EPA’s FY 2007 Budget Reflects Efficiency, Collaboration and Sound Science

( Washington , D.C. - February 6, 2006 ) President Bush’s 2007 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency reflects the need for spending restraint while accelerating environmental protection, maintaining economic competitiveness and strengthening homeland defenses. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and key agency officials announced the budget at a Washington , D.C. , news briefing today.

“EPA shares in the responsibility of being good stewards of our nation’s environment, and good stewards of our nation’s tax dollars,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “This budget fulfills every presidential environmental commitment and maintains the goals laid out in EPA’s Strategic Plan, while spending less.”

The president’s budget requested $184 million for EPA Homeland Security efforts, an increase of $55 million over the FY 2006 enacted budget. This funding includes:

· $33 million to protect our drinking water from terrorist attack, including additional Water Sentinel pilots;
· $10 million to develop Environmental Laboratory Preparedness and Response capability; and,
· $10 million to provide for environmental decontamination, including related research and development.

With a focus on collaboration and innovation, the president’s budget provides:

· More than $100 million to support EPA’s new priorities outlined in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, including;
· $50 million for the new Diesel Emissions Reduction Program, to support cleaner fuels and diesel retrofits, rebuilds and replacements. EPA estimates this amount will attract at least $100 million in funding assistance and reduce particulate matter by approximately 7,000 tons, achieving an estimated $2 billion in health benefits;
· $38 million in underground storage tank funding, a $26 million increase over FY 2006 enacted levels, to prevent future releases from such tanks;
· $11 million for the development and implementation of the renewable fuel standard which leads to increasing market share of ethanol and renewable fuels;
· More than $70 million to clean and protect the Great Lakes . This includes $50 million for Great Lakes Legacy Act programs, an increase of more than $20 million from last year’s enacted budget, to support four to six sediment remediation projects, which will result in cleanup of approximately 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments; and,
· $26 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program, an increase of $4 million over last year’s enacted budget, for improving water quality, overall protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The funding includes $6 million for the Corsica River pilot project in the state of Maryland to help establish 200 acres of forested buffers on non-agricultural land, restore 50 acres of wetlands and two miles of stream channel, restore 10 acres of aquatic vegetation and 20 acres of oyster beds.

To help promote scientific research, the president’s 2007 budget request includes:

· $7 million for a Water Infrastructure initiative, a major research effort that will generate the science and engineering needed to evaluate promising innovative technologies to reduce the cost of operation, maintenance, and replacement of aging and failing systems for drinking water and wastewater treatment;
· $4 million in additional support for 2007, for a total of $8.6 million, to study the impacts of manufactured nanomaterials on human health and the environment and nanotechnology’s potential beneficial uses;
· $8.9 million 2007 funding for the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), an internet database of information on the potential human health effects of environmental substances; and,
· $15 million 2007 funding for the Computational Toxicology program.

In addition, the president requested nearly $1.3 billion for the Superfund program, a $17 million increase over last year’s enacted budget. The program will achieve 40 construction completions.

Contact Information

Eryn Witcher

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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