[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[4. Protecting the Environment]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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4. PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
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There is a new understanding today in the world between the bonds that
connect human beings and their natural environment. We know we have to
preserve them, and we know that in the end economic development itself
cannot occur unless the environment is preserved.
President Clinton
May 1997
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With the historic December 1997 international agreement in Kyoto
calling for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the Administration capped
a remarkable year of environmental successes. History has shown that the
Nation does not have to choose between a strong economy and a clean
environment. The President's policies have contributed to five years of
both strong economic growth and a cleaner, healthier environment.
Along with the Kyoto Protocol, the Administration has issued new,
more protective air quality standards to better safeguard public health
and the environment, and has strengthened our citizens' right to know
about toxic chemical releases. It has continued its efforts to protect
our natural treasures, such as Yellowstone National Park, the
Everglades, Grand Staircase National Monument, and the Headwaters
redwoods, from environmental threats. It has secured $699 million in the
Land and Water Conservation Fund for acquiring Headwaters Forest, the
New World Mine near Yellowstone, and other high-priority land
acquisitions to protect key natural, cultural, and historic resources.
It has cleaned up more toxic waste sites in its first four years than
the previous two administrations did in 12, and it is continuing to
advance toward the President's goal of 900 site cleanups by the end of
year 2001.
While Americans want a Government that helps protect the environment
and our natural resources, they do not want to burden business unduly,
choke innovation, or waste taxpayer dollars. If sensibly designed and
flexibly implemented, environmental initiatives can cost less while
providing unforeseen economic opportunities. Americans have met
environmental challenges because we innovate, we compete, and we find
solutions to problems in ways that promote entrepreneurship and
strengthen the economy.
To implement his vision for the environment and our natural
resources, the President is proposing an Environmental Resources Fund
for America to support increases for many of the Nation's key
environmental programs. The Fund provides for enhanced construction,
maintenance, and land acquisition for national parks, forests, refuges
and other public lands; a new multi-agency initiative to improve our
Nation's water quality; infrastructure funding for community drinking
water and wastewater facilities; and resources to clean up abandoned
hazardous waste sites. The budget also includes a new, five-year $6.3
billion program to implement the President's commitment to prevent
global warming, as well as increased resources to protect endangered
species, carry out pollution control programs, and preserve the global
environment.
Approaches for Environmental Success
Preventing Global Warming: In December, the United States reached an
historic agreement with other nations to meet the challenge of global
warming. The Kyoto Protocol establishes realistic, achievable, and
binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reflects the
Administration's commitment to use market mechanisms to tackle the
problem in innovative and flexible ways.
Improving Air Quality: In July 1997, the Administration took the most
far-reaching
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steps in 20 years to improve our air quality by cutting smog levels and,
for the first time ever, setting standards to lower the levels of fine
particles in the atmosphere. These standards will prevent adverse health
effects for people of all ages and may prevent up to 15,000 premature
deaths a year.
Reflecting the Administration's approach to regulatory decision
making, however, the President directed that the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) implement the standards in ways that will
maximize common sense, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. He directed
that implementation maintain the progress underway toward cleaner air,
reward early action to reduce air pollution, employ regulatory
flexibility to minimize economic impacts, and recognize the substantial
lead time needed to implement the new fine particle standard. Further,
the President directed EPA to complete a new science review of the
standard before imposing any new controls to meet it.
Restoring the Everglades: The budget supports the continued Federal,
State, local and Tribal efforts to implement the restoration project for
the South Florida ecosystem, which the Administration began in 1993 and
Congress authorized in the 1996 Water Resources Development Act. In
1999, the Army Corps of Engineers will complete the Central and Southern
Florida Comprehensive Review Study, providing long-term direction for
restoration efforts.
In December 1997, Vice President Gore announced the Government's
intent to purchase (with non-Federal partners) 50,000 acres of land
(known as the ``Talisman'' tract) on the northern edge of Everglades
National Park. This land, formerly used for sugar farming, will serve as
a critical buffer zone between the Everglades and the sugar plantations
to the north, helping to re-establish the essential natural flow of
water into the Everglades and improve water quality.
