[Budget of the United States Government]
[VI. Investing in the Common Good: Program Performance in Federal Functions]
[16. Natural Resources and Environment]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
16. NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
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Table 16-1. FEDERAL RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
(In millions of dollars)
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Estimate
Function 300 1997 -----------------------------------------------------------
Actual 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
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Spending:
Discretionary Budget Authority.......... 22,426 23,180 22,613 22,284 21,990 22,027 22,343
Mandatory Outlays:
Existing law.......................... 51 1,059 712 846 739 544 682
Proposed legislation.................. ........ ........ 203 223 304 337 327
Credit Activity:
Direct loan disbursements............... 31 42 40 44 46 48 51
Tax Expenditures:
Existing law............................ 1,700 1,710 1,740 1,740 1,735 1,725 1,710
Proposed legislation.................... ........ ........ -86 -78 -78 -83 -91
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The Federal Government spends over $20 billion a year to protect the
environment, manage federal land, conserve resources, provide
recreational opportunities, and construct and operate water projects.
\1\ The Federal Government manages about 700 million acres--a third of
the U.S. continental land area.
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\1\ The Natural Resources and Environment function does not reflect
total Federal support for the environment and natural resources. It does
not include, for instance, the environmental clean-up programs at the
Departments of Energy and Defense.
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Federal lands include the 376 units of the National Park System, with
such unique resources as Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone
National Park, and Gettysburg National Military Park; the 156 National
Forests; the 510 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System; and
land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 11 Western States
(see Chart 16-1).
Within this function, Federal efforts focus on providing cleaner air
and water, conserving natural resources, and cleaning up environmental
contamination. The major goals include:
Protecting human health and safeguarding the natural
environment--air, water, and land--upon which life depends.
Restoring and maintaining the health of federally managed
lands, waters, and renewable resources.
Providing recreational opportunities for the public to enjoy
natural and cultural resources.
National Parks
The Federal Government invests over $1.6 billion a year to maintain a
system of national parks that covers over 83 million acres in 49 States,
the District of Columbia, and various territories. Although funding for
the National Park Service (NPS) has steadily increased (almost five
percent a year since 1986), the popularity of national parks has
generated even faster growth in the number of visitors, new parks, and
additional NPS responsibilities.
With demands growing faster than available resources, NPS is taking
new, creative, and more efficient approaches to managing parks
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and has developed performance measures against which to weigh its
progress.
Using higher funding from the proposed Environmental
Resources Fund for America, the NPS will begin systematically
addressing the backlog of priority construction and
maintenance projects at national parks and, in 1999, will
develop a five-year list of the highest priorities to address
and allocate funds to address about 20 percent of them.
NPS is focusing construction and maintenance funds on the
highest priorities based on objective criteria and, in 1999,
will implement controls, reengineer the measurement process,
and establish capital plans with approved cost, schedule, and
project goals for each major construction project.
NPS will use the receipts from recreation and user fees to
finance park improvements and, in 1999, will increase the
receipts by 14 percent, compared to 1997 levels.
NPS will implement park management reforms that will increase
returns to the Government from park concessions to eight
percent in 1999, compared to a baseline of six percent in
1997.
NPS is establishing broader cooperative arrangements through
partnerships with public and private groups and, in 1999, will
use those partnerships to protect an additional 220 miles of
trails, 240 miles of rivers, and 7,000 acres of parks and open
spaces.
Conservation and Land Management
The 75 percent of Federal land that comprises the National Forests,
National Grasslands, National Wildlife Refuges, and the BLM-administered
public lands also provides significant public recreation. BLM provides
for nearly 55 million recreational visits a year, while over 30 million
visitors watch wildlife each year at National Wildlife Refuges.
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With its 125,000 miles of trails, the Forest Service is the largest
single supplier of public outdoor recreation, providing 348 million
recreational visitor days last year.
