U.S. EPA FY2020 Appropriations

Updated November 6, 2020

U.S. EPA FY2020 Appropriations

Enacted December 20, 2019, Division D of P.L. 116-94, the

Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, provided

funding for the Department of the Interior, Environment,

and Related Agencies, including a total of $9.06 billion for

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

II. Title IX of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

Implementation Act (P.L. 116-113), enacted January 29,

2020, provided an additional $304.0 million for EPA in

supplemental appropriations. Title VII in Division B of the

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)

Act (P.L. 116-136) provided $7.23 million in supplemental

funding in 4 of EPA’s 10 appropriations accounts.

EPA’s FY2020 total $9.37 billion enacted appropriations,

which did not include rescissions of unobligated balances as

in prior fiscal years, was $3.15 billion (50.6%) more than

the President’s FY2020 budget request of $6.22 billion and

$106.6 million (1.2%) more than the total $9.26 billion

FY2019 enacted appropriations. The FY2019 enacted total

included $8.85 billion in Titles II and IV of Division E in

P.L. 116-6, enacted February 15, 2019, and $414.0 million

in emergency supplemental appropriations in P.L. 116-20,

enacted June 6, 2019, for EPA’s response to Hurricanes

Florence and Michael, calendar year 2018 earthquakes, and

Typhoon Yutu. Figure 1 presents trends in requested and

enacted EPA appropriations from FY2008 through FY2020.

Figure 1. EPA Appropriations: Requested and Enacted

FY2008-FY2020 (Not Adjusted for Inflation)

Rescission of Unobligated Balances

The President’s FY2020 request proposed a $377.0 million

“cancellation of funds” (rescission of unobligated

balances). For FY2019, Title II of Division E in P.L. 116-6

rescinded $210.5 million in unobligated balances. P.L. 11694 did not rescind any funds from EPA accounts for

FY2020. In the Explanatory Statement accompanying P.L.

116-94, the Appropriations Committees provide a

discussion of this change in Division D Title II under the

heading Budget Rebaselining (Congressional Record, vol.

165, no. 204—Book III [December 17, 2019], p. H11291).

The committees noted that their consideration of the

FY2020 appropriations for EPA’s program activities

accounted for funding amounts reported in EPA’s operating

plan for FY2019 that reflect rescissions. Additional

information on these EPA rescissions can be found in

H.Rept. 116-100 accompanying H.R. 3052 and S.Rept.

116-123 accompanying S. 2580.

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 the EPA

appropriations accounts has remained similar for more than

a decade with the exception of FY2009.

Figure 2. EPA Appropriations by Account: FY2008FY2020 Enacted (Not Adjusted for Inflation)

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

Senate, and conference reports; and EPA’s FY2020 Congressional

Budget Justification. Enacted amounts reflect relevant rescissions and

supplemental appropriations, including $7.22 billion for EPA in the

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

Prior to the enactment of P.L. 116-94, Congress considered

multiple bills that included funding for EPA. At the

beginning of FY2020, EPA and other federal departments

and agencies operated under two continuing resolutions,

generally at FY2019 levels.

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

Senate, and conference committee reports; and EPA’s FY2020

Congressional Budget Justification. Enacted amounts include

supplemental appropriations—including $7.22 billion for EPA in the

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

https://crsreports.congress.gov

U.S. EPA FY2020 Appropriations

Historically, 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, brownfields site assessment and remediation,

diesel emissions reduction, targeted airsheds, and

“categorical” grants to states and tribes for implementing

federal pollution control programs. The EPM account funds

additional grants and many cross-cutting agency activities.

The Superfund account supports the environmental

remediation of priority sites designated for federal attention.

The S&T account funds scientific research to inform

agency regulatory decisions. P.L. 116-94 funds each

account similar to the FY2019 enacted level or greater with

the exception of the STAG account when accounting for

additional funding Congress provided for FY2019 in Title

IV of P.L. 116-6. Congress did not approve the President’s

proposed eliminations of certain programs and activities.

