Superfund Program: Breakdown of Appropriations Data (14-MAY-04,
GAO-04-787R).
On February 18, 2004, we issued a report updating the
appropriations and expenditure data for the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program that we included in
our July 2003 report on the status of the program. To supplement
this information, Congress requested that we provide a breakdown
of the appropriations data, showing the amounts for the Superfund
program, amounts designated for the Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the Brownfields
program. Superfund program operations are funded by
appropriations from the general revenue fund and the Superfund
trust fund. Historically, a tax on crude oil and certain
chemicals and an environmental tax on corporations were the
primary sources of revenues for the trust fund; however, the
authority for these taxes expired in 1995. The trust fund
continues to receive revenues in the form of cost recoveries,
interest on the fund balance, fines and penalties, and general
revenue fund appropriations that supplement the trust fund
balance.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-04-787R
ACCNO: A10069
TITLE: Superfund Program: Breakdown of Appropriations Data
DATE: 05/14/2004
SUBJECT: Appropriations
Auditing standards
Trust funds
Federal funds
Funds management
Financial analysis
Financial records
Superfund Program
Superfund Trust Fund
EPA Brownfields Economic Development
Initiative
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GAO-04-787R
United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548
May 14, 2004
The Honorable James M. Jeffords
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Environment and Public Works
United States Senate
Subject: Superfund Program: Breakdown of Appropriations Data
Dear Senator Jeffords:
On February 18, 2004, we issued a report updating the appropriations and
expenditure data for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund
program that we included in our July 2003 report on the status of the
program.1 To supplement this information, you requested that we provide a
breakdown of the appropriations data, showing the amounts for the
Superfund program, amounts designated for the Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the Brownfields program. Superfund program
operations are funded by appropriations from the general revenue fund and
the Superfund trust fund. Historically, a tax on crude oil and certain
chemicals and an environmental tax on corporations were the primary
sources of revenues for the trust fund; however, the authority for these
taxes expired in 1995. The trust fund continues to receive revenues in the
form of cost recoveries, interest on the fund balance, fines and
penalties, and general revenue fund appropriations that supplement the
trust fund balance.
In preparing this report, we relied primarily on our prior work on EPA's
Superfund program, updated where appropriate through discussions with EPA
officials in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response. We determined that the appropriations
and expenditure data used were sufficiently reliable through our
interviews with EPA officials. We conducted our work from February through
April 2004 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards.
As enclosure I shows, total Superfund program appropriations decreased
from fiscal year 1993 to fiscal year 2004, in constant 2003 dollars, from
$1,884 million to
1U.S. General Accounting Office, Superfund Program: Updated Appropriation
and Expenditure Data, GAO-04-475R (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 18, 2004) and
Superfund Program: Current Status and Future Fiscal Challenges, GAO-03-850
(Washington, D.C.: July 31, 2003).
GAO-04-787R Superfund Program
$1,242 million.2 Since fiscal year 2000, the Superfund program has
increasingly relied on revenue from general revenue fund appropriations.
In fiscal year 2004, the appropriation from the general fund was the only
source of funds for the program. Enclosure II provides a breakdown of the
appropriations for the Superfund program, including amounts designated for
ATSDR, NIEHS, and the Brownfields program. The enclosure shows that the
net Superfund program appropriations-excluding the amounts for ATSDR,
NIEHS, and the Brownfields program-decreased from $1,757 million to $1,242
million, in constant 2003 dollars, from fiscal year 1993 to fiscal year
2004.
We provided EPA with a draft of this report for review and comment. EPA
generally agreed with the information in the report and provided several
technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.
As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce the contents of
this report earlier, we plan no further distribution of it until 5 days
from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to the appropriate
congressional committees; the Administrator, EPA; and other interested
parties. We will also make copies available to others upon request. In
addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at
http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions, please call me at (202) 512-3841.
Key contributors to this report were Ellen Crocker, Tim Guinane, Jerry
Laudermilk, Nico Sloss, and Tatiana Winger.
John B. Stephenson Director, Natural Resources
and Environment
Enclosures
2Enclosure I shows the enacted amounts of the appropriations. In February
2004, we provided the actual appropriation amounts, which include amounts
carried over from prior years, consistent with our July 2003 report.
Page 2 GAO-04-787R Superfund Program
Enclosure I Sources and Amounts of Appropriations to the Superfund
Program, Fiscal Years 1993 through 2004
Source: GAO analysis of EPA data.
Note: Through fiscal year 2000, the Superfund program appropriations
included funds for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
(NIEHS); through fiscal year 2002, the appropriations included funds for
the Brownfields program.
aFor the purposes of this analysis, we excluded a $40 million emergency
supplemental appropriation from the fiscal year 2002 Superfund program
appropriations because it was designated specifically for homeland
security purposes.
bWe converted the annual appropriations to constant 2003 dollars using the
Gross Domestic Product (Chained) Price Index.
Page 3 GAO-04-787R Superfund Program
Enclosure II Breakdown of Funding for the Superfund Program, Fiscal Years
1993 through 2004
Dollars in millions
Fiscal years
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Enacted appropriations in current year dollars
Superfund
program
appropriations $1,573 $1,497 $1,354 $1,313 $1,394 $1,500 $1,500 $1,400 $1,270 $1,270a $1,265 $1,258
Amount
designated for b b b b
ATSDR and
NIEHS 106 117 128 110 118 132 136 130
Amount
designated for
the e e
Brownfields
program c 0d 1 2 8 37 89 91 92 91 95
Superfund
program
appropriations
excluding
amounts for
ATSDR, NIEHS,
and the
Brownfields
program 1,467 1,379 1,224 1,195 1,239 1,279 1,273 1,178 1,179 1,175 1,265 1,258
Enacted appropriations in constant 2003 dollars f
Superfund
program
appropriations 1,884 1,755 1,555 1,479 1,544 1,641 1,620 1,482 1,314 1,291a 1,265 1,242
Amount
designated for b b b b
ATSDR and
NIEHS 127 137 147 124 131 144 147 138
Amount
designated for
the e e
Brownfields
program c 0d 1 2 9 41 97 98 97 94 97
Superfund
program
appropriations
excluding
amounts for
ATSDR, NIEHS,
and the
Brownfields
program 1,757 1,617 1,406 1,346 1,372 1,399 1,375 1,247 1,219 1,194 1,265 1,242
Sources: GAO analysis of data from EPA and the President's Budget
Appendix, Fiscal Years 1994 through 2005.
aFor the purposes of this analysis, we excluded a $40 million emergency
supplemental appropriation from the fiscal year 2002 Superfund program
appropriations because it was designated specifically for homeland
security purposes.
bBeginning in fiscal year 2001, appropriations for ATSDR and NIEHS were no
longer included in the Superfund program appropriations.
cFor fiscal years 1993 through 1996, the amount designated for the
Brownfields program represents budget authority as estimated by EPA,
rather than appropriations to the program.
dThe amount designated for the Brownfields program in fiscal year 1993 was
$0.15 million in current year dollars ($0.18 million in constant 2003
dollars).
eBeginning in fiscal year 2003, appropriations for the Brownfields program
were no longer included in the Superfund program appropriations.
fWe converted the annual appropriations to constant 2003 dollars using the
Gross Domestic Product (Chained) Price Index.
(360472)
Page 4 GAO-04-787R Superfund Program
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