Federal lands provide other benefits. BLM and the Forest Service,
with combined annual budgets of about $4.4 billion, manage for multiple
purposes. Federal laws require that the Forest Service manage the
National Forests for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed,
wildlife and fish, and wilderness, and that the BLM manage the public
lands that it administers for multiple uses.
The agencies concentrate on the long-term goal of providing
sustainable levels of multiple uses while ensuring and enhancing
ecological integrity. Their performance measures include the following:
The Forest Service will target its higher funding to needed
watershed restoration work by increasing acres of watershed
restoration work by 43 percent (to 40,000 acres) over 1998
levels of 28,000 acres; increasing the acres of range
restoration by 24 percent (to 42,000 acres) over 1998 levels
of 34,000 acres; increasing the number of miles of road
obliterated to 3,500 miles, as compared to a 1998 baseline of
1,200 miles in 1998; and increasing the number of acres
treated for fire hazard reduction to 1.6 million, compared to
a 1998 planned level of 1.3 million.
For priority watersheds, BLM will enhance the ecological
integrity of 25 percent more miles of riparian areas and 35
percent more acres of wetlands in 1999, compared to 1996, and
increase the number of acres treated for fire hazard reduction
by prescribed fire and mechanical means by 12 percent.
The Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), with a
budget of $1.3 billion, manages 93 million acres of refuges and, with
the Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
protects species on Federal and non-Federal lands.
Proposed 1999 funding increases will enable the refuge system
to protect, enhance, and restore 661,000 more acres, over the
1997 baseline of 96 million acres.
FWS' 1999 funding increase will double the number of acres
covered by Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs); improve the
development and implementation of HCPs through increased
public participation, monitoring, and adaptive management;
extend Candidate Conservation Agreement protections to another
80 species; keep 20 candidate species off the endangered
species list; and help ensure that 60 percent of listed
species are stabilized or improved in status.
NMFS will implement programs in 1999 to continue fully
assessing 79 percent of fish stocks, cutting commercial by-
catch by 15 percent, and increasing the number of listed
species that improve in status to 15, over a baseline of 12.
Half the continental United States is crop, pasture, and range land
owned and managed by two percent of Americans--farmers and ranchers. The
Agriculture Department's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service
provides technical assistance to ensure sound management of this land:
Under USDA's Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), the Federal Government
buys long-term or permanent easements from landowners for cropland,
which is taken out of production and restored to wetlands. Landowners
receive fair market value for the land and cost-share assistance to
cover the restoration expenses. The budget proposes to enroll another
164,000 acres, bringing total cumulative enrollment to over 655,000 by
the end of 1999. The Administration's goal for WRP remains one of
reaching total enrollment of 975,000 acres by the end of calendar 2000.
To enhance water quality along streams and lakes, and provide
important new riparian wildlife and fish habitat, USDA will
retire at least 50,000 miles of conservation buffers in 1999,
the same high level as in 1998.
In 1999, USDA will restore two million acres of native
grassland vegetation (the same as the 1998 level), and
complete conservation management systems for grazing lands,
which help control erosion and
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benefit habitat, on 6.4 million acres, compared to six million
acres in 1998.
In 1999, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which provides
funds to farmers and ranchers to adopt sound conservation practices and
comply with environmental requirements, will better target areas of
environmental need requiring that funding be allocated in conservation
priority areas.
Federal and non-Federal agencies are carrying out long-term
restoration plans for several nationally significant ecosystems, such as
those in South Florida and the California Bay-Delta. The South Florida
ecosystem is a national treasure that includes the Everglades and
Florida Bay. Its long-term viability is critical for the tourism and
fishing industries, and for the water supply, economy, and quality of
life for South Florida's six million people. Low water quality in the
San Francisco Bay-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem has degraded wildlife
habitat, endangered several species, and reduced the estuary's
reliability as a water source.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will complete its
comprehensive review of the central and southern Florida
project by July 1, 1999, thus providing a master plan for
restoring the Everglades while accommodating other demands for
water and related resources in South Florida. By September 30,
2002, 10 percent of all known federally endangered and
threatened species in South Florida will be able to be ``down
listed.''
