[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Preparing For the 21st Century]
[6. Protecting the Environment]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
6. PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
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``Every time we have taken a sensible, reasoned, but strong step to protect the environment, we have actually
increased the diversity of our economy, the breadth and width of it, and increased jobs and strengthened the
long-term economic prospects of our country. That is the lesson the whole world has to embrace now. We can only
sustain economic growth if we can improve the environment ... if we can build a balanced future together.''
President Clinton
April 1998
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From the start, it has been a guiding principle of this
Administration that the Nation does not have to choose between a strong
economy and a clean environment. The progress of the past six years is
the proof. Today our economy is the strongest--and our environment the
cleanest--in a generation. The air is better, drinking water safer, and
polluted toxic waste sites fewer, while our economy flourishes in ways
that even the most optimistic of forecasters could not have projected
just six years ago.
The Administration has made tremendous progress in protecting and
restoring our environment. It has protected or enhanced tens of millions
of acres of public and private lands including: creating the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, which conserves 1.7
million acres of spectacular red rock canyonlands and artifacts from
three cultures; protecting Yellowstone National Park by halting the
massive New World Mine in Montana, which posed a severe environmental
threat to Yellowstone's unique landscape and wildlife resources;
reaching an historic agreement, partnering with the State of California,
to purchase the Headwaters ancient redwood forest in northern
California; and launching an initiative to designate more than a dozen
American Heritage Rivers to revitalize and preserve both rivers and
riverfronts, and to enhance public appreciation of the value of our
rivers.
In its efforts to make day-to-day life safer for children and
families, the Administration has helped set tough new clean air
standards for soot and smog that will prevent up to 15,000 premature
deaths a year and improve the lives of millions of Americans who suffer
from respiratory illnesses. The President signed legislation to
strengthen food and water safety, so American families will know their
children have safe food to eat and have healthy and clean tap water to
drink. The Administration has also greatly accelerated the pace of
cleaning up Superfund hazardous waste sites, completing nearly three
times as many in the past six years as were completed in the previous
twelve. The United States has negotiated an international treaty, the
Kyoto Protocol, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to
global warming, in an environmentally strong and economically sound way.
As the 21st Century approaches, our continued prosperity and
accompanying population growth patterns present new challenges that call
for a new conservation ethic--one that recognizes the intimate
connection between land and livability, and seeks to preserve natural
and open spaces in each community, within reach of all American families
and their children.
To that end, the budget includes an interagency Lands Legacy
initiative that establishes the Federal Government as a partner with
States and local communities to advance the preservation of open spaces
in every community. Through support of voluntary State and local
efforts, the Administration will help address sprawl, air and water
pollution, and other quality of life issues, while preserving critical
habitat and other ecological values. To accomplish these goals,
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the Administration requests full funding of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, which will help to preserve the next generation of
Great Places, conserve open spaces, and support environmental protection
and local growth management in urban, suburban, rural, and coastal
areas.
As a complement to the Lands Legacy initiative, the Administration
also proposes a separate Livability initiative to help communities
maintain growth while preserving a high quality of life. The Livability
initiative includes a new financing mechanism, Better America Bonds, to
further the creation of open spaces in urban and suburban areas. These
bonds will provide--through tax benefits to bondholders--additional
funds to States, Tribes, and cities for land acquisition, reforestation
and other restoration, watershed protection, and brownfields cleanup.
In order to encourage private sector advances in reducing pollution,
the Administration proposes a new incentive, the Clean Air Partnership
Fund, which will reward entities making early innovative investments in
technology to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. To
address global warming, the Administration also is proposing a $730
million increase for the Climate Change Technology Initiative, including
research and development spending for energy efficiency and renewable
energy, and tax credits for the purchase of energy-efficient cars,
homes, and appliances.
The budget is designed to build on the successes of the past and to
meet the challenges of the future by responding to the public's devotion
to the environment and capturing the Nation's entrepreneurial spirit.
