U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) FY2019 Appropriations

Updated September 9, 2019

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

FY2019 Appropriations

Enacted February 15, 2019, Division E of P.L. 116-6, the

Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2019, provided

funding for the Department of the Interior, Environment,

and Related Agencies, including a total of $8.85 billion for

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Titles

II and IV combined. After rescissions, Title II provided

$8.06 billion for EPA, and Title IV appropriated an

additional $791.0 million for EPA water infrastructure

program priorities and Superfund emergency response,

removal, and remedial actions at eligible sites. The

Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief

Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-20), enacted June 6, 2019, provided an

additional $414.0 million in emergency supplemental

appropriations for EPA to address Hurricanes Florence and

Michael, 2018 earthquakes, and Typhoon Yutu.

The total EPA FY2019 appropriations of $9.26 billion in

P.L. 116-6 and P.L. 116-20 were $3.07 billion (49.6%)

above the President’s FY2019 request of $6.19 billion and

$376.5 million (4.4%) more than the total $8.89 billion

FY2018 enacted appropriations. The FY2018 enacted total

included $8.82 billion in Title II and Title IV of Division G

of P.L. 115-141, enacted March 23, 2018, and $63.2 million

for EPA in emergency supplemental appropriations to

address impacts of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in

Division B, Subdivision 1, of P.L. 115-123, enacted

February 9, 2018. P.L. 116-6 and the President’s FY2019

request included rescissions of EPA unobligated balances in

varying amounts: $210.5 million in P.L. 116-6 and $220.5

million in the request. For FY2018, P.L. 115-141 rescinded

$148.8 million in unobligated balances. Figure 1 illustrates

requested and enacted appropriations for EPA since

FY2008 through FY2019, including rescissions.

including $7.22 billion for EPA in the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5).

Prior to enactment of P.L. 116-6, Congress passed multiple

appropriations bills during the 115th and 116th Congresses

that included funding for EPA. At the beginning of

FY2019, EPA and certain other departments and agencies

operated under a series of continuing resolutions until an

intervening lapse in appropriations after December 21,

2018. EPA thereafter operated under its shutdown

contingency plans until another continuing resolution

provided funding from January 25, 2019, until the

enactment of P.L. 116-6 on February 15, 2019.

EPA Appropriations Accounts

More than a dozen federal laws authorize EPA operations.

Funding is annually appropriated to EPA among 10

accounts established by Congress over time: State and

Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG), Environmental Programs

and Management (EPM), Hazardous Substance Superfund

(“Superfund”), Science and Technology (S&T), Leaking

Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund Program,

Buildings and Facilities, Office of Inspector General, Inland

Oil Spill Program, Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest

System Fund, and Water Infrastructure Finance and

Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program. As indicated in Figure

2, the proportional distribution of funding among these

accounts has remained similar for more than a decade with

the exception of FY2009.

Figure 2. EPA Appropriations by Account, FY2008FY2019 Enacted (Not Adjusted for Inflation)

Figure 1. EPA Requested and Enacted Appropriations,

FY2008-FY2019 (Not Adjusted for Inflation)

Source: CRS using information from the Congressional Record; House,

Senate, and conference committee reports; and EPA’s FY2013

Operating Plan. Enacted amounts include supplemental

appropriations but do not reflect rescissions.

Source: CRS using information from the Congressional Record; House,

Senate, and conference reports; and EPA’s FY2013 Operating Plan.

Enacted amounts reflect rescissions and supplemental appropriations,

The STAG and EPM accounts have received the largest

share of funding, followed by the Superfund and S&T

accounts. The STAG account funds grants for water

infrastructure programs, brownfields site assessment and

remediation, diesel emissions reduction, targeted airsheds,

and “categorical” grants to states and tribes for

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

FY2019 Appropriations

implementing federal pollution control programs. The EPM

account funds other grants and cross-cutting activities. The

Superfund account funds environmental remediation of

priority sites designated for federal attention in coordination

with states. The S&T account funds scientific research to

inform agency regulatory decisions.

P.L. 116-6 generally continued the existing federal and state

framework for implementing and enforcing requirements

under multiple federal pollution control statutes, with

FY2019 funding for most program activities the same as or

above FY2018 enacted levels, albeit with some decreases.

P.L. 116-6 did not approve the President’s proposed

elimination of certain programs that presumed assumption

of these responsibilities by the states, or reductions of

funding for federal assistance to states and other purposes

for which there have been joint federal/state roles.

Assistance to States

Funding to support the EPA’s responsibilities in

coordination with states and tribes was an issue in the

FY2019 appropriations debate. EPA awards categorical

grants to assist delegated states and local governments in

implementing and enforcing federal requirements to control

pollution. These categorical grants generally focus on

specific environmental media, wastes, or pollution sources.