The Bay-Delta program is undergoing National Environmental Policy Act
review of three major alternatives for the Bay-Delta, and it will
develop specific, measurable goals after the analysis is complete and an
alternative is selected.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is an important tool for
species and habitat conservation. It uses the royalties of offshore oil
and gas leases to help Federal, State, and local governments acquire
land for conservation and outdoor recreation.
In 1999, LWCF funds will provide for the acquisition of
parcels to enhance National Parks, provide habitat for
species, protect our natural and cultural resource heritage,
and improve land ownership patterns for greater efficiency.
The management of lands, the availability and quality of water, and
improvements in the protection of resources is based on sound natural
resources science. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides research
and information to land managers and the public to better understand
ecosystems and species habitat, land and water resources, and natural
hazards.
In 1999, USGS, in partnership with other Federal natural
hazards information providers, will develop an integrated
disaster information network to improve mitigation and
preparedness for natural disasters.
In 1999, USGS will provide water quantity and quality
information on 1,000 U.S. watersheds that the Clean Water
Action Plan identified as impaired (half of the Nation's
watersheds). These data, together with completed water quality
assessments, will help develop water quality management models
that resource managers need to forecast results from changing
land use.
The Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) manages ocean and coastal resources in the 20-mile
Exclusive Economic Zone. Its National Ocean Service and National Marine
Fisheries Service manages 201 fish stocks and 163 marine mammal
populations. NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), using data collected
by the National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service,
provides weather forecasts and flood warnings. Its Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research provides science for policy decisions in areas such
as climate change, air quality and ozone depletion.
In 1999, NWS' ongoing modernization will increase the lead
time of flash flood warnings to 32 minutes and the accuracy of
flash flood warnings to 82 percent; increase the lead time of
severe thunderstorm warnings to 19 minutes and the accuracy of
severe thunderstorm warnings to 84 percent, and achieve a six-
month lead time for El Nino Southern Oscillation forecasts.
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Pollution Control and Abatement
The Federal Government helps achieve the Nation's pollution control
goals by: (1) taking direct action; (2) funding actions by State, local,
and Tribal governments; and (3) implementing the Nation's environmental
regulatory system. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) $7.8
billion in discretionary funds and the Coast Guard's $100 million Oil
Spill Liability Trust Fund (which funds oil spill cleanups in U.S.
waters) finance these activities. EPA's discretionary funds include
three major components--the operating program, Superfund, and water
infrastructure financing.
EPA's $3.6 billion operating program provides the Federal funding to
implement most Federal pollution control laws, including the Clean Air,
Clean Water, Solid Waste Disposal, Safe Drinking Water, and the Toxic
Substances Control Acts. EPA protects human health and the environment
by developing national pollution control standards, largely enforced by
the States under EPA-delegated authority. For example, under the Clean
Air Act, EPA has developed health-based National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS) for six air pollutants: ozone, particulate matter,
carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and nitrogen dioxide. Among
these, ground-level ozone and particulate matter are the most complex,
difficult to control, and pervasive. EPA recently revised the standard
for ozone and promulgated a new standard for particulate matter to
further protect human health.
In 1999, EPA will certify that eight of the estimated 38
remaining nonattainment areas have achieved the current NAAQS
for ozone (See Chart 16-2).
In 1999, EPA will certify that 13 of the 58 estimated
remaining nonattainment areas have achieved the NAAQS for
carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, or lead.
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), EPA and
authorized States prevent dangerous releases to the environment
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of hazardous, industrial nonhazardous, and municipal solid wastes by
requiring proper facility management. EPA and authorized States also
implement the RCRA corrective action program to clean up environmental
contamination at sites where hazardous wastes are being stored, treated,
or disposed.
In 1999, 153 more hazardous waste management facilities will
have approved controls in place to prevent dangerous releases
to air, soil, and groundwater, for a total of 2,080 facilities
(62 percent of the total outstanding).
