Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

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February 19, 2015

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R43709

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Summary

Enacted on December 16, 2014, Title II of Division F of the Consolidated and Further Continuing

Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235; H.R. 83) provided $8.14 billion for the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) for FY2015. The act appropriated funding for the full fiscal year

through September 30, 2015, for 11 of the 12 regular appropriations acts, including “Interior,

Environment, and Related Agencies,” under which EPA is funded. Total discretionary

appropriations available in FY2015 for all federal departments and agencies were based on a cap

of $1.014 trillion set in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-67, Division A). No regular

appropriations acts for FY2015—including the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies—

were enacted prior to the start of the fiscal year. Instead, EPA and other federal departments and

agencies operated under a series of continuing resolutions prior to the enactment of P.L. 113235.

The total FY2015 enacted appropriations of $8.14 billion for EPA was a $249.9 million (3.2%)

increase above the President’s FY2015 request of $7.89 billion but $60.1 million (0.7%) below

the FY2014 enacted appropriations of $8.20 billion. The July 15, 2014, House Appropriations

Committee–reported bill H.R. 5171, for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies would

have provided $7.48 billion for EPA for FY2015. The chairman of the Senate Interior,

Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee recommendations for FY2015

in the form of a draft bill on August 1, 2014, would have provided a total of $8.18 billion for

EPA.

There were both increases and decreases across the individual program activities funded within

the nine EPA appropriations accounts when comparing the FY2015 enacted appropriations with

those proposed for FY2015 and the FY2014 enacted levels. Considerable attention during the

debate and hearings on EPA’s appropriations for FY2015 focused on federal financial assistance

to states for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects, various categorical grants to

states to support general implementation and enforcement of federal environmental programs as

delegated to the states, funding for the agency’s implementation and research support for air

pollution control requirements, EPA actions to address climate change and greenhouse gas

emissions, and funding for environmental cleanup.

In addition to funding for specific programs and activities, several recent and pending EPA

regulatory actions received attention during hearings on FY2015 appropriations for EPA—similar

to the debate regarding appropriations for the agency for recent fiscal years. The general

provisions in Title IV of Division F of P.L. 113-235 included provisions restricting the use of

funds for certain EPA actions similar to those contained in previous recent appropriations but only

a subset of those included in the House committee reported bill, H.R. 5171. Provisions retained

in P.L. 113-235 address EPA air quality regulation of livestock operations and reporting

requirements for manure systems, use of U.S. iron and steel for drinking water infrastructure

projects, and EPA regulation of lead in ammunition and fishing tackle.

This CRS report provides an overview of funding levels for EPA accounts and certain program

activities specified in P.L. 113-235 compared to H.R. 5171 as reported, the Senate

subcommittee chairman’s draft, the President’s FY2015 request, and FY2014 enacted

appropriations. The report also highlights issues associated with a subset of accounts and

programs that were prominent in the debate on EPA’s FY2015 appropriations during the 113th

Congress.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Contents

Overview.......................................................................................................................................... 1

Congressional Action ....................................................................................................................... 2

House Committee Reported Bill and Senate Subcommittee Draft ............................................ 2

Continuing Resolutions ............................................................................................................. 3

Comparison of FY2015 Enacted, FY2015 Proposed, and FY2014 Enacted Appropriations .......... 4

Key Funding Issues.......................................................................................................................... 6

Funding Restrictions/Prohibitions ............................................................................................. 6

Wastewater and Drinking Water Infrastructure ......................................................................... 8

Water Infrastructure in Geographic-Specific Areas ................................................................... 9

Categorical Grants to States and Tribes ..................................................................................... 9

Air Quality and Climate Change Activities ............................................................................. 11

Cleanup of Superfund Sites ..................................................................................................... 15

Brownfields ............................................................................................................................. 16

Geographic-Specific/Ecosystem Programs ............................................................................. 16

National (Congressional) Priorities ......................................................................................... 18

EPA Staff Level.............................................................................................................................. 19

Figures

Figure 1. EPA’s Reported Authorized Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment Ceiling,

FY2001-FY2014 and FY2015 Requested .................................................................................. 20

Tables

Table 1. EPA Appropriations by Account: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported,

Senate Subcommittee Chairman’s Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and

FY2014 Enacted ........................................................................................................................... 4

Table 2. Appropriations for Categorical Grants Within the State and Tribal Assistance

Grants (STAG) Account: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported, Senate

Subcommittee Chairman’s Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and FY2014

Enacted ....................................................................................................................................... 10

Table 3. Appropriations for Selected EPA Air Quality Research and Implementation

Activities by Account: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported, Senate Subcommittee

Chairman’s Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and FY2014 Enacted ......................... 13

Table 4. Appropriations for EPA Ecosystem Restoration and Geographic-Specific

Programs: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported, Senate Subcommittee Chairman’s

Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and FY2014 Enacted ............................................ 17

Table B-1. Appropriations for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

FY2008-FY2014 Enacted ........................................................................................................... 25

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Appendixes

Appendix A. Funding Prohibitions Proposed in H.R. 5171 as Reported but Not Retained

in P.L. 113-235 ............................................................................................................................ 21

Appendix B. Historical Funding Trends ........................................................................................ 24

Contacts

Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 28

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Overview

EPA was established in 1970 to consolidate federal pollution control responsibilities that had been

divided among several federal agencies.1 EPA’s responsibilities grew significantly as Congress

enacted an increasing number of environmental laws as well as major amendments to these

statutes. Among the agency’s primary responsibilities are the regulation of air quality, water

quality, pesticides, and toxic substances; regulation of the management and disposal of solid and

hazardous wastes; and the cleanup of environmental contamination. EPA also awards grants to

assist states and local governments in ensuring compliance with federal requirements to control

pollution. Since FY2006, Congress has funded EPA programs and activities within the Interior,

Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.2 From FY1996 to FY2013, EPA’s

funding had been requested by the Administration and appropriated by Congress under eight

statutory accounts. A ninth account, Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest System Fund, was

added during the FY2014 budget process.3

P.L. 113-235 (H.R. 83), the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, was

signed into law on December 16, 2014. The act included 11 of the 12 regular appropriations

bills.4 P.L. 113-235 (H.R. 83) provided a total of $8.14 billion for EPA in Title II of Division

F—Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015.

The total EPA appropriation for FY2015 is $249.9 million above the President’s FY2015 request

of $7.89 billion but $60.1 million less than the FY2014 enacted level of $8.20 billion.

No regular Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bills for FY2015 were

passed by the House or Senate appropriations committees prior to the end of the fiscal year.

However, the House Committee on Appropriations reported H.R. 5171, and the Senate

The origin of EPA is rooted in a reorganization of the executive branch under the Nixon Administration.

Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970 proposed the establishment of EPA to integrate the administration of numerous

federal pollution control laws that had been carried out by several federal agencies. The Nixon Administration created

EPA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through this reorganization with congressional

approval under procedures established in the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended (5 U.S.C. §901 et seq.); see CRS

Report RL30798, Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection

Agency.

During the 109th Congress, EPA’s funding was moved from the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Appropriations

Subcommittees on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies to the Interior,

Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittees beginning with the FY2006 appropriations. This

change resulted from the abolition of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Veterans Affairs,

Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies.

The Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act (P.L. 112-195) authorized the development of an

electronic system to track hazardous waste shipments and a fund to finance it that would be supported with start-up

appropriations and user fees thereafter. The system would manage the tracking of shipping manifests specifically for

hazardous wastes designated under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)/Solid Waste

Disposal Act. For FY2014, P.L. 113-76 created a dedicated statutory appropriations account consolidating funding that

the President had requested within other existing EPA accounts for this purpose; see Title II of Division G in the Joint

Explanatory Statement for the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, as issued in the January 15, 2014, Congressional

Record, Book II, pp. H977-H979 and H1010-1017, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-01-15/pdf/CREC2014-01-15-house-bk2.pdf.

Congress did not include full annual funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, Division L of P.L.

113-235 (H.R. 83) provided an extension through February 27, 2015, of the FY2015 funding provided in the continuing

resolutions.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

subcommittee released a chairman’s draft that formed the basis for negotiating the enacted levels

in P.L. 113-235.

This report briefly summarizes actions on the FY2015 appropriations for EPA and presents a

breakout of the FY2015 enacted appropriations for the agency by each of the nine appropriations

accounts and by selected programs and activities within those accounts that received more

prominent attention in the congressional debate. The discussions and tables presented in this

report compare the FY2015 enacted appropriations for EPA to FY2015 levels proposed in the

President’s FY2015 budget request, the House committee reported bill and Senate subcommittee

draft, and the FY2014 enacted appropriations.

The Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated and Further Continuing

Appropriations Act, 2015 (issued in the December 11, 2014, Congressional Record)5 is the

primary source of information presented in this report for the FY2015 enacted appropriations, the

President’s FY2015 budget request, and the FY2014 enacted appropriations unless otherwise

specified.6 Information regarding the House committee reported bill is from the accompanying

report H.Rept. 113-551; information regarding the Senate Subcommittee chairman’s draft is

from the accompanying explanatory statement.7

Congressional Action

House Committee Reported Bill and Senate Subcommittee Draft

The House Appropriations Committee completed its markup of the FY2015 Interior,

Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (H.R. 5171, H.Rept. 113-551) on July

15, 2014.8 Title II of the House committee reported bill would have provided a total of $7.48

billion for EPA, $407.3 million (5%) less than the President’s FY2015 request of $7.89 billion,

and $717.3 million (9%) less than the FY2014 enacted appropriation of $8.20 billion. No Interior,

Environment, and Related Agencies bill providing FY2015 appropriations was introduced in the

Senate. However, on August 1, 2014, the chairman and the ranking Member of the Senate

Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies released a

“Explanatory Statement” submitted by the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations in the House,

Congressional Record, vol. 160 (December 11, 2014), http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-12-11/contentdetail.html. Under Division F, see discussion regarding “Title II—Environmental Protection Agency,” p. H9766H9768; “Title IV—General Provisions,” beginning p. H9770, and in the funding table, pp. H9801-H9809.

Additional information regarding the FY2015 request was obtained from EPA’s FY2015 Justification of

Appropriation Estimates for the Committee on Appropriations (referred to throughout this report as the EPA FY2015

Congressional Justification), available at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy2015, and the President’s Budget of the

United States Government, Fiscal Year 2015 issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET.

The Senate subcommittee chairman’s recommendation and accompanying explanatory statement are available on the

Senate Committee on Appropriations’ website, http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/fy15-interiorsubcommittee-bill-draft-report; text of the chairman’s recommendation is available at

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/INTERIORFY15bill.pdf, and the explanatory statement is

available at http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/INTFY15Report.pdf.

For more information regarding the Department of the Interior and other agencies funded under the House committeereported bill see CRS Report R43617, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: FY2015 Appropriations, by (name

redacted).

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

chairman’s draft for FY2015 with an accompanying explanatory statement.9 Title II of the

chairman’s draft would have provided a total of $8.18 billion for EPA, $699.3 million (9.3%)

more than the $7.48 billion in the House committee reported bill for FY2015, $292.1 million

(3.7%) more than the FY2015 request of $7.89 billion but $17.9 million (0.2%) less than the

FY2014 enacted level of $8.20 billion.

H.R. 5171 as reported included a number of provisions (Title IV General Provisions) proposed

by the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies and an additional

amendment adopted during full-committee markup that would have restricted or prohibited the

use of FY2015 funds by EPA for implementing or proceeding with a number of regulatory

actions.10 Amendments considered during House committee markup of the FY2015

appropriations that would have removed several of the funding prohibitions, including most of

those affecting EPA, were not adopted. A subset of the provisions in the House committee

reported bill, several of which were similar to those included in recent fiscal years’

appropriations, were retained in P.L. 113-235 as discussed below (“Funding

Restrictions/Prohibitions”).

For a description of provisions included in the House committee reported bill but not retained in

the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, P.L. 113-235, see Appendix

A of this report.

Continuing Resolutions

On September 19, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Continuing Appropriations

Resolution, 2015 (P.L. 113-164, H.J.Res. 124). Section 101 of the act continued appropriations

for federal departments and agencies generally at FY2014 enacted levels minus a 0.0554%

rescission. The continuing resolution (CR) was authorized until December 11, 2014, or until the

enactment of FY2015 appropriations. Funding for EPA under the CR was subject to the authority

and conditions provided in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,

2014 (Division G, P.L. 113-76). Section 104 of the CR further stated that continuing funding for

all federal departments and agencies cannot be used to initiate or resume any project or activity

that did not receive appropriations for FY2014. H.J.Res. 130 (P.L. 113-202), enacted December

12, 2014, extended the provisions of P.L. 113-164 through December 13, 2014, and H.J.Res.

131 (P.L. 113-203), enacted December 13, 2014, further extended the provisions of P.L. 113164 through December 17, 2014. P.L. 113-235, the Consolidated and Further Continuing

Appropriations Act, 2015, enacted December 16, 2014, established final funding levels for the

full fiscal year through September 30, 2015.

See footnote 7.

Some of these provisions are similar to those introduced in previous fiscal years’ draft appropriations from FY2011

through FY2014, and a subset of them has been included in final prior fiscal years’ appropriations. See CRS Report

R43689, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Appropriations for FY2014 in P.L. 113-76, by (name redacted) and

(name redacted), CRS Report R43207, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Appropriations for FY2013 in P.L.

113-6, by (name redacted) and (name redacted), CRS Report R42520,

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Appropriations for FY2013: Debate During the 112th Congress, coordinated by (name redacted), CRS Report R41979,

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) FY2012 Appropriations: Overview of Provisions in H.R. 2584 as Reported,

by (name redacted), and CRS Report R41698, H.R. 1 Full-Year FY2011 Continuing Resolution: Overview of

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Provisions, by (name redacted).

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Comparison of FY2015 Enacted, FY2015 Proposed,

and FY2014 Enacted Appropriations

Table 1 presents the FY2015 amounts for EPA enacted under Title II of Division F of P.L. 113235 compared to amounts approved by the House Appropriations Committee in H.R. 5171,

recommended in the Senate subcommittee chairman’s draft, requested in the President’s FY2015

budget request, and enacted for FY201411 for the nine statutory accounts that fund the agency.12

The FY2015 enacted appropriations included both decreases and increases compared to the

amounts proposed for 2015 and the 2014 enacted levels for individual programs and activities

funded within each of the EPA appropriations accounts not specified in the bill itself but

identified in the explanatory statement as reported in the Congressional Record. The explanatory

statement also provided direction to EPA in implementing various aspects of individual programs

and activities in its report.13

The administrative provisions in Title II of Division F of P.L. 113-325 included a rescission of

$40.0 million from unobligated balances previously appropriated to carry out projects and

activities funded through the State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) account. The provision

further specified that no amounts are to be rescinded from amounts that Congress stipulated as

emergency requirements pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget or the Balanced

Budget and Emergency Deficit Act of 1985. The President’s FY2015 request had proposed a $5.0

million rescission of unobligated balances of prior EPA appropriations from the STAG account

with the same restrictions.14 The FY2014 enacted appropriations did not include rescissions of

unobligated balances of EPA prior fiscal years’ appropriations, whereas EPA appropriations

beginning in FY2006 through FY2013 did include them.

Table 1. EPA Appropriations by Account: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported,

Senate Subcommittee Chairman’s Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and

FY2014 Enacted

(millions of dollars)

FY2015

FY2014

Enacted

(P.L. 113EPA Appropriations Accounts

76)

FY2015

President’s

Request

H.R.

5171

Reported

FY2015

S. Subcmte.

Chairman

Draft

FY2015

Enacted

(P.L. 113-

235)

Science and Technology

For an overview of the EPA FY2014 appropriations see CRS Report R43689, Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA): Appropriations for FY2014 in P.L. 113-76, by (name redacted) and (name redacted).

For FY2014, P.L. 113-76 created a dedicated statutory appropriations account, the Hazardous Waste Electronic

Manifest System Fund, consolidating funding for necessary expenses to carry out section 3024 of the Solid Waste

Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6939g), including the development, operation, maintenance, and upgrading of the hazardous

waste electronic manifest system established by such section, $3,674,000, to remain available until September 30,

2016.

See footnote 5.

See EPA FY2015 Congressional Justification, http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy2015, pp.1019-1020.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

FY2015

FY2014

Enacted

(P.L. 113EPA Appropriations Accounts

76)

H.R.