P.L. 116-6 appropriated $1.08 billion for FY2019 to fund

state and tribal categorical grants, and P.L. 116-20 included

an additional $62.5 million in emergency funding. The

combined total $1.14 billion for FY2019 was $13.5 million

more than FY2018 (including $50.0 million in emergency

funding provided in P.L. 115-123). The President’s FY2019

request would have reduced these grants to $597.3 million.

The President proposed to reduce funding to states from the

LUST Trust Fund account by more than half—from $98.9

million enacted in FY2018 (including $7.0 million in

emergency funding provided in P.L. 115-123) to $47.5

million in FY2019. P.L. 116-6 provided $91.9 million for

the LUST account for FY2019, and P.L. 116-20 included an

additional $1.5 million in emergency funding.

P.L. 116-6 provided $1.16 billion for the Superfund account

for FY2019, including $1.09 billion in Division E, Title II,

and $68.0 million in Title IV (§429). The FY2018 enacted

total of $1.16 billion for Superfund included $1.15 billion

in Title II ($1.09 billion) and Title IV ($63.0 million

[§430]) of Division G of P.L. 115-141 and $6.2 million in

emergency supplemental appropriations provided in P.L.

115-123 to address impacts at Superfund sites. The FY2019

request proposed $1.01 billion for the Superfund account.

Titles II and IV of Division E, P.L. 116-6, appropriated

more funding than the FY2018 enacted and FY2019

requested levels for water infrastructure programs. Within

the STAG account, P.L. 116-6 provided $1.69 billion for

Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) capitalization

grants and $1.16 billion for Drinking Water SRF

capitalization grants. The FY2019 totals include $1.39

billion for the Clean Water SRF and $864.0 million for the

Drinking Water SRF in Division E, Title II, of P.L. 116-6

and an additional $600.0 million ($300.0 million each) for

Clean Water and Drinking Water SRFs in Title IV. P.L.

116-20 included an additional $53.3 million for the Clean

Water SRF and $296.1 million for the Drinking Water SRF

in emergency funding. The FY2018 enacted total for the

SRFs included in Division G, Titles II and IV, of P.L. 115141 was nearly the same as FY2019 enacted in P.L. 116-6

prior to the FY2019 emergency funding included in P.L.

116-20. The President requested $1.39 billion for the Clean

Water SRF grants and $863.2 million for the Drinking

Water SRF grants but not the Title IV funding.

Title IV of P.L. 116-6 included $65.0 million within the

EPA STAG account for grants authorized in the Water

Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (P.L. 114322), $15.0 million more than FY2018 enacted amount

included in Title IV in P.L. 115-141. Comparable funding

was not included in the FY2019 request. P.L. 116-6 also

provided $68.0 million for the WIFIA account for FY2019

($10.0 million in Title II and $58.0 million in Title IV),

$5.0 million more than the FY2018 enacted level ($10.0

million in Title II and $53.0 million in Title IV) and $48.0

million more than the FY2019 request of $20.0 million.

P.L. 116-6 continued funding in FY2019 for geographic

programs that the President proposed to eliminate,

including the National Estuary Program, the Great Lakes

Restoration Initiative, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and

other programs to restore specific water bodies.

Agency Staffing

Although Congress does not set specific staffing levels for

EPA in annual appropriations acts, the size and structure of

the agency’s workforce was a topic of debate for FY2019 as

it was for FY2018. As with the FY2018 enacted

appropriations, P.L. 116-6 did not fund the President’s

FY2019 request for EPA “workforce reshaping.” The

conference report (H.Rept. 116-9) accompanying P.L. 1166 expressed the expectation that EPA would not

“consolidate or close any regional offices” in FY2019.

Fee Authorization

Under the Administrative Provisions in Division E, Title II,

P.L. 116-6 reauthorized the collection and use of fees under

the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

through the end of FY2019. Within the EPM account, P.L.

116-6 provided $5.0 million from fees authorized in the

Toxic Substances Control Act for chemical risk reviews.

Regulatory Prohibitions/Limitations

Several EPA regulatory actions received attention, as in

past fiscal year debates. Division E, Title IV, of P.L. 116-6

prohibited the use of FY2019 appropriations for certain

actions: permitting of air emissions from livestock

production (§416), reporting of greenhouse gas emissions

from manure management systems (§417), regulating lead

content of ammunition or fishing tackle (§418), regulating

air emissions from small remote solid waste incinerators in

Alaska (§430), and permitting discharges of dredged or fill

material for certain agricultural activities (§431). To date,

EPA has not pursued rulemaking in some of these areas

(e.g., lead content of ammunition or fishing tackle).

Robert Esworthy, Specialist in Environmental Policy

David M. Bearden, Specialist in Environmental Policy

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

FY2019 Appropriations

IF11067

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