Assistance to States

Congress appropriates funds to EPA to support the agency’s

primary responsibilities under multiple federal

environmental pollution control statutes in coordination

with states and tribes. EPA awards categorical grants to

states and tribes (and local governments under certain

statutes) with delegated authority to implement and enforce

federal pollution control requirements. These categorical

grants generally focus on specific environmental media,

wastes, or pollution sources. The adequacy of funding for

these grants has been a perennial issue. The President’s

request had proposed $580.3 million for FY2020. Congress

appropriated $1.08 billion for FY2020 for categorical

grants, similar to the FY2019 enacted level.

The FY2020 request also proposed to reduce funding to

states from the LUST Trust Fund account by nearly half to

$47.8 million for FY2020, compared to the $93.4 million

enacted for FY2019 (including $1.5 million in supplemental

funding provided in P.L. 116-20). P.L. 116-94 appropriated

$91.9 million for the LUST account for FY2020, the same

as FY2019 without the supplemental.

Title II of Division D in P.L. 116-94 appropriated $1.64

billion for Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)

capitalization grants and $1.13 billion for Drinking Water

State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) capitalization grants for

FY2020 within the STAG account. The FY2019 enacted

total of $1.74 billion for the CWSRF and $1.46 billion for

the DWSRF included $1.39 billion for the CWSRF and

$864.0 million for the DWSRF in Division E, Title II, of

P.L. 116-6 and an additional $300.0 million each for

making capitalization grants for the CWSRF and the

DWSRF in Title IV. Subsequently, P.L. 116-20 provided an

additional $53.3 million for the CWSRF and $296.1 million

for the DWSRF in supplemental funding for FY2019 for

areas impacted by disaster events. The President’s FY2020

request proposed $1.12 billion for CWSRF grants and

$863.2 million for DWSRF grants.

Also within the STAG account, P.L. 116-94 appropriated a

combined total of $118.9 million for FY2020 for grant

programs authorized by the Water Infrastructure

Improvements for the Nation Act (P.L. 114-322) and

America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-270).

P.L. 116-94 appropriated another $60.0 million within the

WIFIA account for FY2020 for credit assistance and related

administrative expenses, compared to a combined total of

$68.0 million for the WIFIA account in Titles II and IV of

Division E in P.L. 116-6 for FY2019 and $25.0 million

requested for FY2020.

P.L. 116-94 also continued funding in FY2020 for certain

geographic programs, including $320.0 million for the

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and $190.3

million for other geographic programs, including the

National Estuary Program, the Chesapeake Bay Program,

and other programs to restore specific water bodies. The

President’s FY2020 request included $300.0 million for the

GLRI, the same as enacted for FY2019, but proposed to

eliminate the other geographic programs.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

(PFAS)

Legislation has been enacted and other bills considered in

the 116th Congress to address potential risks associated with

per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). FY2020

enacted appropriations in P.L. 116-93 and P.L. 116-94

included funding and directives across several departments

and agencies to initiate or continue various actions to

address potential risks. The Explanatory Statement

accompanying P.L. 116-94 allocated appropriations and

provided guidance and direction for EPA to address PFAS

within the S&T, EPM, Superfund, and STAG

appropriations accounts.

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 FY2020 as

it was for FY2019 and FY2018. As with the FY2019

enacted appropriations, Title II of Division D in P.L. 11694 did not fund the President’s FY2020 request for EPA

“workforce reshaping.”

Fee Authorization

P.L. 116-94 reauthorized the collection and use of

registration and service fees under the Federal Insecticide,

Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act through the end of FY2020

(“Administrative Provisions” in Division D, Title II).

Within the EPM account, P.L. 116-94 appropriated $5.0

million from fees authorized by the Toxic Substances

Control Act for chemical risk reviews.

Regulatory Prohibitions and Limitations

Several EPA regulatory actions received attention, as in

past fiscal year debates. General Provisions in Division D,

Title IV, of P.L. 116-94 prohibited the use of FY2020

appropriations for certain actions: permitting of air

emissions from livestock production (§437), reporting of

greenhouse gas emissions from manure management

systems (§438), regulating lead content of ammunition or

fishing tackle (§439), and regulating air emissions from

small remote solid waste incinerators in Alaska (§441). 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

https://crsreports.congress.gov

U.S. EPA FY2020 Appropriations

IF11276

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