5171

FY2015

President’s

Request

Reported

FY2015

S. Subcmte.

Chairman

Draft

FY2015

Enacted

(P.L. 113-

235)

—Base Appropriations

$759.2

$763.8

$716.6

$752.9

$734.6

—Transfer in from Hazardous

Substance Superfund

+19.2

+$18.8

+18.8

+$18.8

Science and Technology Total

$778.4

$782.6

$735.4

$771.7

$753.5

Environmental Programs and

Management

$2,624.1

$2,737.2

$2,508.6

$2,639.1

$2,613.7

$3.7

$10.4

$5.0

$10.4

$3.7

—Base Appropriations

$41.8

$46.1

$40.0

$43.3

$41.5

—Transfer in from Hazardous

Substance Superfund

+$9.9

+11.1

+$9.9

Office of Inspector General Total

$51.8

$57.2

$49.9

$53.3

$51.4

Buildings & Facilities

$34.5

$53.5

$34.5

$42.3

$1,088.8

$1,156.6

$1,087.9

$1,088.8

—Transfer out to Office of Inspector

General

-$9.9

-$11.1

-$9.9

—Transfer out to Science and

Technology

-$19.2

-$18.8

Hazardous Substance Superfund (net

after transfers)

$1,059.6

$1,126.7

$1,127.9

$1,059.1

$1,060.0

Leaking Underground Storage Tank

Trust Fund Program

$94.6

$97.9

$95.6

$93.1

$91.9

Inland Oil Spill Program

$18.2

$24.1

$17.9

$19.9

$18.2

—Clean Water State Revolving Fund

$1,448.9

$1,018.0

$1,448.9

—Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

$906.9

$757.0

$906.9

—Other Infrastructure Grants

$125.0

$100.0

$130.0

$114.0

$135.0

-Mexican Border

$5.0

$7.5

$5.0

-Alaska Native Villages

$10.0

-Brownfields Section 104(k) Grants

$90.0

$85.0

$75.0

$90.0

$80.0

-Diesel Emission Reduction Grants

$20.0

$0.0

$30.0

$6.5

$30.0

-Targeted Airshed Grants

$0.0

$10.0

$0.0

$10.0

—Categorical Grants

$1,054.4

$1,130.4

$1,046.9

$1,054.4

State and Tribal Assistance Grants

Total

$3,535.2

$3,005.4

$2,951.9

$3,524.2

$3,545.2

Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest

Fund

Office of Inspector General

Hazardous Substance Superfund

Total Appropriations

State and Tribal Assistance Grants

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

FY2015

FY2014

Enacted

FY2015

President’s

Request

Reported

$0.0

-$5.0

-$45.0

-$31.0

-$40.0

$8,200.0

$7,890.0

$7,482.7

$8,182.1

$8,139.9

76)

Rescissions (various EPA accounts)0

Total Appropriations

FY2015

Enacted

FY2015

S. Subcmte.

Chairman

Draft

(P.L. 113EPA Appropriations Accounts

H.R.

5171

(P.L. 113-

235)

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service. The FY2015 enacted and requested amounts and

FY2014 enacted amounts are as presented in Congressional Record, vol. 160, no. 151 (December 11, 2014), in the

table on pp. H9801-H9809, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-12-11/content-detail.html. The Senate

Appropriations Subcommittee chairman’s recommendations are as presented in the table contained in the

chairman’s explanatory statement (pp. 100-105), http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/

INTFY15Report.pdf. The FY2015 House Appropriations Committee–reported amounts are as presented in the

House committee report (H.Rept. 113-551, pp. 169-177) accompanying H.R. 5171 as reported.

Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

Rescission of unobligated balances from previous fiscal years’ appropriations.

The following sections highlight funding issues associated with certain accounts and program

activities that have been prominent in the debate on EPA’s FY2015 appropriations.

Key Funding Issues

Concerns regarding EPA’s FY2015 funding focused particularly on prioritization and adequacy of

funding for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects; categorical grants to assist

states in implementing federal pollution control laws; implementation of air quality and climate

change regulations, research, and related activities; and federal financial assistance for

environmental cleanup of Superfund and Brownfields sites. There was also interest in funding for

geographic-specific water quality initiatives (e.g., the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and

efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay). In addition, several EPA regulatory actions received

considerable attention during House and Senate oversight committee hearings, appropriations

committee hearings, and House Appropriations Committee markup of the FY2015 appropriations.

Funding Restrictions/Prohibitions

EPA has proposed and promulgated a number of regulations intended to implement provisions of

the various federal pollution control statutes enacted by Congress over time. Considerable

debate15 over the past few years resulted in proposed legislation during the 112th and 113th

Congresses. Some stakeholders and Members of Congress have expressed concerns that certain

agency actions “overreached” the authority given it by Congress. Moreover, some reason that

See discussion under “Is EPA on Target or Overreaching? Conflicting Views” in the introduction of CRS Report

R41561, EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?, by (name redacted) and (name redacted), which

examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA since January 2009,

provides details on the regulatory action itself, presents an estimated timeline for completion of the rule (including

identification of related court or statutory deadlines where applicable), and, in general, provides EPA’s estimates of

costs and benefits when available. The report also discusses factors that affect the timeframe in which regulations take

effect.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

EPA’s actions ignored or underestimated the costs and economic impacts of proposed and

promulgated rules. Other Members, EPA, and some stakeholders have countered that EPA’s

actions are consistent with statutory mandates and in some circumstances are compelled by court

ruling, that the pace of rulemaking in some ways is slower than a decade ago, and that costs and

benefits are appropriately evaluated. Some states, industry groups, and environmental advocacy

groups contend that in some cases EPA has not fully implemented its statutorily mandated

authorities and that certain regulatory action has been delayed. Still others advocate that

regulations should be stronger than those promulgated and proposed to more adequately protect

public health and welfare and the environment.

Recently promulgated and pending actions under the Clean Air Act, in particular EPA controls on

emissions of greenhouse gases and efforts to address conventional pollutants from a number of

industries, have received much of the attention within Congress. Several actions under the Clean

Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Federal

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Superfund financial responsibility, and the Toxic

Substances Control Act (TSCA) have also received attention in the congressional debate.

The general provisions in Title IV of Division F of P.L. 113-235 included provisions restricting

the use of funds for certain EPA actions similar to those contained in previous recent

appropriations but incorporated only a subset of those included in H.R. 5171 as reported16 (see

Appendix A). A brief description of these EPA provisions in P.L. 113-235 follows:

•

Section 419 (Prohibitions on Use of Funds) continues a provision included in the

FY2014 appropriations (P.L. 113-76, Title IV §420) and other previous fiscal

years beginning with the FY2010 appropriations (P.L. 111-88, Title IV §424)

that would prohibit the use of funds made available “in this or any other Act” to

promulgate or implement any regulation requiring the issuance of permits under

Title V of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Chapter 85, Subchapter V) to reduce

emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor, or methane resulting

from biological processes associated with livestock production.

•

Section 420 (Greenhouse Gas Reporting Restrictions) continues a provision

included in the FY2014 appropriations (P.L. 113-76, Title IV §421) and other

previous fiscal years beginning with the FY2010 appropriations in P.L. 111-88

(Title IV §425), that prohibits the use of funds made available “in this or any

other Act” to implement any provision in a rule if that provision requires

mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure

management systems.

•

Section 424 (Use of American Iron and Steel) prohibits the use of funds made

available by the drinking water state revolving loan fund (SRF) (provision does

not explicitly specify that this applies only to those funds made available in this

act) authorized under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA, 42 U.S.C. 300j–12)

for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public

water system or treatment works unless all iron and steel used in the project are

Sections 419, 420, 424 and 425 in Title IV of Division F in P.L. 113-235 are generally the same as Sections 420,

421, 426, and 444, respectively, as proposed in Title IV of the House committee reported bill, H.R. 5171.

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

produced in the United States unless otherwise exempted as specified in this

section of the act.17

•

Section 425 (Funding Prohibition) prohibits the use of funds made available “by

this or any other Act” to regulate the lead content of ammunition or fishing tackle

under the TSCA (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) or any other law.

Wastewater and Drinking Water Infrastructure18

Historically, funding within the STAG account for grants to aid states and territories in

capitalizing their Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) has represented

a sizable portion of the total appropriations for EPA, ranging from one-fourth to one-third of the

agency’s funding in recent fiscal years.19 The combined total enacted amount for the Clean Water

and the Drinking Water SRFs for FY2015 of $2.36 billion was the same as recommended in the

Senate subcommittee chairman’s draft and FY2014 enacted but $580.9 million (32.7%) more than

the $1.77 billion proposed in the FY2015 budget request and recommended in H.R. 5171 as

reported. P.L. 113-235 appropriated $1.45 billion for the Clean Water SRF capitalization grants

and $906.9 million for the Drinking Water SRF capitalization grants for FY2015—$430.9 million

and $149.9 million more than the $1.02 billion and $757.0 million requested by the President and

proposed in the House-reported bill, respectively, as shown in Table 1.

The SRFs help finance local wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects, such as

constructing and modifying municipal sewage treatment plants and drinking water treatment

plants, to facilitate compliance with the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act,

respectively. EPA awards SRF capitalization grants to states and territories based on formulas.20

An ongoing issue for Congress has been the extent of federal financial assistance still needed to

help states maintain sufficient capital in their SRFs to meet local water infrastructure needs.

While expressing recognition of the importance of the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water

SRFs, some Members have contended that funding these accounts through regular appropriations

is unsustainable, and during the 113th Congress authorizing committees examined potential

funding mechanisms for the SRFs that are sustainable in the long term.21 Some advocates of a

The 113th Congress amended the Clean Water Act SRF provisions (33 U.S.C. 1381 et. seq.) in the Water Resources

Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA), P.L. 113-121. WRRDA Section 5004 codified a “Buy American”

statutory provision for the Clean Water (wastewater) SRF similar to a provision contained in the Consolidated

Appropriations Act, 2014 (P.L. 113-76, §436 of Title IV), that applied to both wastewater and drinking water SRF

capitalization grants.

