Bush Administration 

The Bush Environmental Record

Environmental Enforcement Plummets Under Bush

February 19, 2002

NEWS - Bush Administration Proposes Sweeping Cuts to Environmental Enforcement, Water Quality Monitoring, and Important Water Quality Programs

Last Monday the Bush Administration proposed a budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 that would seriously cripple further progress towards meeting the goals of the Clean Water Act.  Though many of the proposed cuts are not as drastic as the cuts proposed by Bush last year, the clean water budget proposed by Bush would decrease our understanding of water quality problems, seriously undermine environmental enforcement efforts, and hamper progress being made and future success of critical clean water programs.

Call the Network for more information on the budget at 202-289-2421. To see EPA's budget, go to http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/budget/budget.htm.
February 19, 2002

May 28, 2001

Bush Budget to Gut Endangered Species Act:

25 Apr 2001    

President Bush's Budget Proposal:

(from Clean Water Network's Clean Water Info Listserve) Congress is beginning to hold detailed hearings on the Bush budget, and appropriations committee markups are expected to begin in late May.  The final budget is scheduled to be finished by Congress in October. CWN groups will be circulating sign-on letters and other calls to action over the next few weeks.  Below you'll find a list of clean water concerns with the budget.For more information, contact Clean Water Network at 202-289-2421.

US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY:

-Cuts overall enforcement budget by 9%, from $160 million to $149 million. While the proposed budget decreases enforcement funding for EPA headquarters and regions, it establishes $25 million for state enforcement grants.

-Authorizes only $2 million for the 35 coastal states for beach water quality monitoring grants.  In the BEACH Act Congress unanimously authorized $30

million annually for this program.

- Seeks $850 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund.  Last year EPA received $1.35 billion for the SRF. 

- Establishes a $450 million grant program for controlling SSOs and CSOs. Last yearâ*™s bill, which created the overflow grant program called on EPA to

not reduce the SRF to fund the grants, but rather provide overall increases for infrastructure funding.

- Decreases the budget for the National Estuaries Program by $1 million, dropping it to less than half of what Congress authorized in the Estuary Act of 2000.

-Decreases Section 106 grants from $172 million enacted in FY01 to $170 million requested for FY02.

- Provides Level funding for section 319 (state nonpoint source grants) at $237 million.

- Increases the budget for NPDES program from $39.4 million to $40.2 million.

- Increases the budget for Water Quality Monitoring/Assessment by $150,000 to $11.3 million

- Increases the budget for EPA wetlands program by $150,000 TO $17.2 million.

- Increases the budget for Water Quality Criteria and Standards by $400,000 to $18.7 million.

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

-Cuts the US Geological Survey BY $70 million, hitting water programs the hardest including:

- Decreasing the budget for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) by $20 million or 32%

- Reducing the budget of the Toxics Substances Hydrology Program to $0.

- Reducing the streamgauging activities by $5 million.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

- Eliminates funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program.  In 2001 it is estimated that $162 million will be spent on the program.

- Continues funding the Environmental Quality Incentives Program at last yearâ*™s level,  $174 million. 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS

- Includes $200,000 to oversee the National Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, but did not request any funding for actual estuarine habitat restoration activities.  The Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 authorized the Corps to spend $40 million in FY 2002 for estuary restoration.

- Slight increase in Corps wetlands regulatory budget.

- Decreases Overall Corps budget by 14 percent.

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

- Requests $10 million to implement coastal nonpoint pollution implementation grants (same as last year's enacted level).  This supports the work done on NOAA'S coastal nonpoint pollution control programs, and not just general coast zone management programs.

- Requesting $2 million to support NOAA work on developing a national estuary habitat restoration strategy and developing restoration databases.

To view the EPA budget, go to www.epa.gov/ocfo/

To view the USGS budget, go to www.usgs.gov/budget/2002

To view the USDA budget, go to www.usda.gov/special/budget/budget2002.htm

August 6, 2001   Report on Bush Administration Clean Water Choices