Approaches for Environmental Success
Protecting Our National Treasures: To protect Yellowstone National
Park, one of the crown jewels of the National Park System, the
Administration, in August 1998, acquired the proposed New World Mine in
Montana. The Administration is working with the mine's former owner and
other parties to complete the cleanup of contamination at the site from
earlier mining activities. The Administration is also working with the
State of California and others to acquire the Headwaters Forest in
northern California, the largest privately-owned stand of ancient
redwoods in the United States. Other important acquisitions underway
include bison winter habitat outside of Yellowstone, property on
Cumberland Island in Georgia, the Backbone Trail in Santa Monica
Mountains National Recreation Area, lands to complete the Maine-to-
Georgia Appalachian Trail, and key Civil War battlefield sites.
Providing Safe Drinking Water: America's drinking water is
significantly safer than five years ago, with 10 million more Americans
receiving water from utilities reporting no violations of Federal health
standards. Currently, 86 percent of this country's tap water fully meets
tough Federal standards. During 1998, the Administration took further
steps to strengthen public health protection. In August, the President
announced that, under a new community right-to-know rule, water systems
must give their customers regular reports on their tap water, including
where the water comes from, whether it meets Federal standards, and what
the health effects are if standards are violated.
In December, the President announced the first new health standards
issued under the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, a bipartisan
effort to improve public health protections. Those rules will protect
against cryptosporidium (a microscopic organism that can contaminate
drinking water), other disease-causing microbes, and potentially harmful
byproducts of the water treatment process. A 1993 cryptosporidium
outbreak in Milwaukee sickened 400,000 people, hospitalized 4,000
people, and caused 50 deaths among people with weakened immune systems.
Restoring Ocean Resources: In June 1998, at the National Ocean
Conference in Monterey, California, the President and Vice President
launched a series of major initiatives to explore, protect, and restore
America's vital ocean resources. These measures will provide new
scientific insight into the oceans, promote sustainable use of fisheries
and other marine resources, open new opportunities for jobs and economic
growth, preserve national security and freedom of the seas, and help
preserve our oceans for all time. At the conference, the President and
Vice President proposed an ad
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ditional $224 million through 2002 to fund these efforts, which the
budget supports.
Preserving Our Rivers: In July 1998, President Clinton designated 14
rivers as American Heritage Rivers. This followed a commitment in his
1997 State of the Union address to help communities revitalize their
rivers and the banks along them--the streets, the historic buildings,
the natural habitats, the parks--to help celebrate their history and
their heritage. American Heritage Rivers is an umbrella initiative
designed to use the Federal Government's many resources more
effectively. The initiative creates no new regulatory requirements.
Environmental, economic, and social concerns will be addressed through
plans designed and implemented by local communities.
Restoring the Everglades: The budget supports the continued Federal,
State, local, and Tribal efforts to implement the South Florida
ecosystem restoration project, 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 (the Restudy),
providing long-term direction for the Everglades effort--the most
extensive ecosystem restoration effort ever undertaken in the United
States.
The Army Corps of Engineers released a draft of its Restudy in October
1998, developed by a team of more than 160 people from 30 different
Federal, State, Tribal, and other entities. It proposes a comprehensive
solution that would: store water for critical uses; manage water to
improve the timing and quantity of flows to the Everglades; and create
wetlands to filter runoff. Implementing the plan will cost an estimated
$7.8 billion over the next 20 years, with the Federal Government and
south Florida each paying half.
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. Key land acquisitions
include tracts north of the Everglades National Park and properties
along the East Coast buffer. The budget proposes $312 million for the
Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Interior, and other
agencies--35 percent more than Congress approved in 1999--for the
Everglades effort.
Rehabilitating the Presidio: Using innovative authorities, the
Presidio Trust has begun to rehabilitate and lease hundreds of unused
buildings in the Presidio of San Francisco, once a military base and now
within a national park. The Trust will restore these houses and offices
and lease them to families and businesses. To cut taxpayer costs, the
budget proposes that the Presidio Trust borrow $20 million from the
Treasury in 2000 to fund these improvements, and repay the money through
future lease receipts.
Improving Park Management: Recent reforms are helping agencies manage
national parks and other Federal lands more efficiently. Recreation fee
receipts are now retained by land management agencies, giving visitors a
chance to see how their money is being spent and allowing agencies to
address unmet needs. As a result, revenues from fees have nearly doubled
from $93 million in 1996 to $180 million in 1998. Parks also have
stronger incentives to improve concessions management, now that they can
retain concession fees and open new contracts up for more competitive
bidding. The National Park Service is also reforming its facility
maintenance and construction programs to target funds at top priority
projects that have been selected using solid cost estimates and
measurable ranking criteria.