See CRS Report 96-647, Water Infrastructure Financing: History of EPA Appropriations, by (name redacted), and

CRS Report RS22037, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Program Overview and Issues, by (name

redacted).

The SRFs received an additional $6.00 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009

(P.L. 111-5) and a 130% increase above the FY2008 and FY2009 regular appropriations levels for FY2010.

Clean Water SRF capitalization grants are awarded to states according to a statutory formula established in the Clean

Water Act. The Drinking Water SRF capitalization grants are awarded among the states based on a formula developed

administratively by EPA, using the results of a drinking water needs survey to determine allotments among the states.

Beyond the SRF program, the 113th Congress considered alternative financing approaches for water infrastructure.

Enacted in June 2014, the Water Resources Development Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-121, H.R. 3080) includes in Title V,

Subtitle C, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2013 (WIFIA). In WIFIA, Congress authorized a

pilot loan guarantee program to test the ability of innovative financing tools to promote increased development of, and

private investment in, water infrastructure projects. The act authorizes to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior

(continued...)

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

prominent federal role have cited estimates of hundreds of billions of dollars in long-term needs

among communities, and the expansion of federal water quality requirements over time, as

reasons for maintaining or increasing the level of federal financial assistance. Others have called

for more self-reliance among state and local governments in meeting water infrastructure needs

within their respective jurisdictions.

Water Infrastructure in Geographic-Specific Areas

As in past appropriations, P.L. 113-235 also included funding within the STAG account for

FY2015 to support other water infrastructure projects in two geographic-specific areas: Alaska

Native Villages and the U.S.-Mexico Border region. The FY2015 amount for the construction of

wastewater and drinking water facilities in Alaska Native Villages was $10.0 million, the same as

proposed for FY2015 in the President’s FY2015 request, the House committee reported bill, and

the Senate subcommittee chairman’s draft and enacted for FY2014. The FY2015 enacted

appropriations included $5.0 million within the STAG account for wastewater infrastructure

projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, the same as proposed in FY2015 in the President’s request

and the House committee reported bill and enacted for FY2014 but less than the $7.5 million

recommended for FY2015 in the Senate subcommittee chairman’s draft. See Table 1 earlier in

this report for a comparison of FY2015 enacted appropriations for these other water infrastructure

grants to funding proposed in the House committee reported bill, the Senate subcommittee

chairman’s draft, and the FY2015 President’s budget request and included in the FY2014 enacted

appropriations.

Categorical Grants to States and Tribes

P.L. 113-235 included $1.05 billion for the STAG account for FY2015 to support state and tribal

“categorical” grant programs, the same as the FY2014 enacted level but $76.0 million (6.7%)

below the President’s FY2015 request of $1.13 billion. These funds are allocated among multiple

grants generally to states and tribes to support the day-to-day implementation of federal

environmental laws and regulations and to support various activities that address particular

environmental media (air, water, hazardous waste, etc.). Implementation by states involves a

range of activities such as monitoring, permitting and standard setting, training, and other

pollution control and prevention activities. These grants also assist multimedia projects such as

pollution prevention, pesticides and toxic substances enforcement, the tribal general assistance

program, and environmental information. Categorical grants to assist states and tribes with the

implementation of federal air quality requirements are discussed in more detail in the following

section on “Air Quality and Climate Change Activities.”

Table 2 below presents the FY2015 enacted funding levels for EPA categorical grant programs

compared to the President’s FY2015 request and FY2014 enacted appropriations. Amounts

(...continued)

and the EPA administrator $20 million each for FY2015 and $25 million each for FY2016, with amounts increasing

annually to $50 million each for FY2019. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L.

113-235), did not appropriate funds for project financing, but did provide EPA with $2.2 million for hiring staff to

implement the program. See CRS Report R43315, Water Infrastructure Financing: The Water Infrastructure Finance

and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program, by (name redacted). See also relevant discussion in CRS Report RS22037,

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Program Overview and Issues, by (name redacted).

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

proposed in H.R. 5171 as reported and the Senate chairman’s draft are also presented in the

table.

Table 2. Appropriations for Categorical Grants Within the State and Tribal Assistance

Grants (STAG) Account: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported, Senate

Subcommittee Chairman’s Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and FY2014

Enacted

(millions of dollars)

FY2015

H.R.

5171

FY2014

Enacted

Categorical Grant Program Area

FY2015

President’s

(P.L. 113-76) Request

Reported

FY2015

S. Subcmte.

Chairman

Draft

FY2015

Enacted

(P.L. 113-

235)

Beaches Protection

$9.5

$0.0

$9.5

Brownfields

$47.7

Environmental Information

$9.6

$25.7

$9.6

Evidence-based Enforcement Grants

$0.0

$4.0

$0.0

Hazardous Waste Financial Assistance

$99.7

$99.6

$99.7

Lead

$14.0

Nonpoint Source (Clean Water Act §319)

$159.3

$164.9

$159.3

Pesticides Enforcement

$18.0

Pesticides Program Implementation

$12.7

Pollution Control (Clean Water Act §106)

$230.8

$249.2

$230.8

Water Monitoring

$17.8

$18.5

$17.8

Other Activities

$213.0

$230.7

$213.0

$4.8

$102.0

$109.7

$102.0

$8.1

$0.0

$8.1

$228.2

$243.2

$228.2

Toxic Substances Compliance

$4.9

Tribal Air Quality Management

$12.8

Tribal General Assistance Program

(GAP)

$65.5

$96.4

$67.3

$65.5

Underground Injection Control (UIC)

$10.5

Underground Storage Tanks

$1.5

Wetlands Program Development

$14.7

$1,054.4

$1,130.4

$1,046.9

$1,054.4

Pollution Prevention

Public Water System Supervision (PWSS)

Radon

State and Local Air Quality Management

Total Categorical Grants

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service. The FY2015 enacted and requested amounts and

FY2014 enacted amounts are as presented in the table in the Congressional Record, vol. 160, no. 151 (December

11, 2014), pp. H9808-H9809, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-12-11/content-detail.html. The Senate

subcommittee chairman’s recommendations are as presented in the table contained in the chairman’s

explanatory statement (p. 104), http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/INTFY15Report.pdf. The

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

FY2015 House committee amounts are as presented in the table in the House committee report (H.Rept.

113-551, p. 176) accompanying H.R. 5171 as reported. Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

Air Quality and Climate Change Activities

Several EPA air quality and climate change activities received attention during the consideration

of FY2015 appropriations. Many of these activities are associated with regulations under the

Clean Air Act (CAA),22 in particular those that address GHGs. The agency’s response to a 2007

U.S. Supreme Court decision finding that the CAA definition of air pollutants was broad enough

to include GHGs23 remains a prominent issue in association with EPA’s climate change activities.

EPA’s January 8 and June 2, 2014, proposed rules regarding GHG emission standards for new and

existing fossil fueled power plants in particular have garnered considerable attention. The impacts

of these and other CAA actions on various sectors of the economy have been a topic of multiple

hearings before the appropriations committees and various other committees. Other recently

proposed or promulgated EPA actions under the CAA that received some attention in the FY2015

appropriations debate included certain air quality issues regarding certain aspects of livestock

operations.

P.L. 113-235 included two general provisions in Title IV of Division F preventing EPA from

using any funds provided in the act (“or any other Act”) for two specific air quality regulatory

activities related to GHG emissions. Section 420 addresses regulations for the issuance of permits

under Title V of the Clean Air Act that would govern GHG emissions from biological processes

associated with livestock production. Section 421 addresses reporting requirements for GHG

emissions associated with manure management systems. (See “Funding

Restrictions/Prohibitions.”) An additional general provision included in Section 435 of H.R.

5171 as reported that would have restricted funding to implement certain aspects of GHG New

Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for, or modifications to, existing fossil-fuel-fired

electricity utility generating units (see Appendix A) was not included in P.L. 113-235.

Similar to the general provision included in Title IV of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014

(P.L. 113-76, §419), Section 418 in P.L. 113-235 (Title IV of Division F) requires the President

to submit a comprehensive report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees detailing

all federal (including EPA) obligations and expenditures, domestic and international, for climate

change programs and activities by agency for FY2014 and FY2015.24 EPA is one of as many as

See CRS Report R42895, Clean Air Issues in the 113th Congress: An Overview, by (name redacted); see also CRS

Report R41561, EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?, by (name redacted) and (name redacted),

for a discussion of selected EPA regulatory actions.

Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007). See CRS Report RS22665, The Supreme Court’s First Climate Change

Decision: Massachusetts v. EPA, by (name redacted).

The same language regarding this comprehensive report was included in the FY2012 and FY2013 appropriations:

§425 Division E of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74); and the Consolidated and Further Continuing

Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-6, §1105). “Except as otherwise expressly provided in this division, the

requirements, authorities, conditions, limitations, and other provisions of the appropriations Acts referred to in section

1101 shall continue in effect through the date specified in section 1106.” For FY2010, §426 of the Department of the

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-88) included a similar reporting

requirement, and similar to FY2013, this language was retained in FY2011 in the general provisions §1101 of Division

B, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, of P.L. 112-10. A similar recurring reporting requirement had

been in existence for nearly a decade through FY2007, under a provision in the annual appropriations bills for Foreign

Operations.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

17 federal agencies that have received appropriations for climate change activities in recent fiscal

years.25 EPA’s share of this funding is relatively small, but EPA’s policy and regulatory roles are

proportionately larger than those of other federal agencies and departments.

Appropriated funds for EPA’s climate change and air quality activities are distributed across

several program activities under multiple appropriations accounts. Because of variability in these

activities and modifications to account structures from year to year, it is difficult to compare the

overall combined funding included in appropriations bills with the President’s request26 and prioryear enacted appropriations. However, comparisons can be made among certain activities for

which Congress does specify a line-item in the appropriations process.27

As presented in Table 3, EPA “clean air and climate” activities constitute the single largest air

quality program area funded within the Environmental Programs and Management (EPM) and

Science and Technology (S&T) accounts. The combined total of the two accounts enacted for

FY2015 for this program area was $389.6 million—$34.6 million (8.1%) less than the President’s

FY2015 request of $424.2 million and $8.3 million (2.1%) less than the FY2014 enacted level of

$397.9 million.

State and Local Air Quality Management grants are the single largest air quality activity funded

within the STAG account. The FY2015 enacted appropriation for these grants in P.L. 113-235

was $228.2 million, the same as FY2014 enacted but $15.0 million (6.2%) less than the

President’s FY2015 request of $243.2 million. States use these grants to help pay the costs of

operating air pollution control programs. Much of the day-to-day operations of these programs

(i.e., monitoring, permitting, enforcement, and developing site-specific regulations) are done

largely by the state and local agencies with Clean Air Act authorities delegated by EPA.

In the STAG account, the FY2015 enacted appropriation included $30.0 million for FY2015 for

the Diesel Emission Reduction Grants program, $10.0 million (50.0%) more than the FY2014

enacted level of $20.0 million. The FY2015 President’s budget request had proposed no funding.

Of note, the FY2013 post-sequestration funding level was $18.9 million, and the FY2012 enacted

level was $30.0 million. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) had

provided an additional $300.0 million in supplemental funds for these grants in FY2009 for a

total of $360.0 million in that fiscal year, much of which was awarded in FY2010. The Energy

See CRS Report R43227, Federal Climate Change Funding from FY2008 to FY2014, by (name redacted), (name redac

ted), and (name redacted).

Although Congress does not appropriate funding based on EPA’s strategic performance goals, the President’s

FY2015 request proposed $1.03 billion (including $234.7 million to “address climate change” across multiple

appropriations accounts) to support the agency’s strategic objective: “Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air

Quality.” The FY2014 enacted level cited by EPA was $985.1 million for this performance goal, including $189.5

million to “address climate change” (EPA’s FY2015 Budget in Brief, pp. 13-21, http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/

fy2015).

It is difficult to compare the FY2015 funding levels for all program activities with previous fiscal years’

appropriations, as, from year to year, EPA has sometimes modified the line-items under which funding for climateprotection-related program activities is requested. For example, for FY2012, the conferees accepted the

Administration’s proposed budget reorganization of certain air quality and climate protection program activities,

including consolidation and modifications of various line-items, making it difficult to compare FY2012 appropriations

with FY2011 (and prior year) appropriations.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Policy Act of 200528 had originally authorized $200.0 million annually for these grants from

FY2007 through FY2011.

The FY2015 enacted appropriations included funding for “Targeted Airshed Grants” within the

STAG account to reduce air pollution in areas designated as nonattainment, which was proposed

by the House Appropriations Committee in H.R. 5171 as reported. As specified in the

explanatory statement accompanying H.R. 83, the FY2015 Consolidated and Continuing Further

Appropriations Act, these grants are to be distributed “on a competitive basis to non-attainment

areas that EPA determines are ranked as the top five most polluted areas relative to annual ozone

or particulate matter 2.5 standards.” 29 No funding was requested for these grants or included in

the FY2014 enacted appropriations.

P.L. 113-235 included $8.1 million for state indoor radon (categorical) grants within the STAG

account, the same as the FY2014 enacted amount. The President had not requested any funding to

continue this program in FY2015. As in the FY2014 request, the President’s FY2015 request

proposed eliminating the radon grant program, noting the Administration’s position that states and

local agencies had established the necessary technical expertise and program funding in place to

continue radon protection efforts without federal funding.30 Additionally, the President’s FY2015

proposal to eliminate the radon program within the S&T and the EPM account was rejected in the

explanatory statement accompanying H.R. 83, although no funding for the radon program was

specified in either account within the total appropriated for the Indoor Air and Radiation program

area.31

Table 3. Appropriations for Selected EPA Air Quality Research and Implementation

Activities by Account: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported, Senate

Subcommittee Chairman’s Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and FY2014

Enacted

(millions of dollars)

FY2015

FY2014

Enacted

(P.L. 113-

Account/Program Area

76)

FY2015

President’s

Request

H.R.

5171

FY2015

S. Subcmte.

Chairman

Reported

Draft

FY2015

Enacted

(P.L. 113-

235)

Science and Technology Account

Clean Air and Climate

$120.4

$118.5

$112.7

$117.5

$116.5

Clean Air Allowance Trading Program

$8.6a

$8.4a

—a

Climate Protection Program

$8.3

$8.0

Federal Support for Air Quality Management

$7.0a

—a

Energy Policy Act of 2005, P.L. 109-58, Title VII, Subtitle G.

See footnote 5, p. H9767.

See references to the radon program activities in EPA’s FY2015 Congressional Justification, pp. ix, 732, 769-770

(http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy2015) and in EPA’s FY2014 Congressional Justification, pp. vii, 15, 783, 827828 (http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy2014).

See footnote 5, p. H9766.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

FY2015

FY2014

Enacted

(P.L. 113-

Account/Program Area

Federal Vehicle & Fuels Standards &

Certification

76)

FY2015

President’s

Request

H.R.

5171

FY2015

S. Subcmte.

Chairman

Reported

Draft

FY2015

Enacted

(P.L. 113-

235)

$96.5a

$95.0a

—a

Indoor Air and Radiation

$6.4

$6.1

$6.0

Indoor Air: Radon Program

$0.2a

$0.0a

—a

Reduce Risks from Indoor Air

$0.3a

$0.4a

—a

Radiation: Protection

$2.1a

$2.0a

—a

Radiation: Response Preparedness

$3.8a

$3.7a

—a

Research: Air, Climate, and Energy

$95.0

$101.9

$90.3

$98.9

$91.9

Clean Air and Climate

$277.5

$305.7

$266.7

$279.6

$273.1

Clean Air Allowance Trading Program

$19.6a

$18.3a

—a

Climate Protection Program:

$95.4

$104.0

$90.2

—a

$95.4

Federal Stationary Source Regulations

$26.5

$32.9

$20.0b

—a

Federal Support for Air Quality Management

$121.8

$136.4

$117.5b

—a

Stratospheric Ozone: Domestic Programs

$5.1a

$5.0a

—a

Stratospheric Ozone: Multilateral Fund

$9.0a

$9.1a

—a

Indoor Air and Radiation

$28.1

$30.2

$28.1

$27.6

Indoor Air: Radon Program

$2.4a

$3.4a

—a

Radiation: Protection

$8.7a

$9.1a

—a

Radiation: Response Preparedness

$2.5a

$3.1a

—a

Reduce Risks from Indoor Air

$14.5a

$14.6a

—a

$2.0

Diesel Emissions Reduction Grants

(Energy Policy Act)

$20.0

$0.0

$30.0

$6.5

$30.0

Targeted Airshed Grants

$0.0

$10.0

$0.0

$10.0

Radon

$8.1

$0.0

$8.1

State & Local Air Quality Management

Grants

$228.2

$243.2

$228.2

Tribal Air Quality Management Grants

$12.8

Environmental Programs and

Management

Hazardous Substance Superfund

Account

Indoor Air and Radiation: Radiation

Protection

State and Tribal Assistance Grants

Account

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service. The FY2015 enacted and requested amounts and

FY2014 enacted amounts are as presented in the table in the Congressional Record, vol. 160, no. 151 (December

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

11, 2014), pp. H9801-H9809, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-12-11/content-detail.html. The Senate

subcommittee chairman’s recommendations are as presented in the table contained in the chairman’s

explanatory statement (p. 100-104), http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/INTFY15Report.pdf.

