President Bush submitted
a 2005 environmental budget today that includes the highest level of
funding ever requested by a President for high-priority environment
and natural resource programs. His budget is focused on measuring performance
and producing results, building on the significant progress the Nation
has made in improving air quality, restoring public lands, providing
cleaner water, and protecting our resources and wildlife. For example,
over the last thirty years, as the U.S. economy expanded 164 percent,
population rose 39 percent, and energy consumption increased by 42 percent,
air pollution from the six major pollutants decreased by 48 percent.
The President's policies are focused on delivering even greater progress
across the board.
President Bush's budget request
reflects his commitment to achieving results. It invests heavily in
the programs that have been proven to work and in innovative programs
to work even better. The budget also emphasizes and supports collaborative
efforts between the federal, state and local governments to pursue more
local solutions to environmental challenges. Interior Department Secretary
Gale Norton, Agriculture Department Secretary Ann M. Veneman, EPA Administrator
Mike Leavitt and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman
James L. Connaughton made the following statements:
Secretary of the Interior
Gale Norton
"President Bush's budget
is focused on achieving results to conserve our natural and cultural
resources, serve communities, improve recreational opportunities and
promote partnered problem solving," Interior Secretary Gale Norton
said. "A tremendous example of the president's environmental commitment
is his $53 million increase for the Abandoned Mine Lands program - the
largest funding increase since states established AML funding programs
almost twenty years ago. The increase is part of a plan to eliminate
all significant health and safety problems associated with abandoned
coal mines within 25 years."
Secretary of Agriculture
Ann M. Veneman
"Farmers and ranchers
are some of the best stewards of the land. President Bush's budget includes
funding for good conservation measures and forest protections,"
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman said. "The fiscal year 2005
budget includes increases in important programs such as the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Reserve Program and Conservation
Security Program, as well as key funding increases under the Healthy
Forests Initiative to make our forests healthier, our communities safer
and wildfires less destructive."
EPA Administrator Mike
Leavitt
"With the President's
budget, we can pick up the pace -- protecting our land, cleaning our
air and cleansing our water -- efficiently, effectively and without
impairing the economy," said EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt. "We
can accelerate our environmental progress in protecting our spectacular
landscapes, our vital ecosystems, and the health of our communities
and their citizens."
White House Council on
Environmental Quality Chairman James L. Connaughton
"The Bush Administration
has embraced the philosophy that a growing American economy is the solution
to improving our environmental quality," said Jim Connaughton,
chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "The
funding priorities within this budget will advance the many performance-based
initiatives President Bush has launched to clean our air and water,
restore our lands, protect wildlife habitat, and encourage the ethic
and practice of personal stewardship."
2005
Budget Highlights
The 2005 budget proposes
record funding for high-priority environment and natural resource programs
and emphasizes measuring performance and effectiveness by:
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Proposing
$46.9 billion for high-priority environment and natural resource programs,
the highest level ever requested by a President. This funding level
is $1.4 billion, or roughly 3 percent, higher than the President's
2004 budget.
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Emphasizing
measuring program performance and effectiveness. Based on these measures,
the Administration seeks to increase funding for highly effective
programs.
To build on the progress
the nation has made in reducing air pollution and ensuring cleaner air
for future generations, the President's budget provides:
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Funding for
his Clear Skies Initiative to cut power plant pollution by 70 percent,
when implemented, the Interstate Air Quality rule, and the Administration's
new regulations on diesel engines and fuel.
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An increase
in funding, from $5 million to $65 million, for the Clean School Bus
USA program, which supports projects that reduce diesel emissions
from school buses through bus retrofit or replacement activities.
By expanding this program, additional resources are available to communities
for local initiatives that address an issue important to children
and parents across the nation.
To restore our forests
and grasslands to more natural, healthy conditions, and to reduce the
threat of catastrophic wildfires, the President's budget provides:
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A $58 million,
or 14 percent, increase for Department of the Interior and Department
of Agriculture fuels reduction (thinning of dense brush and undergrowth)
program. The total program funding of $476 million is now four times
the amount provided in fiscal year 2000. The two Departments propose
a total of $760 million for fuels reduction and other activities that
advance the Healthy Forest Restoration Act signed on Dec. 3, 2003
by the President.