Along with better water flows and water management, the budget
recognizes the need for scientific guidance and land acquisition to
restore the Everglades' hydrologic functions, providing a steady funding
source for these needs. The budget proposes $282 million, 24 percent
more than Congress approved in 1998, continuing the Administration's
support for the Everglades Restoration Initiative to accelerate the
restoration effort and provide the steady funding source for land
acquisition, science, and modified water delivery.
Saving Yellowstone Park: To protect Yellowstone National Park, the
Federal Government agreed in August 1996 to acquire Crown Butte, Inc.'s
interest in the New World Mine, whose development posed a severe
environmental threat to Yellowstone's unique landscape and wildlife
resources. In 1998, the Administration sought, and Congress provided,
$65 million to proceed with this agreement, which will preserve one of
the crown jewels of the National Park System. Crown Butte will dedicate
$22 million to clean up contamination at the site from earlier mining
activities. The Administration is working with Crown Butte and other
parties to complete the acquisition.
Protecting Headwaters Forest: In 1998, the Administration sought, and
Congress provided, $250 million to acquire the Headwaters Forest in
northern California, the largest privately-owned stand of ancient
redwoods. As part of the acquisition, the Administration is committed to
ensuring that Headwaters and its threatened and endangered inhabitant
species are protected. As a result, the Administration is developing,
and has made significant progress on, a scientifically and technically
sound habitat conservation plan and an environmental impact statement.
The Federal Government and State of California expect to acquire
Headwaters by March 1999.
Preserving Other Natural Resources: As part of last year's budget
agreement with Congress, the Administration secured $699 million in 1998
for priority Federal land acquisitions and exchanges. After financing
the top two priorities--protecting the Headwaters Forest and saving
Yellowstone--$362 million remained to invest in other priorities for
parks, forests, refuges, and public lands. The Administration is
considering potential acquisitions to restore the Elwha River in Olympic
National Park, protect bison winter habitat outside Yellowstone, acquire
the Baca Ranch in New Mexico, add lands to the Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area, complete the Appalachian Trail, and preserve
key Civil War battlefields.
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Targeting the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): In this Agriculture
Department (USDA) program, landowners establish long-term conservation
practices on erodible and environmentally sensitive land in exchange for
10 to 15 years of rental payments. The 16.1 million acres accepted into
the CRP in March 1997, out of 23.2 million acres that farmers bid, will
increase the environmental benefits by nearly 85 percent for every
dollar spent, compared with earlier CRP sign-ups. At the same time,
program costs are falling, with the Department paying 21 percent less
per acre--saving over $1.6 billion over the life of the program. Within
the CRP, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program targets priority
lands to better address water pollution and protect endangered species.
Protecting Roadless Areas and Improving the Forest Road System: The
73 million acres without roads in our National Forests have outstanding
ecological, aesthetic, and social value. They are often the refuge of
last resort for rare species and the source areas of municipal water
supplies. The Forest Service is working to meet public access needs in
an ecologically sensitive manner, ensuring that we protect these
roadless areas for future generations. At the same time, the extensive
Forest Service road system is rapidly eroding--risking public safety and
contributing to environmental damage in some national forests. The
budget proposes $218 million, a 20-percent increase over the 1998 level,
for investments in road maintenance and reconstruction, road closures
and obliteration, and watershed improvements that are critically
important to salmon, water quality, and other resource management goals.
The budget also proposes to eliminate the timber purchaser road credit
program, and provide a stable payment to counties that is not linked to
timber harvest volume.
Enhancing Citizens' Right to Know: The Administration continues to
expand the information available to citizens on substances being
released into their neighborhoods. In the decade since community right-
to-know legislation went into effect, the law has helped spur a 43-
percent cut in toxic emissions by industry. In April 1997, the
Administration increased by 30 percent the number of facilities covered
by adding seven sectors that must report under the program. This
expansion comes on top of a 1995 rule that nearly doubled the number of
toxic chemicals that facilities must report.