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 will soon implement a moratorium on new
road construction in roadless areas to meet public access needs in an
ecologically sensitive manner, and ensure that we protect these critical
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 $359 million, a 28-percent increase over the 1999 level,
for investments in road maintenance and reconstruction, road closures
and obliteration,
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and watershed improvements that are critically important to salmon,
water quality, and other resource management goals. In addition, the
budget reproposes a stable payment to counties that is not linked to
timber harvest volume.
Targeting the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): This Department of
Agriculture (USDA) program enables landowners to establish long-term
conservation practices on erodible and environmentally sensitive land in
exchange for 10 to 15 years of rental payments. In 1998, 18.8 million
acres of the most environmentally beneficial acres bid were accepted
into the CRP, bringing total CRP enrollment to 30.3 million acres.
Within the CRP, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a
new program that addresses conservation issues of State and national
significance through cost-sharing and targeting of Federal and State
funds. Each CREP agreement outlines a monitoring and restoration plan to
help meet the State's specific conservation goals. By 1999, six States
(Oregon, Washington, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York) had
signed CREP cost-sharing agreements totaling about 500,000 acres and
$1.2 billion over several years. USDA estimates that 25 States will have
CREP agreements by the end of 2000.
Empowering Citizens with Knowledge: In the past five years, the
President has empowered citizens with new knowledge about the chemicals
being released into their communities and has created new partnerships
with industry to find cleaner manufacturing processes. On Earth Day
1998, the Administration took another bold step to defend communities'
right to know, announcing measures to make information about dangerous
chemicals more widely available and more meaningful to families and
communities. Known as the Chemical Right-to-Know Initiative, these
measures will ensure that the public has basic public health data for
industrial chemicals released in communities, via an unprecedented
voluntary partnership with industry. Companies will voluntarily test the
human health and environmental effects of the chemicals they
manufacture. Testing of the 2,800 most widely used chemicals should be
completed by 2004.
Reducing Air Pollution: In September 1998, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) finalized rules to reduce smog-causing emissions
of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 28 percent in 22 eastern States and the
District of Columbia. EPA projects that these regional NOx reductions
will allow the vast majority of areas in these States to meet EPA's new
public health smog standard without having to implement any additional
costly controls. This is a key component of the effort by EPA and the
States to protect downwind States from smog and smog-causing emissions
that cross their borders from other States. Even upwind, States can
achieve significant clean air benefits for their local communities.
Consistent with the President's July 1997 implementation memorandum for
new smog and fine particle standards, EPA gives States flexibility to
decide how reductions are to be achieved, and also recommends that
reductions be achieved cost-effectively. To ensure that the reductions
are as cost-effective as possible, EPA will work with States to
encourage the development of a market-based emissions-trading system. A
similar market-based trading program already in effect has proven
successful in allowing power plants to trade sulfur dioxide credits to
control acid rain.
Cleaning Up Toxic Waste Sites: EPA's Superfund program to clean up
abandoned hazardous waste sites has become faster, fairer, and less
expensive. Of the 585 sites cleaned up through the end of 1998, 430
sites were cleaned up since the Administration took office in 1993,
while only 155 sites had been cleaned up during the previous 12 years.
The Administration proposes to clean up another 340 sites within the
next four years, meaning that about two-thirds, or 925, of the Nation's
worst toxic waste dumps would be cleaned by the end of 2002 (see Chart
6-1). EPA's administrative reforms to the program have saved more than
$1 billion in future costs by updating cleanup remedy decisions at more
than 210 sites, while streamlining the liability allocation process to
reach settlement with more than 18,000 small parties at Superfund sites.
The budget proposes $1.5 billion to continue progress toward achieving
the 900-site cleanup goal in 2002.
