Trump Plan Cuts EPA Budget by 31 Percent

NPMA Policy Staff recently reviewed the President’s preliminary 2018 budget proposal, specifically as it relates to funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As part of Mr. Trumps plan, the agency budget would be cut by 31%, reducing spending from the current level of $8.2 Billion to a proposed $5.7 billion. This would also reduce staffing from its current level of approximately 15,000 employees down to 12,000, a personnel level not seen at the agency since the mid-1980s.

The proposed budget Reigns in Superfund administrative costs and emphasizes efficiency efforts by funding the Hazardous Substance Superfund Account at $762 million, $330 million below the 2017 annualized Continuing Resolution (CR) level. The agency would prioritize the use of existing settlement funds to clean up hazardous waste sites and look for ways to remove some of the barriers that have delayed the program’s ability to return sites to the community.

Additionally, the budget seeks to avoid duplication by concentrating EPA’s enforcement of environmental protection violations on programs that are not delegated to States, while providing oversight to maintain consistency and assistance across State, local, and tribal programs. This reduces EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) budget to $419 million, which is $129 million below the 2017 annualized CR level.

 

The plan also funds categorical grants at $597 million, a $482 million reduction below 2017 annualized CR levels. These lower levels are in line with the broader strategy of streamlining environmental protection. This funding level eliminates or substantially reduces Federal investment in State environmental activities that go beyond EPA’s statutory requirements.

Lastly, the plan eliminates more than 50 EPA programs, saving an additional $347 million compared to the 2017 annualized CR level. Lower priority and poorly performing programs and grants are not funded, nor are duplicative functions that can be absorbed into other programs or that are State and local responsibilities. Examples of eliminations in addition to those previously mentioned include the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.

Although the proposed plan will almost certainly not be the final budget passed by congress, there is no specific mention at this time of funding reductions to the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) who are tasked with approving product registration and conducting registration reviews. NPMA will continue to monitor funding and budget cuts at the agency as they pertain to the structural pest management industry and provide updates moving forward.