Redeveloping Contaminated Land: The Administration has established a
Brownfields National Partnership, bringing together the resources of
over 15 Federal agencies to help empower and revitalize communities. The
Partnership is just one piece of the Administration's efforts to help
thousands of communities clean up and redevelop Brownfields--abandoned
pieces of land, usually in inner cities, that are highly contaminated
from previous industrial use. The Partnership--which includes a $300
million Federal investment--will leverage an expected $5 billion to $28
billion in private investment, support up to 196,000 jobs, and protect
up to 34,000 acres of undeveloped ``greenfield'' areas outside of
cities.
Restoring the Presidio of San Francisco: The Administration has
established a Government corporation, known as the Presidio Trust, to
rehabilitate and lease hundreds of unused buildings in the Presidio of
San Francisco, once a military base and now a national park. The
Presidio Trust will restore these houses and offices in a manner
consistent with park purposes, then lease them to families and
businesses. To cut taxpayer costs, the budget provides for the Presidio
Trust to borrow $25 million from the Treasury in both 1999 and 2000 to
fund these improvements, and repay the money through future lease
receipts.
Making the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Work: Administration reforms
have improved the way the ESA works. Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs),
for example, give State, local, and Tribal governments and the private
sector the flexibility to protect endangered species and conserve
habitat, while allowing for development. HCPs will cover an estimated
7.3 million acres by the end of 1998. The Administration is also
providing earlier protection for species to preclude their listing as
endangered. For instance, the Federal Government has entered into 40
Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCAs) with private landowners or
State and local governments, providing benefits to over 200 species and
preventing the listing of five.
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Environmental and Natural Resource Investments
The budget proposes to boost funding for high-priority environmental
and natural resources programs by five percent, compared to 1998 levels
(see Table 4-1).
Reducing Greenhouse Gases and Promoting Energy Efficiency: Last fall,
the President announced a nine-point plan to begin addressing climate
change, including a five-year package of tax incentives and research and
development spending to spur energy efficiency and help develop low-
carbon energy sources. With the historic agreement in December 1997 to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the President now proposes a $6.3
billion package of tax incentives and research spending. The budget
provides $1.7 billion in 1999 for the Climate Change Technology
Initiative, nearly doubling the 1998 level, as a down-payment on the
President's five-year commitment. (For a more detailed discussion of the
Administration's climate change efforts, see Chapter 6, ``Promoting
Research.'')
Creating the Environmental Resources Fund for America: The budget
proposes the Environmental Resources Fund for America, an innovative
financing mechanism for environmental initiatives. It provides $7.7
billion, 14 percent more than in 1998, for many key environmental
restoration programs and is financed, in part, by the proposed renewal
of taxes that support the Superfund program. The Fund includes:
Land, Water, and Facility Restoration Initiative: National
parks, refuges, forests, and public lands are the heart of the
Nation's natural, cultural, and historical legacy. As
custodians of these resources, Federal land management
agencies face growing demands to invest more to restore lands
and rehabilitate an aging infrastructure of public facilities
and trails. These needed investments would protect wildlife
habitat, maintain historic sites, and preserve the many
national treasures, from the Acadia National Park in Maine to
Independence Hall to the California Desert, that constitute
our legacy for future generations. The budget proposes a $92
million, or eight percent, increase for construction and
maintenance for national parks, forests, refuges, public
lands, and Indian schools, with which the agencies will focus
on top priorities and control costs through better management.
It also includes a broad initiative to invest more in land
acquisition and historic preservation--a 43-percent increase
in spending over the next five years from the Land and Water
Conservation Fund and a 12-percent increase from the Historic
Preservation Fund.
Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative:
Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the
Vice President last October announced a Clean Water
Initiative--an action plan to focus on three remaining
challenges to restore and protect the Nation's waterways: (1)
preventing polluted runoff; (2) protecting public health; and
(3) ensuring community-based watershed management. USDA and
EPA are leading an inter-agency task force to develop the plan
by February 14, 1998, relying on better coordination and
targeting of Federal activities and resources, public
participation, and innovative approaches to pollution control.