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Redeveloping Contaminated Land: The Brownfields National Partnership
is bringing together the resources of more than 20 Federal agencies to
clean up and redevelop former industrial sites in economically
disadvantaged areas. The initial two-year investment of $300 million is
expected to leverage $5 billion to $28 billion in private investment,
help create up to 196,000 new jobs, and help preserve existing uses in
thousands of acres of undeveloped land. The brownfields tax incentive,
enacted as part of the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act, will leverage another
$4 billion in private investment by allowing businesses to deduct
certain clean up costs on environmentally contaminated lands. The
Administration proposes to extend this tax incentive, which otherwise
expires at the end of 2000.
Making the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Work: Administration reforms
have improved the way the ESA works. Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs)
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 250 species by
the end of 1999. The Administration is also providing earlier protection
for at-risk species, to prevent having to list them as endangered later
on. For instance, in 1998 the Federal Government entered into 40
Candidate Conservation Agreements with private landowners or State and
local governments. These and other efforts allowed 11 species to be
approved for removal from the Candidate list.
Improving Rangeland Management: Interior's Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) is reforming and improving rangeland management by implementing
regional and local standards and guidelines to establish the condition,
health, and uses of lands it administers for grazing. The new standards
and guidelines have been developed in concert with innovative consensus-
building Resource Advisory Councils (RAC) comprising local ranchers,
recreationists, and experts in land management. Almost 4,500 grazing
permits on BLM lands are expir
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ing and will be evaluated in 1999. Those permits will be evaluated based
on the new RAC standards and guidelines, and renewed permits will use
the new standards to evaluate rangeland health and grazing capacity.
Environmental and Natural Resource Investments
The budget proposes to boost funding for high-priority environmental
and natural resources programs by five percent, compared to 1999 levels
(see Table 6-1).
Preserving Great Places and Green Spaces, and Promoting Smart Growth:
As we approach a new century, our Nation faces new challenges to
preserving the natural heritage and green spaces that Americans have
come to treasure. The budget proposes a new $1 billion Lands Legacy
initiative (see Chart 6-2), supported by full funding from the Land and
Water Conservation Fund's dedicated Federal Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) revenues, to protect Great Places and provide the tools for
States, localities, Tribes, and land trusts to plan for smart growth and
open space preservation. This initiative provides funding for States and
other entities to conserve important lands for recreation, open space
and wildlife habitat, plus the preservation of forests, farmland, and
coastal areas.
The initiative provides $442 million for Federal land acquisition,
preserving the next generation of Great Places, including national
parks, national forests, refuges, and coastal areas with flexibility to
use this funding to cost share non-Federal land conservation. It also
will provide $588 million targeted to State, local, and Tribal
governments for land conservation, resources protection, and planning.
This includes $150 million in grants to promote open space acquisition;
habitat conservation; and protection of coastal areas, forest lands,
urban and suburban parks and greenways, riparian areas, and wetlands. A
new $50 million program to support State and Tribal planning for smart
growth will be coordinated with similar activities being proposed under
the Livability initiative. The Lands Legacy proposal also provides $382
million for other programs to help private landowners and municipalities
continue development while protecting endangered species, preserving
farmlands and forests, and providing urban green space.
Better America Bonds: As an additional feature of the Livability
initiative, the Administration is proposing a new financing tool to
preserve green space for future generations and provide attractive
settings for economic development, which will generate $9.5 billion for
investments by State, local and Tribal governments over five years. The
budget proposes tax credits, totaling almost $700 million over five
years, to support Better America Bonds, which can be used to preserve
green space, create or restore urban parks, protect water quality, and
clean up brownfields. The program will be administered jointly by EPA
and the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with other agencies.
Recovering Pacific Coastal Salmon: The budget proposes a broad
interdepartmental Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Initiative to bolster
and deploy existing and new Federal capabilities to assist in the
conservation and recovery of at-risk Pacific salmon runs in the western
States of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. This new
initiative responds to the proposed listings of these runs under the ESA
by forming lasting partnerships with State, local, and Tribal efforts
for saving Pacific salmon and their important habitats. The initiative
has four main components:
A proposed $100 million Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery fund
to help share the costs of State, Tribal, and local
conservation initiatives in California, Oregon, Washington,
and Alaska. The fund would be administered through Commerce's
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with grants
matched dollar-for-dollar with non-Federal contributions.
Improved coordination of Federal activities that may affect
salmon and their habitat, to ensure that Federal agencies and
activities are part of a lasting solution.