The FY2015 House committee amounts are as presented in the House committee report (H.Rept. 113-

551, pp. 169-176) accompanying H.R. 5171 as reported. Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

The explanation for the FY2015 enacted appropriations included in the December 11, 2014, Congressional

Record and the FY2015 House committee report (H.Rept. 113-551) did not specify funding amounts

for these sub-program activities. Amounts for FY2014 enacted and FY2015 requested presented in the table

are as reported in EPA’s FY2015 Congressional Justification, http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy2015;

EPA’s total funding amounts for the major program areas match those reported in the committee report.

Recommended funding levels are specified in the explanatory statement of the House committee report,

H.Rept. 113-551 (see p. 60) but not presented in the funding tables at the end of the report.

Cleanup of Superfund Sites

The Hazardous Substance Superfund account (hereinafter referred to as the Superfund account)

supports the assessment and cleanup of contaminated sites administered under EPA’s Superfund

program. CERCLA authorized this program and established the Superfund Trust Fund to finance

discretionary appropriations to fund it.32 As indicated in Table 1, P.L. 113-235 included a total of

$1.09 billion for the Superfund account for FY2015 (prior to transfers to other EPA accounts), the

same as the FY2014 enacted appropriations and slightly higher than the Senate subcommittee

chairman’s draft but $67.8 million (5.9%) below the $1.16 billion total proposed in the

President’s FY2015 request and in H.R. 5171 as reported. Funding levels for the Superfund

account have been declining each fiscal year since FY2010. Prior to that time, Superfund

appropriations had continued at a level of approximately $1.25 billion annually for over a decade,

with the exception of $600.0 million in supplemental funds provided for FY2009 in P.L. 111-5.

Most of the funding within the Superfund account is allocated to the cleanup of sites that EPA has

placed on the National Priorities List. Debate regarding the sufficiency of funding for the

Superfund program has centered primarily on the pace and adequacy of cleanup at these sites.

The source of funding for the program has also been an issue. There has been some interest in

reinstating Superfund taxes on industry to help support the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust

Fund.33 Congress appropriates monies out of this trust fund to support EPA’s Superfund program.

The President’s FY2015 budget request included a proposal to reinstate Superfund taxes

beginning in tax year 2015 and ending in tax year 2024, which would be subject to the enactment

of reauthorizing legislation. Superfund tax reauthorization legislation has been introduced in each

Congress since the taxing authority expired at the end of 1995, including the 113th Congress.

Reauthorization legislation has not been enacted to date in any Congress since 1995. P.L. 113235 did not include language to reauthorize Superfund taxes.34

CERCLA (42 U.S.C. §9601 et seq.) requires responsible parties to pay for the cleanup of environmental

contamination, and authorizes the cleanup of sites where the responsible parties cannot pay or cannot be found. See

CRS Report R41039, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act: A Summary of

Superfund Cleanup Authorities and Related Provisions of the Act, by (name redacted).

The Superfund tax consisted of two excise taxes, one on petroleum and one on chemical feedstocks, and a special

environmental tax on corporate income. The authority to collect these taxes expired on December 31, 1995.

Tax legislation is within the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Brownfields

EPA also administers a separate Brownfields program to provide financial assistance to clean up

sites not addressed under the Superfund program but where the known or suspected presence of

contamination may present an impediment to economic redevelopment. Funding for EPA’s

Brownfields program awards two different categories of grants, one competitive and one formulabased. Section 104(k) of CERCLA authorizes EPA to award competitive grants to state, local, and

tribal governmental entities for the assessment and remediation (i.e., cleanup) of eligible

brownfields sites, job training for cleanup workers, and technical assistance.35 Section 128

authorizes EPA to award formula-based grants to help states and tribes enhance their own similar

cleanup programs. These grants are funded within the STAG account, whereas EPA’s expenses to

administer the Brownfields program are funded within the Environmental Programs and

Management (EPM) account.

Within these two accounts combined, P.L. 113-235 included $153.3 million for EPA’s

Brownfields program in FY2015: $25.6 million within the EPM account; and within the STAG

account, $80.0 million for Section 104(k) grants (see Table 1) and $47.7 million for Section 128

grants (see Table 2). The program total for FY2015 is a $7.7 million (4.8%) decrease from the

President’s FY2015 request of $161.0 million, $10.4 million (6.4%) less than the $163.7 million

included in the Senate subcommittee chairman’s draft for FY2015 and in the FY2014 enacted

appropriation but a $6.6 million (4.5%) increase above the $146.4 million proposed in the House

committee reported bill.

Geographic-Specific/Ecosystem Programs

EPA’s Environmental Programs and Management (EPM) account includes funding for several

ecosystem restoration and wetlands protection programs to address water quality and sources of

pollution associated with environmental and human health risks, including those in a number of

geographic-specific areas of the United States. The funding adequacy for these geographic

programs garnered considerable attention during the FY2015 appropriations debate, as in

previous fiscal years. Included are funding for the National Estuary Program (NEP) and Coastal

Waterways program area and for certain specific water bodies including the Great Lakes36 and

Chesapeake Bay.37 These programs often involve collaboration among EPA, other federal

agencies, state and local governments, communities, and nonprofit organizations. Table 4

presents the FY2015 enacted appropriations for EPA’s ecosystem restoration and geographic

specific programs compared to the FY2015 proposed funding levels included in H.R. 5171 as

reported and the Senate subcommittee chairman’s draft, the President’s FY2015 request, and the

FY2014 enacted amounts.

Nonprofit organizations also may be eligible for site-specific remediation (i.e., cleanup) grants, subject to a

determination by EPA based on certain statutory criteria.

The Great Lakes Interagency Task Force was established by executive order in 2004. In FY2010, President Obama

proposed the establishment of a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which Congress subsequently approved in the

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-88). Projects and programs are to be

implemented through grants and cooperative agreements with states, tribes, municipalities, universities, and other

organizations. For more information, see EPA’s website: http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/iatf/index.html.

Issued in May of 2009, Executive Order 13508, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration, directed federal

departments and agencies to exercise greater leadership in implementing their existing authorities to restore the bay.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Table 4. Appropriations for EPA Ecosystem Restoration and Geographic-Specific

Programs: FY2015 Enacted, H.R. 5171 as Reported, Senate Subcommittee

Chairman’s Draft, FY2015 President’s Budget Request, and FY2014 Enacted

(millions of dollars)

FY2015

FY2014

Enacted

H.R.

5171

FY2015

Enacted

FY2015

President’s

Request

Reported

FY2015

S. Subcmte.

Chairman

Draft

$46.2

$50.9

$45.0

$47.8

National Estuary Program/Coastal Waterways

$25.1

$26.7

$25.1

$26.7

Wetlands

$21.1

$24.2

$19.9

$21.1

$415.7

$394.3

$406.3

$433.4

$427.7

Great Lakes Restoration Initiativea

$300.0

$275.0

$300.0

Chesapeake Bay

$70.0

$73.1

$70.0

$73.1

$73.0

San Francisco Bay

$4.8

Puget Sound

$25.0

$20.0

$30.0

$28.0

Long Island Sound

$3.9

$2.9

$3.9

Gulf of Mexico

$4.5

$3.8

$4.5

South Florida

$1.7

$1.4

$1.7

Lake Champlain

$1.4

$5.0

$4.4

Lake Pontchartrain

$0.9

Southern New England Estuaries

$2.0

$5.0

$0.0

$8.0

$5.0

Other Geographic Activities

$1.4

$1.0

$0.0

$1.4

$461.9

$445.2

$481.2

$461.9

$475.5

(P.L. 113-

76)

Program

Water: Ecosystems Total

Geographic Programs Total

All Selected Programs

(P.L. 113-

235)

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service. The FY2015 enacted and requested amounts and

FY2014 enacted amounts are as presented in the table in the Congressional Record, vol. 160, no. 151 (December

11, 2014), pp. H9803-H9804, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-12-11/content-detail.html. The Senate

subcommittee chairman’s recommendations are as presented in the table contained in the chairman’s

explanatory statement (p. 101), http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/sites/default/files/INTFY15Report.pdf. The

FY2015 House committee amounts are as presented in the House committee report (H.Rept. 113-551, pp.