The budget includes $568 million, a 35-percent increase over
the 1998 level, for this multi-agency initiative, including
more mandatory funding for USDA's Environmental Quality
Incentives Program to help farmers prevent polluted runoff;
for the Forest Service and the Interior Department to better
address water quality problems on Federal lands; for EPA to
provide grants to States to implement water quality
improvement projects; for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to help States and local communities
protect their coasts from the pollution that leads to
degradation; for Interior's U.S. Geological Survey and USDA to
increase water quality monitoring and research, with a focus
on nutrient pollution; and for the Army Corps of Engineers to
begin a new riverine ecosystem initiative--``Challenge 21''--
to plan and implement projects that restore watersheds while
providing flood hazard mitigation for communities.
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Table 4-1. ENVIRONMENTAL/NATURAL RESOURCES HIGH-PRIORITY PROGRAMS
(Discretionary budget authority unless otherwise noted; dollar amounts in millions)
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Dollar Percent
1997 1998 1999 Change: Change:
Actual Estimate Proposed 1998 to 1998 to
1999 1999
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Climate Change Technology Initiative (DOE, EPA, USDA, DOC, HUD): 743 819 1,713 +894 +109%
Spending............................................................................................... (743) (819) (1,292) (+473) +58%
Tax Incentives......................................................................................... ....... ........ (421) (+421) NA
Environmental Resources Fund for America (EPA, USDA, DOI, DOC, Corps).................................... 6,361 6,722 7,672 +950 +14%
Priority Land Acquisition (BBA): ....... 699 ........ NA NA
Headwaters (CA)........................................................................................ ....... (250) ........ NA NA
New World Mine (MT).................................................................................... ....... (65) ........ NA NA
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Operating Program................................................. 3,109 3,328 3,603 +275 +8%
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Subtotal, All EPA.................................................................................. 6,799 7,361 7,771 +410 +6%
Department of the Interior (DOI):
National Park Service Operating Program................................................................ 1,155 1,246 1,321 +75 +6%
Bureau of Land Management Operating Program............................................................ 674 685 726 +41 +6%
Fish and Wildlife Service Operating Program............................................................ 525 595 676 +81 +14%
Geological Survey Water Quality Initiative............................................................. 138 134 156 +22 +16%
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Subtotal, DOI (Select programs).................................................................... 2,492 2,660 2,879 +219 +8%
Department of Agriculture (USDA):
Forest Service Operating Program....................................................................... 1,321 1,348 1,418 +70 +5%
Natural Resources Conservation Service Operating Program............................................... 693 694 742 +48 +7%
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (Mandatory)................................................... 200 200 300 +100 +50%
Wetlands Reserve Program (Mandatory)................................................................... 118 176 127 -49 -28%
Conservation Reserve Program (Mandatory)............................................................... 1,691 1,860 1,718 -142 -8%
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Subtotal, USDA (Select programs)................................................................... 4,023 4,278 4,305 +27 +1%
Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) (DOI/USDA)......................................................... 159 270 270 ....... .......
Department of Energy (DOE):
Energy Conservation and Efficiency (gross)............................................................. 570 612 809 +197 +32%
Solar and Renewable Energy R&D (net)................................................................... 247 272 372 +100 +37%
Federal Facilities Cleanup (Environmental Management Program).......................................... 5,995 5,849 6,124 +275 +5%
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Subtotal, DOE (Select programs).................................................................... 6,812 6,733 7,305 +572 +8%
Department of Defense (DOD):
Cleanup................................................................................................ 1,994 2,140 1,924 -216 -10%
Environmental Compliance/Pollution Prevention/Conservation............................................. 2,293 2,466 2,281 -185 -8%
Environmental Technology............................................................................... 207 219 170 -49 -22%
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Subtotal, DOD (Select programs).................................................................... 4,494 4,825 4,375 -450 -9%
Department of Commerce (DOC)/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
Fisheries and Protected Species........................................................................ 295 319 326 +7 +2%
Ocean and Coastal Management........................................................................... 130 172 175 +3 +2%
Ocean and Atmospheric Research......................................................................... 228 240 234 -6 -3%
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Subtotal, DOC/NOAA (Select programs)............................................................... 653 731 735 +4 +1%
Department of Transportation (DOT):
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality.................................................................. 807 1,257 1,260 +3 +*%
Environmental Enhancements............................................................................. 426 568 561 -7 -1%
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Subtotal, DOT (Select programs).................................................................... 1,233 1,825 1,821 -4 -*%
Endangered Species Act (DOI/NOAA)........................................................................ 102 107 153 +46 +43%
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (DOE, DOC, NSF, EPA, DOT)................................... 234 227 277 +50 +22%
U.S. Global Change Research (NASA, DOE, NSF, DOC, others)................................................ 1,818 1,867 1,864 -3 -*%
GLOBE--Global Environmental Education (DOC, NASA, EPA, NSF).............................................. 13 12 14 +2 +17%
Montreal Protocol (State/EPA)............................................................................ 40 40 55 +15 +38%
Global Environment Facility (Treasury) \1\............................................................... 35 48 300 +252 +525%
Multilateral and Bilateral Assistance (International Assistance Programs/USAID).......................... 246 312 322 +10 +3%
==============================================
Total \2\............................................................................................ 28,313 30,086 31,500 +1,414 +5%
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NA = Not applicable.