Superfund's $2.1 billion program pays to clean up hazardous spills
and abandoned hazardous waste sites, and to compel responsible parties
to clean up. The Coast Guard implements a smaller but similar program to
clean up oil spills. Superfund also supports the Federal ``Brownfields''
program, designed to assess, clean up, and re-use formerly contaminated
sites.
In 1999, EPA will complete 136 cleanups, in order to reach
900 completed cleanups (60 percent of those outstanding) by
the end of 2001.
In 1999, EPA will fund Brownfields site assessments in 100
more communities, in order to reach 300 communities by the end
of 2000.
In 1999, the Coast Guard will reduce the amount of oil that
marine sources spill into the water by 20 percent below the
1993 level of 7.76 gallons per million gallons shipped.
Federal water infrastructure funds provide capitalization grants to
State revolving funds, which make low-interest loans to help
municipalities pay for wastewater and drinking water treatment systems
required by Federal law. The Administration plans to capitalize these
funds to the point where the Clean Water State Revolving Funds and the
Drinking Water State Revolving Funds provide a total of $2.5 billion in
average annual assistance. The more than $68 billion in Federal
assistance since passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act has dramatically
increased the portion of Americans enjoying better quality water.
In 1999, another three million people will receive the
benefits of secondary treatment of wastewater, for a total of
183 million.
In 1999, 85 percent of the population served by community
water systems will receive drinking water meeting all health-
based standards, up from 81 percent in 1994.
USDA gives financial assistance to rural communities to provide safe
drinking water and adequate wastewater treatment facilities to rural
communities. The budget proposes $1.3 billion in combined grant, loan,
and loan guarantees for this assistance.
The Water 2000 initiative is bringing indoor plumbing and
safe drinking water to under-served rural communities, and
USDA plans to fund 250 Water 2000 facilities in 1999.
Water Resources
The Federal Government builds and manages water projects for
navigation, flood control, irrigation, and hydropower generation. The
Army Corps of Engineers operates Nation-wide, while Interior's Bureau of
Reclamation operates in the 17 Western States. The budget proposes $4.1
billion for the agencies in 1999--$3.2 billion for the Corps, $0.9
billion for the Bureau. The Administration will work with Congress to
address the problem of project delays and growing future liabilities
that result from Congress' addition of many new projects in 1998.
While navigation and flood damage reduction remain the Corps' major
focus, its projects, programs, and regulatory responsibilities
increasingly address environmental objectives, including wetlands
protection.
In 1999, the Corps expects to maintain its commercial
navigation and flood damage facilities so that they will be
fully operational at least 95 percent of the time.
In 1999, the Corps' regulatory program expects to achieve
``no net loss'' of wetlands by creating, enhancing, and
restoring wetlands functions and values that are comparable to
those lost when the Corps allows wetlands to be developed.
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Congress created the Bureau of Reclamation to support economic
development in the West by financing and constructing reliable water
supplies for irrigation and power generation. The West is now developed,
and the Bureau is remaking itself into a customer-oriented ``water
resources management'' agency by providing expertise on improved water
management practices. The budget also proposes funding for several local
projects that reclaim and reuse wastewater in urban areas in order to
demonstrate the benefits of this alternative to constructing more dams
and reservoirs.
In 1999, the Bureau plans to complete evaluations of current
practices on at least one project in each of its 26 area
offices, with the goal of finding ways to more effectively
manage competing demands for water.
Tax Incentives
State and local governments (and private companies) benefit from a
tax break, costing about $600 million in 1999, that allows State and
local governments to construct private waste disposal facilities with
tax-exempt bonds. The tax code also offers incentives for natural
resource industries, especially timber and mining. The timber industry
can deduct certain costs for growing timber, pay lower capital gains
rates on profits, take a credit for investments, and quickly write-off
reforestation costs--in total, costing about $600 million in 1999. The
mining industry benefits from percentage depletion provisions (which
allow deductions that exceed the economic value of resource depletion)
and can deduct certain exploration and development costs--together,
costing about $400 million in 1999.