171-172) accompanying H.R. 5171 as reported. Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

Funding for the Great Lakes Legacy Act and for EPA’s Great Lakes Program was moved to the Great Lakes

Restoration Initiative in FY2010.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

National (Congressional) Priorities

P.L. 113-235 included a total of $16.8 million for “National Priorities” within the S&T and EPM

accounts for FY2015, roughly the same amount appropriated for this purpose for FY2014. As in

previous fiscal years, the President’s FY2015 request did not include funding for these priorities,

which the Administration has characterized as “Congressional Priorities” because it has not

sought funds for these purposes.

Of the $16.9 million total, $4.1 million was included within the S&T account for FY2015 for

“Research: National Priorities.” These funds are to be used for competitive extramural research

grants to support high-priority water quality and availability research of national scope by “notfor-profit organizations who often partner with the Agency.” The grants are to be independent of

the Science to Achieve Results grant program. The grants are subject to a 25% matching funds

requirement.38

The remaining $12.7 million was included within the EPM account for FY2015 for

“Environmental Protection: National Priorities.” These funds are to be used for competitive

grants to qualified not-for-profit organizations to provide rural and urban communities or

individual private well owners with technical assistance to improve water quality or safe drinking

water. The grants are subject to a 10% matching funds requirement (including in-kind

contributions). Of the $12.7 million, $11.0 million was allocated for training and technical

assistance on a national level or multi-state regional basis, and $1.7 million was allocated for

technical assistance to individual private well owners.39

Although Congress has dedicated funding for these “National” or “Congressional” priorities, they

have not been categorized as earmarks by the House or Senate generally because the language

would not direct the funding to one specific entity or specific location, and the funding would be

awarded on a competitive basis. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have adhered

to an earmark moratorium during the 112th and 113th Congresses as put forth by the leadership in

both chambers. This moratorium has generally precluded earmarks in annual appropriations bills

for FY2011, FY2012, FY2013, and FY2014. The moratorium followed the adoption of

definitions of earmarks in House and Senate rules.

While there is no consensus on a single earmark definition among all practitioners and observers

of the appropriations process, the Senate and House both in 2007 adopted separate definitions for

purposes of implementing new earmark transparency requirements in their respective chambers.40

In the House rule, such a funding item is referred to as a congressional earmark (or earmark),

Congressional Record (December 11, 2014), p.H9766, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2014-12-11/contentdetail.html.

See footnote 38.

See Senate Rule XLIV and House Rule XXI, clause 9. CRS Report RL34462, House and Senate Procedural Rules

Concerning Earmark Disclosure, by (name redacted), describes and compares the procedures and requirements in House

and Senate rules. See also CRS Report RS22866, Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House: Member and Committee

Requirements, by (name redacted), and CRS Report RS22867, Earmark Disclosure Rules in the Senate: Member and

Committee Requirements, by (name redacted).

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

while in the Senate rule, it is referred to as a congressionally directed spending item (or spending

item).41

EPA Staff Level

Figure 1 below provides a trend in EPA’s authorized “Full Time Equivalent” (FTE)42 employment

ceiling from FY2001 through FY2014, and as requested for FY2015 as reported in the EPA

FY2015 Congressional Justification. The FY2015 requested level of 15,325 is reportedly the

lowest since FY1989.43 Information prior to FY2001 is available on EPA’s Budget and Planning

website at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/budget. Also, in March 2000, the Government

Accountability Office (GAO)44 reported that EPA FTEs increased by about 18% from FY1990

through FY1999, with the largest increase (13%, from 15,277 to 17,280 FTEs) occurring from

FY1990 though FY1993. From FY1993 through FY1999, GAO indicated that EPA’s FTEs grew

at a more moderate rate: less than 1% per year. As indicated in Figure 1, with the exception of

increases in four fiscal years, the general trend has been downward since FY2001.

In both cases, this refers to “a provision [in a measure or conference report] or report language included primarily at

the request of a [Representative or] Senator providing, authorizing, or recommending a specific amount of

discretionary budget authority, credit authority, or other spending authority for a contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant,

loan authority, or other expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific state, locality or Congressional district,

other than through a statutory or administrative formula-driven or competitive award process.” Senate Rule XLIV and

House Rule XXI, clause 9.

FTE employment is defined as one employee working full-time for a full year (52 weeks X 40 hours = 2,080 hours),

or the equivalent hours worked by several part-time or temporary employees.

See historical EPA’s Budget and Spending at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/budget.

General Accounting Office (GAO (now the Government Accountability Office), March 23, 2000, Testimony Before

the Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Human Capital:

Observations on EPA’s Efforts to Implement a Workforce Planning Strategy, Statement for the Record by Peter F.

Guerrero, Director, Environmental Protection Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division,

GAO/T-RCED-00-129, http://www.spa.ga.gov/word/wfpArticles/GAO%20EPA.pdf.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Figure 1. EPA’s Reported Authorized Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment

Ceiling, FY2001-FY2014 and FY2015 Requested

18,000

15,000

12,000

9,000

6,000

3,000

FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service as adapted from EPA’s “FY2015 EPA Budget in Brief,”

p. 11 (pdf p. 15), and for previous fiscal years’ Budget in Brief, http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/archive.

Notes: Full Time Equivalent or FTE is defined as one employee working full-time for a full year (52 weeks x 40

hours = 2,080 hours), or the equivalent hours worked by several part-time or temporary employees.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Appendix A. Funding Prohibitions Proposed in H.R.

5171 as Reported but Not Retained in P.L. 113-235

A number of EPA regulatory actions and related issues were the focus of considerable debate

regarding EPA’s FY2015 appropriations. More than a dozen provisions directed at EPA were

included in the general provisions in Title IV of H.R. 5171 as reported by the House

Appropriations Committee, including several that would have prohibited or restricted the use of

appropriated funds. As noted earlier in this report (see “Funding Restrictions/Prohibitions”)

relatively few of the prohibitive provisions proposed in the House committee reported bill were

retained in the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235).45 The

proposed provisions, if enacted, generally would have restricted or prohibited the use of funds as

appropriated in the bill (and in some cases “other Acts”) to carry out certain EPA regulatory

actions across the various environmental pollution control statutes.

The funding prohibitions proposed in H.R. 5171 but not retained in P.L. 113-235 would have

impacted various ongoing and anticipated EPA activities, including EPA’s proposed standards for

reducing GHG emissions from existing and new (or substantially modified) stationary sources46

and a proposed rule intended to clarify jurisdictional issues and the definition of navigable waters

under the Clean Water Act.47 Other provisions proposed in the House committee reported bill

would have limited any EPA activities that would address lead-based paint removal, the

definitions of the terms ‘‘fill material’’ or ‘‘discharge of fill material” under the Clean Water Act,

and financial responsibility with respect to Superfund cleanup. An amendment adopted during the

markup would have prohibited EPA from using funds to finalize a rule entitled “Administrative

Wage Garnishment” (79 Federal Register 37704 et seq., July 2, 2014).

Descriptions of selected provisions included in H.R. 5171 but not retained in the Consolidated

and Further Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235) are presented below. The following

bulleted list is a summary of the language included in the House-reported bill, not an analysis of

each, which is beyond the scope of this report.

•

Section 429 (Waters of the United States48) would have prohibited the use of

funds made available in “this act” (referring to the bill as proposed) or any other

act for any fiscal year to develop, adopt, implement, administer, or enforce a

change or supplement to a rule or guidance documents pertaining to the

Sections 419, 420, 424 and 425 in Title IV of Division F in P.L. 113-235, are generally the same as Sections 420,

421, 426, and 444, respectively, as proposed in Title IV of the House Committee-reported bill, H.R. 5171.

For a discussion of Clean Air Act actions that have been included in the appropriations debate, see CRS Report

EPA

R42895, Clean Air Issues in the 113th Congress: An Overview, by (name redacted), CRS Report R43127,

Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New Power Plants, by (name redacted), and CRS Report R43572,

EPA’s Proposed Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions, by (name red

acted) et al.

See CRS Report R43455, EPA and the Army Corps’ Proposed Rule to Define “Waters of the United States,” by

(name redacted), and CRS Report R41225, Legislative Approaches to Defining “Waters of the United States,” by

(name redacted).

Section 106 of Title I in H.R. 4923, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,

2015, recommends a similar prohibition for funds made available in that act or any other act specifically for the Corps

of Engineers. See CRS Report R43455, EPA and the Army Corps’ Proposed Rule to Define “Waters of the United

States,” by (name redacted).

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

definition of waters under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

§1251, et seq.), including the provisions of the rules dated November 13, 1986,

and August 25, 1993, relating to said jurisdiction and the guidance documents

dated January 15, 2003, and December 2, 2008.

•

Section 433 (Lead Test Kit) would have prohibited the use of funds made

available by this act to implement, administer, or enforce the lead renovation rule

under the “Lead; Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule”49 or any subsequent

amendments to such regulations until the EPA administrator approved and

publicized the agency’s recognition of a commercially available lead test kit that

meets both criteria under 40 C.F.R. 745.88(c).