* Less than 0.5 percent.
\1\ 1999 includes $192.5 million for payments in arrears.
\2\ Total adjusted to eliminate double counts, mandatory spending, and tax incentives; 1998 estimate excludes one-time priority land acquisition.
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In addition, the budget proposes $143 million for California
Bay-Delta watershed restoration activities, the fully
authorized amount and a 69-percent increase over 1998 funding.
The program will continue focusing on basic investments to
begin restoring this important ecosystem, with a special
emphasis on acquiring critical wetlands habitat, managing
flood plains, enhancing fish passage, and improving habitat
along the Sacramento River.
Water Quality Infrastructure: The budget proposes $775
million in capitalization grants for Drinking Water State
Revolving Funds (SRFs), which make low-interest loans to help
municipalities meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking
Water Act Amendments. These funds will help ensure that
Americans have a safe, clean drinking water supply--our first
line of defense in protecting public health. EPA also proposes
$1.1 billion in capitalization grants to Clean Water SRFs to
help municipalities comply with the Clean Water Act, thus
helping to reduce beach closures and keeping our waterways
safe and clean.
These levels for the two SRFs make progress toward the
Administration's goal of providing sufficient capital for the
funds to offer $2.5 billion a year in financial assistance to
municipalities over the long run. In addition, the budget
proposes targeted wastewater funds for areas facing unique
circumstances--$50 million for Boston Harbor, $100 million for
Mexican border projects, and $15 million for Alaskan Native
villages.
USDA Water 2000: The budget provides funds for USDA's Water
2000 initiative--to bring safe drinking water to rural
communities with some of the Nation's most serious problems of
water availability, dependability, and quality--within its
$1.3 billion for rural water and wastewater loans and grants.
With proposed Rural Community Advancement Program funding four
percent above the 1998 levels, the Administration expects to
fund 250 systems in 1999. Since the effort began in 1994, USDA
has invested almost $1.3 billion in loans and grants on high-
priority Water 2000 projects Nation-wide.
Superfund Cleanups: The budget proposes $2.1 billion for
Superfund, a 40-percent increase over the 1998 level. Combined
with continuing administrative reforms, these funds will help
meet the President's pledge to double the pace of Superfund
cleanups. The Administration proposes to clean up another 400
sites within the next four years, meaning that about two-
thirds of the Nation's worst toxic waste dumps would be
cleaned up by the end of the year 2001 (see Chart 4-1).
Extending the Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative: The budget
proposes to extend the President's Brownfields initiative, which
promotes local cleanup and redevelopment, bringing jobs to blighted
areas. First, EPA would receive $91 million for grants to communities
for site assessment and redevelopment planning and for revolving loan
funds to finance clean-up efforts at the local level. Second, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development would receive $50 million,
$25 million more than in 1998, to leverage State, local, and private
funds for redeveloping the cleaned-up sites and creating jobs. The
President also proposes to extend the targeted tax incentive to spur
Brownfields cleanup.