Better access to the extensive Federal scientific capabilities
to ensure a broad and solid science foundation upon which to
construct a lasting recovery effort.
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Table 6-1. HIGH-PRIORITY ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES PROGRAMS
(Budget authority unless otherwise noted; dollar amounts in millions)
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Dollar Percent
1998 1999 2000 Change: Change:
Actual Estimate Proposed 1999 to 1999 to
2000 2000
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Lands Legacy Initiative (LWCF-DOI, USDA, NOAA) \1\...................................................... 386 459 1,030 +571 +124%
Salmon Habitat Restoration:
Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery (NOAA)................................................................. ....... ........ 100 +100 NA
Columbia/Snake River (Corps)........................................................................... 108 95 100 +5 +5%
Climate Change Technology Initiative (DOE, EPA, USDA, DOC, HUD):........................................ 819 1,021 1,751 +730 +71%
Spending............................................................................................... (819) (1,021) (1,368) (+347) (+34%)
Tax Incentives......................................................................................... ....... ........ (383) (+383) (NA)
Clean Water Action Plan (EPA, USDA, DOI, NOAA, Corps)................................................... 1,436 1,643 1,975 +332 +20%
Department of Transportation (DOT):
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)........................................................... 700 1,408 1,770 +362 +26%
Environmental Enhancements............................................................................. 360 553 566 +13 +2%
Endangered Species Act (DOI/NOAA)....................................................................... 107 129 181 +52 +40%
Department of the Interior (DOI):.......................................................................
National Park Service Operating Program................................................................ 1,246 1,286 1,390 +104 +8%
Bureau of Land Management Operating Program............................................................ 681 716 743 +27 +4%
Fish and Wildlife Service Operating Program............................................................ 595 661 724 +63 +10%
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Subtotal, DOI (Select programs)...................................................................... 2,522 2,663 2,857 +194 +7%
Department of Agriculture (USDA):
Forest Service Operating Program....................................................................... 1,514 1,595 1,652 +57 +4%
Natural Resources Conservation Service Operating Program............................................... 632 641 681 +40 +6%
Water/Wastewater Grants and Loans \2\.................................................................. 577 645 570 -75 -12%
Wetlands Reserve Program (mandatory)................................................................... 231 132 209 +77 +58%
Conservation Reserve Program (mandatory)............................................................... 1,760 1,576 1,597 +21 +1%
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (mandatory)................................................... 200 174 300 +126 +72%
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Subtotal, USDA (Select programs)..................................................................... 4,914 4,763 5,009 +246 +5%
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):...................................................................
Operating Program...................................................................................... 3,330 3,491 3,682 +191 +5%
Clean Air Partnership Fund............................................................................. ....... ........ 200 +200 NA
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Subtotal, All EPA (includes Superfund mandatory spending ) \3\....................................... 7,363 7,590 7,407 -183 -2%
Department of Energy (DOE):
Energy Conservation and Efficiency (gross)............................................................. 612 692 838 +146 +21%
Solar and Renewable Energy R&D (net)................................................................... 272 336 399 +63 +19%
Federal Facilities Cleanup (Environmental Management Program).......................................... 5,862 5,830 5,939 +109 +2%
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Subtotal, DOE (Select programs)...................................................................... 6,746 6,858 7,176 +318 +5%
Department of Defense (DOD):
Cleanup................................................................................................ 2,140 1,962 1,972 +10 +1%
Environmental Compliance/Pollution Prevention/Conservation............................................. 2,466 2,434 2,199 -235 -10%
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Subtotal, DOD (Select programs)...................................................................... 4,606 4,396 4,171 -225 -5%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
Fisheries and Protected Species........................................................................ 319 350 395 +45 +13%
Ocean and Coastal Management........................................................................... 166 178 246 +68 +38%
Ocean and Atmospheric Research......................................................................... 263 275 270 -5 -2%
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Subtotal, NOAA (Select programs)..................................................................... 748 803 911 +108 +13%
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (DOE, NSF, others)......................................... 220 240 264 +24 +10%
U.S. Global Change Research (NASA, DOE, NSF, DOC, USDA, others).......................................... 1,677 1,681 1,786 +105 +6%
GLOBE--Global Environmental Education (NOAA, NASA, EPA, NSF)............................................ 12 10 13 +3 +30%
Montreal Protocol (State/EPA)........................................................................... 40 45 55 +10 +22%
Global Environment Facility (Treasury).................................................................. 48 193 143 -50 -26%
Multilateral and Bilateral Assistance (International Programs/USAID).................................... 268 309 321 +12 +4%
==============================================
Total \4\............................................................................................ 30,840 32,223 33,929 +1,706 +5%
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NA = Not applicable.