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Together
with this increased funding, the budget reflects an improved environmental
review process, increased collaboration with local communities, and
other tools provided in the Healthy Forests Initiative that will enable
Interior and Agriculture to reduce the excessive build-up of hazardous
fuels in our Nation's forests and rangelands, reduce in priority areas
the risk of catastrophic fire to communities, help save the lives
of firefighters and citizens, and protected threatened and endangered
species.
To eliminate the dangers
emanating from abandoned coal mines, the President's budget provides:
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An increase
of $53 million, or 28 percent, for the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML)
program, the largest funding increase since states established their
AML funding programs almost twenty years ago. While not part of the
environment crosscut, this program is worth highlighting. The proposed
increase accompanies a plan to eliminate all significant health and
safety problems associated with abandoned coal mines within 25 years.
Under the current program, it would take an average of 47 years to
reclaim the most dangerous abandoned coal mines. In addition to resolving
serious health and safety problems, by acting now to refocus the program
and directing funding to the highest priority sites, the AML reforms
will save more than $3 billion over the life of the program.
To manage, improve and
restore to good order our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges, the President's
budget provides:
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$2.6 billion
to manage the National Park system and the Fish and Wildlife Service
core operations. This includes a $76 million, or 5 percent, increase
for NPS operations (nearly $1.7 billion total).
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A $4.6 million
increase ($77.6 million total) for National Park Service's Natural
Resource Challenge, the ongoing effort to measure the condition of
natural resources in national parks.
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Over $1.1
billion in funds for maintenance of park facilities and roads, a 37
percent increase over 2001 and nearly double the amount from just
seven years ago. This $77 million increase over last year will bring
the total investment in park facilities maintenance during this Administration
to $3.9 billion over four years and help fulfill the President's funding
commitment to provide $4.9 billion over 5 years. Equally importantly,
the National Park Service now has for the first time in its history
an asset management system in place to establish the actual conditions
of NPS facilities and objectively measure improvements in their condition.
To continue developing
clean, domestic energy options that will reduce our dependence on foreign
oil, and cut air and pollution greenhouse gas emissions, the President's
budget provides:
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Continuing
support for his 5-year, $1.2 billion initiative to research and develop
hydrogen production, storage, and infrastructure technologies to accelerate
the introduction of commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel cells
for cars, trucks, homes, and businesses, while producing virtually
no pollution or greenhouse gases.
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$447 million
for the President's Coal Research Initiative to improve the environmental
performance of coal power plants by reducing emissions and improving
efficiency. This includes $237 million for the "FutureGen"
coal-fired, zero-emissions electricity and hydrogen power plant announced
by the President in February 2003. While this program is not part
of the environment crosscut, it is worth noting as an important initiative.
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Tax incentives
totaling $4.2 billion through 2009 to spur the use of clean, renewable
energy and energy-efficient technologies, such as hybrid and fuel-cell
vehicles, residential solar heating systems, renewable energy produced
from landfill gas, wind or biomass, and efficient combined heat and
power systems. These incentives are not included in the environment
crosscut, but they, too, are worth highlighting in this context.
To continue the President's
support for increased scientific research on global climate, the budget
provides:
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$238 million
for the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI), a $70 million increase,
or 42 percent, over 2004. This funding level includes $57 million
to accelerate efforts to advance understanding of the role of aerosols
in climate science, better quantify carbon sources and sinks, and
improve the technology and infrastructure used to observe and model
climate variations. The CCRI focuses on reducing significant uncertainties
in climate science, improving global climate observing systems, and
developing resources to support policymaking and resource management.
To ensure cleaner, safer
water, the President's budget provides:
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$45 million
for the Great Lakes Legacy Program, almost five times the 2004 level
of $10 million. These additional funds will allow EPA, in conjunction
with its community partners, to begin remediating contaminated sediments
at six sites. Sediment remediation will help keep toxics such as polychlorinated
biphenyls and heavy metals from entering the food chain, where they
may cause adverse effects on human health and the environment.