Enhancing Endangered Species Act Efforts: The budget proposes a $36
million increase, to $113 million, for the Interior Department's
endangered species program, mainly for the Administration's new reforms
to encourage private landowners to protect species. The program is
designed to increase the number of cooperative partnerships between the
Federal Government and States, localities, and private parties to
recover listed species and prevent the need to list more. The budget
also proposes a $10 million increase, to $40 million, for NOAA's
endangered species program, mainly focused on habitat conservation
planning.
The budget increases funds to develop HCPs, make grants to States for
land acquisition tied to HCPs, and provide incentive payments to
landowners for safe harbor agreements. The funds will double the acreage
that HCPs cover; improve the way HCPs are developed and implemented;
extend CCAs between the Federal Government and landowners or State and
local governments to protect 80 more species; keep 20 species off the
endangered
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species list; stabilize or improve the status of 60 percent of listed
species; and declassify or delist 30 threatened and endangered species.
Funding the EPA Operating Program: The budget proposes $3.6 billion,
an eight-percent increase over 1998, for EPA's operating program, which
includes most of EPA's research, regulatory, partnership grants (with
States and Tribes), and enforcement programs. The program represents the
backbone of the Nation's efforts to protect public health and the
environment through sound science, standard setting, enforcement, and
other means, ensuring that our water is pure, our air clean, and our
food safe.
Within the operating program, the budget proposes increases of $145
million as part of the President's water quality initiative to address
polluted runoff; $115 million for research and conservation programs to
cut greenhouse gas emissions; and $65 million to establish a new network
to monitor fine particulate matter. It also proposes significant
investments to improve Americans' right-to-know about toxic threats, by
making information available for the 75 largest metropolitan areas in
the country, and to address significant environmental health risks to
children.
Providing Multilateral and Bilateral Environmental Assistance: The
budget proposes $322 million, three percent more than in 1998, for
bilateral and multilateral environmental assistance. Bilateral
assistance includes U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
activities to address topics such as biodiversity, and to implement
USAID's five-year, $1 billion commitment to address climate change
issues in developing countries. Multilateral assistance funds U.S.
voluntary contributions to the UN environmental system and other
international organizations to address international environmental
activities.
Supporting the Global Environment Facility (GEF): U.S. participation
in the GEF is a cornerstone of our foreign policy on the environment.
The GEF has become the world's leading institution for protecting the
global
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environment and avoiding economic disruption from climate change,
massive extinction of valuable species, and dramatic collapse of the
oceans' fish population. The $300 million proposal for 1999 includes
$193 million for contributions previously due and $107 million for the
initial contribution to the GEF's second four-year replenishment
program, from 1999 to 2002. U.S. funding for these items is crucial if
the Nation hopes to continue influencing GEF's policies and lending
strategies.
Expanding the Federal Facilities Cleanup and Compliance: The Federal
Government continues to address the huge challenge of cleaning up
Federal facilities contaminated with radioactive or hazardous waste. The
Energy Department (DOE) faces the most complex and costly problems from
over 40 years of research, production, and testing of nuclear weapons
and reactors. The Defense Department's (DOD) problems, meanwhile,
include hazardous wastes like those found at industrial and commercial
sites.
The budget proposes $6.1 billion for DOE's Environmental Management
program, including $277 million for the Uranium Enrichment
Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund. The budget also proposes $517
million to continue to privatize waste remediation at such sites as the
Hanford (WA) and Idaho facilities, through which DOE pays for the
delivery of treated waste that meets approved specifications.
Privatization will help speed cleanups, reduce health risks, and cut
costs at these sites.
DOD, which operates one of America's most diverse and successful
environmental programs, is focusing its efforts on reducing relative
risk at its active and closing installations. As of early 1998, it is
conducting studies or clean-ups at 688 military installations and 2,721
formerly-used properties. Moreover, it has determined that 14,399 sites
require no further action. DOD also is making progress in its compliance
and pollution prevention, conservation, and environmental technology
programs. The budget proposes $4.4 billion for all DOD environmental
activities; the decrease compared to the 1998 level is largely due to
the completion of several one-time projects and of clean-ups at several
closed bases. The Administration is committed to making all current and
former DOD property safe and clean.