\1\ Includes non-LWCF base funding for certain programs--$116 million in 1998; and $130 million in both 1999 and 2000. Excludes $699 million in one-time
LWCF 1998 funding.
\2\ The program level (grant budget authority plus loan levels) is projected to be $1.5 billion in 2000; 12-percent higher than in 1999.
\3\ Includes Superfund orphan share mandatory spending of $200 million in 2000.
\4\ Total adjusted to eliminate double counts and climate change tax incentives.
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Enhancement of Federal, State, Tribal, and local coordinating
capabilities to ensure close partnerships in recovery efforts,
and promote efficiencies and effectiveness in the recovery
effort.
This initiative is in addition to ongoing Columbia and Snake River
(Washington, Oregon, Idaho) salmon restoration activities, including
$100 million requested for the Army Corps of Engineers in 2000.
Rewarding Early Pollution Reductions: The Administration strives to
implement environmental protection in a common sense, flexible, and
cost-effective manner. The new Clean Air Partnership Fund will provide
the opportunity for State, local, and Tribal governments to partner with
other parties and the Federal Government to demonstrate the most
creative ideas for cleaning the air. The Fund will enable the
development of smart multi-pollutant strategies that reduce greenhouse
gases, air toxics, soot, and smog to protect our climate and our health.
The President is proposing $200 million in 2000 for the Fund that will
capitalize revolving funds and other financing mechanisms to fund
projects that achieve innovative and early air pollution and greenhouse
gas emission reductions.
Addressing Global Climate Change Through Technology: The budget
proposes $1.8 billion for the second year of the Climate Change
Technology Initiative (CCTI), which is designed to promote energy
efficiency, develop low-carbon energy sources, and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Led by the Department of Energy (DOE) and EPA, the effort
also includes USDA, HUD, and the National Institute of Standards and
Technology. Of the amount proposed, $1.4 billion is for R&D spending on
energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, and $0.4 billion is
for tax credits to stimulate the adoption of energy efficient
technologies in buildings, industrial processes, vehicles, and power
generation.
Implementing the Clean Water Action Plan (CWAP): The President and
Vice President announced the Clean Water Action Plan (CWAP) last
February in honor of the 25th
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anniversary of the Clean Water Act. The Action Plan focuses on three
remaining challenges for restoring and protecting the Nation's
waterways: (1) preventing polluted runoff; (2) protecting public health;
and (3) ensuring community-based watershed management.
The budget provides $2.0 billion in discretionary funding for the
second year of this multi-agency initiative, a 20-percent increase over
the 1999 level, and a $126 million, or 72 percent, increase in mandatory
funding for USDA's Environmental Quality Incentives Program to help
farmers prevent polluted runoff. The budget also includes increases for
the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to better
address water quality problems on Federal lands; for DOI to help States
address pollution from abandoned mines; USDA to help farmers reduce
polluted runoff from animal feed lots; the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to help States and local communities
protect their coasts from the pollution that leads to degradation; and
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.
Restoring the California Bay-Delta Watershed: As part of the CWAP, the
budget proposes $75 million for California Bay-Delta ecosystem
restoration activities, the same level provided in 1999, and the
Administration proposes to extend the funding authorization for these
activities in order to secure the full $430 million authorized in 1996.
The budget also includes $20 million for non-ecosystem components of the
long-term Bay Delta restoration program. EPA anticipates that
significant funding in Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act
program grants provided to California could be used for the water
quality portion of this program.
Enhancing the Stewardship of National Treasures: The budget provides
funding for the second year of the Facilities Restoration Initiative
(FRI). In 2000, FRI provides an increase of almost $70 million, or five
percent, for maintaining and restoring Bureau of Indian Affairs schools,
as well as national parks, forests, refuges and other public lands,
which 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 protect wildlife habitat, maintain historic
sites, and preserve our many national treasures like Glacier Bay
National Park in Alaska, Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, and the Cabo Rojo
Salt Flats in Puerto Rico.
