U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FY2023 Appropriations

March 16, 2023

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FY2023 Appropriations

Enacted on December 29, 2022, the Consolidated

Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328) provided funding

for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and

Related Agencies, including funding for the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). P.L. 117-328,

Division G, Title II provided a total of $10.14 billion in

appropriations for EPA, including rescissions. In addition,

Division N, Title VII, of P.L. 117-328 provided $1.67

billion in supplemental appropriations for EPA for FY2023

in 2 of EPA’s 10 appropriations accounts. Division J, Title

VI of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, P.L.

117-58), enacted on November 15, 2021, provided an

additional $11.21 billion for EPA in advanced

appropriations for FY2023. Together, P.L. 117-328 and

P.L. 117-58 provided a total of $23.01 billion for EPA for

FY2023. Error! Reference source not found. shows the

breakdown of FY2023 EPA regular, supplemental, and

advanced appropriations.

Figure 1. EPA FY2023 Enacted Appropriations

Figure 2. EPA Requested and Enacted Discretionary

Appropriations, FY2014-FY2023

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

Senate, and conference reports; and EPA’s FY2023 Congressional

Budget Justification. Enacted amounts reflect relevant supplemental

appropriations and rescissions. Figure does not include $41.46 billion

in FY2022 mandatory appropriations provided to EPA in P.L. 117169.

EPA Appropriations Accounts

Source: CRS using information from the Congressional Record;

House, Senate, and conference reports.

EPA’s FY2023 regular annual appropriations of $10.14

billion, including rescissions, are $1.74 billion (14.7%) less

than the President’s FY2023 request for EPA of $11.88

billion and $575.9 million (6.0%) more than FY2022

regular enacted appropriations of $9.56 billion. Total EPA

FY2023 enacted appropriations of $23.01 billion (including

supplemental and IIJA advanced appropriations) were

$605.8 million (2.6%) less than total FY2022 enacted

appropriations of $23.62 billion (including IIJA

supplemental appropriations). Note: for the purposes of

comparisons in this report, FY2022 enacted amounts do not

include $41.46 billion in mandatory appropriations

provided to EPA for FY2022 in P.L. 117-169, the measure

commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Trends in requested and enacted appropriations for EPA

since FY2014 are shown in Error! Reference source not

found..

From the beginning of FY2023 to the enactment of P.L.

117-328, EPA (and other federal departments and agencies)

operated under the terms and conditions of a series of three

continuing resolutions, generally at FY2022 regular enacted

levels.

Funding for discretionary spending is annually appropriated

to EPA among 10 statutory accounts established by

Congress over time. These include State and Tribal

Assistance Grants (STAG), Environmental Programs and

Management (EPM), Hazardous Substance Superfund

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

Underground Storage Tank 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

Program accounts.

As indicated in Error! Reference source not found., the

proportional distribution of funding among these accounts

has remained similar for more than a decade, except for

FY2022 with IIJA supplemental 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 delegated states and tribes for

implementing 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 on non-federal

lands designated for federal attention in coordination with

the states in which the sites are located. The S&T account

funds research that supports agency regulatory decisions.

FY2023 total appropriations in P.L. 117-328 and P.L. 117169 funded increases in 7 of the 10 EPA appropriations

accounts and a decrease in 1 account compared with the

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FY2023 Appropriations

FY2022 enacted appropriations. For example, total FY2023

appropriations were $16.97 billion for the STAG account,

including rescissions and $10.82 billion in IIJA advanced

appropriations. This is a $2.48 billion (17.1%) increase

compared with FY2022 total enacted appropriations of

$14.50 billion for the STAG account.

Figure 3. EPA Enacted Discretionary Appropriations

by Account: FY2014-FY2023

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

Senate, and conference committee reports. Enacted amounts reflect

rescissions and supplemental appropriations.

Total FY2023 appropriations were $3.67 billion for the

EPM account (including $386.8 million in IIJA advanced

appropriations). This is a $297.3 million (8.8%) increase

compared with FY2022 total enacted appropriations of

$3.38 billion for the EPM account. FY2023 appropriations

were $1.28 billion for the Superfund account. This is a

$3.45 billion (72.9%) decrease compared with FY2022

enacted appropriations of $4.73 billion for the Superfund

account (which included $3.50 billion in supplemental IIJA

appropriations).

Selected EPA Funding Issues

In recent years, a variety of EPA funding issues have been

the subject of congressional debate during the annual

appropriations process. These issues are likely to continue

to be the subject of discussion in the 118th Congress.

Assistance to States and Other Entities

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. The adequacy of funding for this

support has been a perennial issue. 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. Typically,

Congress allocates the largest categorical grant amounts for

EPA assistance to states and territories for two state

revolving funds for water infrastructure: the Clean Water

State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State

Revolving Fund. For FY2023, Congress appropriated $2.76

billion total for these funds and appropriated $1.16 billion

for other categorical grants in the STAG account. EPA also

awards competitive grants for a range of programs and

purposes. Entities eligible for assistance and other

eligibility requirements vary among the competitive grants.

Air Quality and Climate Change

Congress also appropriates funds to EPA for addressing air

pollution and climate change, including assistance to states,

local governments, and tribes. Air quality and climate

change have been a subject of congressional appropriations

discussions in recent years. For FY2023, P.L. 117-328

provided $556.8 million within the S&T and EPM accounts

for clean air and climate, a $36.7 million (7.1%) increase

compared with FY2022 appropriations of $520.0 million.

This funding supports programs for climate change research

and adaptation, air monitoring networks, federal support for

air quality management, renewable fuel standards,

greenhouse gas monitoring, and wildfire smoke research,

among others. In addition, in the Explanatory Statement

accompanying P.L. 117-328, Congress directed specific

funding within the STAG account to air-related grants, such

as the diesel emissions reduction, wildfire smoke

preparedness, and categorical grants specifically related to

air quality.

Environmental Justice

Funding levels for EPA environmental justice-related

programs and activities have been a long-standing issue in

appropriations discussions. Two executive orders (E.O.

12898 and E.O.14008) generally direct EPA and other

agencies to integrate environmental justice into their

respective missions to “the greatest extent practicable and

permitted by law.” Congress has recently increased specific

allocations for environmental justice activities at EPA. For

FY2022, enacted EPA appropriations for environmental

justice were $100.0 million, an $88.2 million increase from

FY2021 enacted appropriations for the program area. For

FY2023, P.L. 117-328 provided EPA with $108.0 million

for environmental justice within the EPM and Superfund

accounts, an increase of $8.0 million (8.0%) above FY2022

appropriations.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Legislation has been enacted and other bills have been

considered in recent Congresses to address potential risks

associated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

(PFAS). Multiple departments and agencies, including

EPA, are involved in responding to the potential risks

associated with PFAS. The Explanatory Statement

accompanying P.L. 117-328 (Congressional Record,

December 20, 2022, pp. S8655-S859) allocated $8.0

million within the S&T account for EPA to conduct

“research that will help farmers, ranchers, and rural

communities manage PFAS impacts in agricultural settings

and communities.” The Explanatory Statement also

allocated $12.0 million in EPA Public Water System

Supervision categorical grants to address PFAS and other

contaminants of emerging concern. EPA may also use

funds from other appropriations accounts for eligible

activities related to addressing PFAS in the environment.

Angela C. Jones, Analyst in Environmental Policy

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IF12349

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FY2023 Appropriations

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