposal also calls for a restructuring of the Agency’s workforce, consolidating positions and streamlining programs in order to cut down on overhead. The FY2014 request says that investing $60 million in a new initiative called E-Enterprise Initiative will help pick up some of the slack. The program is, at first glance, an attempt by the Agency to further transition away from paper to electronic reporting. The program also develops what EPA describes as an “interactive portal” that tracks regulatory transactions that the Agency makes with states, tribes and the business community such as permit applications. The E-Enterprise Initiative could also be a source of compliance information for industry about EPA’s regulations, according to a White House fact sheet, which said the program would “transform” the way EPA works with stakeholders. “This investment will improve the quality of data used for decision-making and allow the Agency and States to regulate and enforce compliance more effectively and efficiently,” the fact sheet said.