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$25 million
for the Targeted Watersheds program, a $10 million increase, or 67
percent, over the 2004 Consolidated Appropriations legislation level.
Through this program, EPA will provide competitive grants to communities
to implement watershed protection and restoration plans. Of the $25
million, $10 million is designated for a regional pilot program. The
2005 pilot will take place in the Chesapeake Bay, with the funds used
to help publicly-owned treatment works implement nonpoint source projects
to comply with nutrient discharge limits.
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$20 million
for a new water quality monitoring initiative. This proposal provides
$17 million in grants and $3 million in technical assistance to help
States and tribes develop and implement statistically representative
water quality monitoring programs. This consistency across programs
will eventually allow EPA to make a national determination of water
quality and ensure resources target the highest priority problems.
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$21 million
for Water 2025, an increase of $13.3 million for this initiative that
strategically addresses the problem of competing demands for a finite
water supply. While this funding is not part of the environment crosscut,
it is of significant importance. Water 2025 will help States, Tribes,
and local communities improve conservation, implement efficiencies,
and monitor water resources. In some cases, collaborative approaches
and market-based transfers can use water banks or other means to meet
emerging needs. Federal investments in research and development will
provide more affordable water treatment technologies, such as desalination,
to increase water supplies in critical areas.
To ensure cleaner lands
through waste site clean-ups and continuous monitoring, the President's
budget provides:
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$7.4 billion,
an increase of around $400 million over 2004, for the Department of
Energy's (DOE) Environmental Management program to accelerate hazardous
and radioactive waste cleanup projects at federal facilities. The
2005 Budget contains the highest request ever for the program.
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A total of
$210 million for brownfields cleanup, a $40 million, or 24 percent,
increase over the 2004 Consolidated Appropriations legislation level.
The funding includes an increase for grants and loans to fund clean
up of lightly contaminated sites.
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$1.4 billion
for the Superfund, a $124 million, or 10 percent increase, over the
2004 Consolidated Appropriations legislation level. This increase
reflects a 48 percent boost targeted for the Superfund's remedial
program, which will allow 8-12 additional construction starts in 2005
and a similar number of additional completions by 2006.
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An increase
of $26 million, or 217 percent, over the 2004 Consolidated Appropriations
legislation level to strengthen EPA's partnership with the States
to monitor underground storage tanks. Recognizing that States have
primary responsibility for monitoring tanks, issuing permits and enforcing
regulations, the additional grant money will provide funds for States
to inspect a larger universe of federally regulated underground storage
tanks on a more frequent basis as they continue to administer the
Underground Storage Tank Program under delegated authority from EPA.
To ensure strong and efficient
regulatory, research and enforcement activities, and improved collaboration
with states through grant programs, the President's budget provides:
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$4.4 billion
- the highest level in EPA history - $33 million, or one percent,
above the 2004 budget for the EPA's Operating Program. The Operating
Program consists of EPA's core regulatory, research and enforcement
activities and state program grants.
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$1.25 billion
for EPA categorical State grants, the highest level in EPA history.
This $84 million increase, or 7 percent, will provide additional resources
to States and tribes to run their core environmental programs. Included
within this total is a new $23 million State and Tribal Performance
Fund which will award competitive grants for projects that can demonstrate
environmental and public health outcomes.
To promote conservation
efforts, personal stewardship and responsibility, the President's budget
provides:
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Over $500
million for Department of the Interior cooperative conservation programs,
including a $25.5 million increase for the Cooperative Conservation
Initiative, an initiative that embodies the Administration's vision
of healthy lands, thriving communities, and dynamic economies through
partnerships with State and local governments, Tribes, and private
landowners. The High Plains Partnership, for example, received a $5
million increase to enhance habitat on private lands on two million
acres across the 11-state High Plains region.
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A 400 percent
increase in funding for the Conservation Security Program (CSP), with
a total program level of $209 million. The CSP is a new program being
implemented in 2004 that supports ongoing conservation stewardship
of agricultural lands by providing assistance to producers who maintain
and enhance natural resource conditions. The program identifies and
rewards farmers and ranchers who are meeting the highest standards
of conservation and environmental management on their operations.
