Steven Averett, Content Director, Waste Group

March 1, 2006

1 Min Read
Bush Seeks EPA Cut

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH is seeking $7.2 billion to fund the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the 2007 fiscal year budget proposal he submitted to Congress last month. If approved, the amount would represent a nearly 5 percent cut in the agency's funding and continue a three-year downward trend. It also would be the smallest EPA budget in 10 years.

Of interest to the solid waste industry, the Superfund program would see a slight increase to $1.3 billion, a $17 million increase over the enacted 2006 budget. A new program included in the proposed budget is the $50 million Diesel Emissions Reduction Program, which would promote cleaner-burning diesel fuels and retrofit existing diesel engines.

The 2007 proposal seeks $184 million for EPA programs related to Homeland Security, an increase of $55 million (43 percent) over last year's enacted budget. The amount includes $33 million to safeguard the nation's water supply from terrorist attacks. The administration also would allocate $38 million to prevent leakage from underground storage tanks, a $26 million increase over the approved FY 2006 budget.

But many other programs would see dramatic cuts, most notably a 40 percent reduction in grants to state and local governments for land and water conservation. The cuts include a 22 percent reduction (down to $688 million) in low-interest loans to states for treating wastewater, reducing pollution from non-specific sources, and managing watersheds and estuaries.

By percentage, the largest cut in the agency — 80 percent — would be to funding for the electronic catalog used to track tens of thousands of EPA documents and research.

About the Author(s)

Steven Averett

Content Director, Waste Group, Waste360

Steven Averett joined the Waste Age staff in February 2006. Since then he has helped the magazine expand its coverage and garner a range of awards from FOLIO, the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) and the Magazine Association of the Southeast (MAGS). He recently won a Gold Award from ASBPE for humor writing.

Before joining Waste Age, Steven spent three years as the staff writer for Industrial Engineer magazine, where he won a gold GAMMA Award from MAGS for Best Feature. He has written and edited material covering a wide range of topics, including video games, film, manufacturing, and aeronautics.

Steven is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he earned a BA in English.

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