Mitigating Air Quality Impacts: As another component of the Livability
initiative, the budget includes $1.8 billion, a 26-percent increase over
the 1999 level, for Transportation's Congestion Mitigation and Air
Quality Improvement program, which supports transportation projects to
reduce congestion and improve air quality. It is the principal source of
Federal funding directed to address the air quality impacts of
transportation in nonattainment and maintenance areas designated under
the Clean Air Act. Typical projects include mass transit, high-occupancy
vehicle lanes, vehicle inspection and maintenance programs, and bicycle
and pedestrian paths, the majority of which can be used to help
communities promote smart growth.
Funding the EPA Operating Program: The budget proposes $3.7 billion, a
five-percent increase over 1999, for EPA's operating program, which
includes most of EPA's research, regulatory, and enforcement programs
and partnership grants, with States and Tribes. The operating program,
which has grown 33 percent during this Administration, 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 fully funds the second year
of EPA's part of the CCTI ($216 million) and the CWAP ($630 million).
The budget also provides a $29 million increase for children's
environmental health activities, particularly relating to asthma and
developmental disorders.
Financing Water Quality Infrastructure: The budget proposes $825
million ($50 million over 1999) in EPA capitalization grants for
Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs),
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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. By the end of 1998,
every State had successfully established a Drinking Water SRF and begun
disbursing loans to its communities.
The budget also proposes $800 million in capitalization grants to
Clean Water SRFs to help municipalities comply with the Clean Water Act,
thus helping to reduce beach closures and to keep our waterways safe and
clean. Those levels for the two SRFs will keep the programs on track
toward achieving the Administration's goal of providing sufficient
capital for the two SRFs to offer $2.5 billion a year in financial
assistance to municipalities over the long run. The Clean Water SRFs are
nearing full capitalization and are on schedule for reaching that goal
in 2005.
Accelerating Endangered Species Act Efforts: The budget proposes a 40-
percent increase, an additional $52 million, for a total of $181
million, in Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and Commerce's National
Marine Fisheries Service, for the endangered species program. These
funds will support the Administration's efforts to encourage private
landowners to protect species, and recover salmon in the Pacific
Northwest. The Endangered Species program increases are designed to
encourage cooperative partnerships between the Federal Government and
States, localities, Tribes, and private parties to recover listed
species and prevent the need to list more.
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 environment and avoiding economic disruption from climate change,
massive extinction of valuable species, and dramatic collapse of the
oceans' fish population. The $143 million proposal for 2000--less than
last year's appropriation of $193 million, which included payment of
United States arrears to the GEF--includes $107.5 million for the 2000
contribution to the GEF's second four-year replenishment program, from
1999 to 2002, and $35 million for contributions previously due. U.S.
funding for this program is crucial if the Nation hopes to continue
influencing GEF's policies and lending strategies.
Providing Multilateral and Bilateral Environmental Assistance: The
budget proposes $321 million for bilateral and multilateral
environmental assistance. Bilateral assistance includes U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) activities to address topics such as
biodiversity, and 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.
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. DOE
faces the most complex and costly problems from over 40 years of
research, production, and testing of nuclear weapons and reactors. By
the end of 2000, an estimated 76 of the 113 contaminated DOE sites will
be cleaned up.
The budget proposes $5.9 billion for DOE's Environmental Management
program, including $1.3 billion to clean up quickly and return excess
Federal property to beneficial use in local communities. The budget also
proposes $228 million to continue to privatize waste remediation at such
sites as the Hanford, Washington, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Idaho
facilities, for 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.
The Department of Defense (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 1999, it is conducting studies or cleanups at nearly 700 military
installations and 2,500 formerly-used properties. Moreover, it has
determined that 15,265 sites require no further action. DOD also is
making progress
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in its compliance and pollution prevention, conservation, and
environmental technology programs. The budget proposes $4.2 billion for
all DOD environmental activities, an amount that reflects a commitment
to consistent and wise stewardship of DOD lands. The Administration is
committed to making all current and former DOD property safe and clean.