In turn, CSP creates incentives for other producers to meet those
same standards of conservation performance.
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$4.6 billion,
a $245 million increase, for implementation of Farm Bill conservation
programs. Major increases include $168 million for the new Conservation
Security Program; $76 million for the Conservation Reserve Program;
$25 million for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program; and
$18 million for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. This funding
will have multiple benefits for improving water quality, conserving
farmland, and protecting wildlife habitat.
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$900 million
for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) programs. Consistent with
the purposes of the LWCF Act, programs such as Forest Legacy and the
Cooperative Conservation Initiative promote stewardship of natural
resources through partnerships rather than federal land acquisition.
The budget, for example, proposes significant increases for Fish and
Wildlife Service conservation grant programs, such as an $11 million
increase, or 16 percent over 2004, for the State and Tribal Wildlife
Grants program, and a $20 million increase, or 69 percent over 2004,
for the Landowner Incentive Grants program.
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$20 million
in funding to phase-in a multi-year Department of Defense (DOD) Readiness
and Environmental Protection Initiative to utilize the authority DOD
received in the 2003 Defense Authorization Act. This authority allows
DOD to work with environmental conservation organizations and state
and local governments to preserve land surrounding military installations.
The Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative will support
an array of efforts, including acquisition of land and easements,
for preventing undesirable development around military test and training
ranges, while ensuring sound environmental stewardship.
To protect fish and wildlife
habitat, and build on the success of Administration restoration efforts,
the President's budget provides:
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Over $67
million for the Klamath Basin, an increase of over $16 million from
Fiscal Year 2004 to help find a long-term resolution to the conflict
in the Klamath River Basin that will provide water to farmers who
depend on it for a living, while taking careful steps to protect and
enhance the health of fish populations. While this funding is not
part of the environment crosscut, it is worth noting. Together with
funds available in Fiscal Year 2004, this increase in the President's
budget will include funds for habitat restoration, removal of fish
migration barriers, land acquisition, and the use of water banking.
Funding in other agencies brings total funding for Klamath Basin projects
to over $100 million.
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More than
$600 million for Columbia River system salmon, through the Department
of Energy/Bonneville Power Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers,
the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Departments of the Interior,
Agriculture, and Commerce. This amount includes discretionary funding
of $342 million, a $15 million increase over 2004.
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$100 million
for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund to assist states, tribes,
and local governments with thousands of projects that benefit Pacific
coastal salmon in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Alaska.
This represents a $10 million increase over 2004. Restoration of endangered
salmon stocks is important for environmental quality, Native American
communities, commercial and recreational fishermen, and the economic
vitality of the Pacific Northwest.
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An additional
$59 million, a 26 percent increase, to support partnerships with states,
non-government organizations, and private individuals to conserve
and manage wildlife and their habitat. Specifically, the Landowner
Incentive Program is funded at $50 million, an increase of $20 million
or 69 percent, and the Private Stewardship Grant program is increased
by $3 million, a 35 percent increase, for a total funding of $10 million.
The popular State Wildlife and Tribal Grants program is funded at
$80 million, an $11 million increase, or 16 percent, while the successful
North American Wetlands Conservation Fund is increased by $16 million,
or 44 percent. The Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund
is increased by $8 million, or 10 percent. By helping inspire a nation
of citizen stewards, cooperative conservation projects advance the
Administration's vision of healthy lands and thriving communities.
To provide for a safer,
cleaner transportation system, the President's budget provides:
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An estimate
of $2.1 billion for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ),
$100 million, or 5 percent, above the 2004 estimated level. The budget
estimates $654 million for Transportation Enhancements (TE). These
funding levels reflect the distribution of funds among highway programs
under the second year of the Administration's surface transportation
reauthorization proposal. Funding for CMAQ and TE is proposed to increase
annually over the remainder of the six-year reauthorization period.
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$7.3 billion
for transit, to support Federal Transit Administration's capital investment
and transit safety programs. The proposed level includes $1.6 billion
for major capital projects and $148 million for the President's New
Freedom Initiative to assist disabled individuals with alternative
transportation options as they join the workforce.
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