•

Section 434 (Financial Assurance) would have prohibited the use of funds made

available by this act to develop, propose, finalize, implement, enforce, or

administer any regulation that would establish new financial responsibility

requirements pursuant to Section 108(b) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9608(b)).

•

Section 435 (GHG NSPS) would have prohibited the use of funds made available

by this act to propose, implement, or enforce (1) any standard of performance

under Section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7411(b), CAA) for any new

fossil-fuel-fired electricity utility generating unit if the EPA administrator’s

determination that a technology is adequately demonstrated includes

consideration of facilities for which assistance is provided under Subtitle A under

Title IV of the Energy Policy Act of 200550 or Section 48A of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986; or (2) any regulation or guidance under Section 111(b) of

the CAA51 establishing any standard of performance for emissions of any

greenhouse gas (GHG) from any modified or reconstructed source that is a fossilfuel-fired electricity utility generating unit or under Section 111(d) of the CAA52

that applied to the emission of any GHG from any existing source that is a fossilfuel-fired electricity utility generating unit.

•

Section 436 (Protection of Personal Information) would have prohibited the use

of funds made available by this act by the EPA administrator to compile, publicly

disclose, or compel the consent of public disclosure of any personally identifiable

information of owners, operators, and employees of any livestock, poultry, or

dairy operations unless such personally identifiable information was transformed

into a statistical or aggregated form at the county level or higher unless the

personally identifiable information or such information is voluntarily offered by

consent of the owner, operator, or employee.

•

Section 439 (Definition of Fill Material) would have prohibited the use of funds

made available in this act or any other act to make any change to the regulations

in effect on October 1, 2012, pertaining to the definitions of the terms ‘‘fill

material’’ or ‘‘discharge of fill material” for the purposes of the Federal Water

Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq.).

40 C.F.R. 745 subpart E.

42 U.S.C. 15961 et seq.

42 U.S.C. 7411(b).

42 U.S.C. 7411(d).

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

•

Section 441 (Funding Prohibition) would have prohibited the use of funds made

available in this act or any other act to promulgate any rule that “identifies, lists,

or treats” certain scrap metals or certain shredded circuit boards as hazardous

wastes under Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et

seq.).53

•

Section 443 (Wage Garnishment) would have prohibited the use of funds made

available by this act to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the proposed

rule entitled “Administrative Wage Garnishment” published by EPA in the

Federal Register on July 2, 2014 (79 Federal Register 37704 et seq.),54 under

which EPA would adopt procedures previously established by the Department of

the Treasury55 for purposes of garnishment of wages to satisfy delinquent non-tax

debt owed to the federal government.

Currently, shredded circuit boards and scrap metal being recycled, as well as any other recyclable scrap metal, are

explicitly identified as materials that are not solid waste (see 40 C.F.R. §§261.4(a)(13)-(14) and 261.6(a)(3)(ii)). As a

result, these materials cannot be identified (i.e., regulated) as a hazardous waste. EPA has not proposed to eliminate

those exclusions. In 2011, EPA did propose to amend the regulations defining each exclusion to require the materials to

be “legitimately recycled,” as defined in 40 C.F.R. §260.43 (76 Federal Register 44094-44154, July 22, 2011; see

http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/dsw/rulemaking.htm). In its spring 2014 regulatory agenda, EPA announced that it

planned to publish a final rule in July 2014, but a rule has not been published as of the date of this CRS report (see

http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201404&RIN=2050-AG62).

EPA referenced its intent to proceed with a direct and final rule published on the same date (79 Federal Register

37644, July 2, 2014) because the agency viewed this rule as “a noncontroversial action and anticipate[d] no adverse

comment.” In a subsequent notice (79 Federal Register 41646, July 17, 2014), EPA withdrew the direct and final rule

due to “the receipt of adverse comments” and, on July 23, 2014 (79 Federal Register 42745, July 23, 2014), extended

the public comment period for the proposed rule to September 2, 2014. Comment period was originally scheduled to

end August 1, 2014.

The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (§31001 of P.L. 104-134), 31 U.S.C. 3720D.

Congressional Research Service

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Appendix B. Historical Funding Trends

Table B-1 presents the level of FY2008-FY2014 enacted appropriations for EPA by each of the

agency’s statutory accounts. EPA’s funding over the long term has generally reflected an increase

in overall appropriations to fulfill a rising number of statutory responsibilities. EPA’s historical

funding trends tend to parallel the evolution of the agency’s responsibilities over time, as

Congress has enacted legislation to authorize the agency to develop and administer programs and

activities in response to a range of environmental issues and concerns. In terms of the overall

federal budget, EPA’s annual appropriations have represented a relatively small portion of the

total discretionary federal budget (just under 1% in recent years).

Without adjusting for inflation, EPA’s funding has grown from $1.0 billion when EPA was

established in FY1970 to a peak funding level of $14.86 billion in FY2009.56 This peak includes

regular fiscal year appropriations of $7.64 billion provided for FY2009 in P.L. 111-8 and the

supplemental appropriations of $7.22 billion provided for FY2009 in P.L. 111-5, the American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. However, in real dollar values (adjusted for inflation),

EPA’s funding in FY1978 was slightly more than the level in FY2009.

A history of total discretionary budget authority for EPA from FY1976 through FY2014, as reported by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) in the “Historical Tables” accompanying the President’s Budget of the U.S.

Government, Fiscal Year 2015. Levels of agency budget authority prior to FY1976 were not reported by OMB in the

historical tables. See Office of Management and Budget, Historical Tables, Table 5.4, Discretionary Budget Authority

by Agency, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals.

Congressional Research Service

Table B-1. Appropriations for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2008-FY2014 Enacted

(millions of dollars not adjusted for inflation)

FY2008

Appropriations Account

P.L. 110161

FY2009

ARRA

FY2010

FY2011

P.L. 111P.L. 111-8

FY2009

Total

P.L. 11188

P.L. 112- P.L. 11210

FY2009

Omnibus

FY2012

FY2013

P.L. 113-6

FY2014

Enacted

(PostSequester)

P.L. 113-76

Science and Technology

—Base Appropriations

$760.1

$790.1

$0.0

$790.1

$848.1a

$813.5

$793.7

$743.8

$759.2

—Transfer in from Superfund

+$25.7

+$26.4

$0.0

+$26.4

+$26.8

+$23.0

+$21.7

+19.2

Science and Technology Total

$785.8

$816.5

$0.0

$816.5

$874.9

$840.3

$816.7

$765.5

$778.4

$2,328.0

$2,392.1

$0.0

$2,392.1

$2,993.8

$2,756.5

$2,678.2

$2,512.1

$2,624.1

—Base Appropriations

$41.1

$44.8

$20.0

$64.8

$44.8

$44.7

$41.9

$39.7

$41.8

—Transfer in from Superfund

+$11.5

+$10.0

$0.0

+$10.0

+$9.9

+$9.4

+$9.9

Office of Inspector General Total

$52.6

$54.8

$20.0

$74.8

$54.8

$54.7

$51.8

$49.1

$51.8

Buildings & Facilities

$34.3

$35.0

$0.0

$35.0

$37.0

$36.4

$34.5

$1,254.0

$1,285.0

$600.0

$1,885.0

$1,306.5

$1,280.9

$1,213.8

$1,115.2

$1,088.8

—Transfer out to Office of Inspector General

-$11.5

-$10.0

$0.0

-$10.0

-$9.9

-$9.4

-$9.9

—Transfer out to Science and Technology

-$25.7

-$26.4

$0.0

-$26.4

-$26.8

-$23.0

-$21.7

-$19.2

Hazardous Substance Superfund (after transfers)

$1,216.8

$1,248.6

$600.0

$1,848.6

$1,269.7

$1,244.2

$1,180.9

$1,084.0

$1,059.6

Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund

Program

$105.8

$112.6

$200.0

$312.6

$113.1

$112.9

$104.1

$103.4

$94.6

Inland Oil Spill Program (formerly Oil Spill

Response)

$17.1

$17.7

$0.0

$17.7

$18.4

$18.3

$18.2

$17.3

$18.2

$689.1

$4,000.0

$4,689.1

$2,100.0

$1,522.0

$1,466.5

$1,851.1

$1,448.9

Environmental Programs and Management

Office of Inspector General

Hazardous Substance Superfund

(before transfers)

State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG)

—Clean Water State Revolving Fund

CRS-25

FY2008

Appropriations Account

P.L. 110161

FY2009

Omnibus

FY2009

ARRA

P.L. 111P.L. 111-8

FY2010

FY2011

FY2012

FY2009

Total

P.L. 11188

P.L. 112- P.L. 11210

FY2013

FY2014

Enacted

P.L. 113-6

(PostSequester)

P.L. 113-76

—Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

$829.0

$2,000.0

$2,829.0

$1,387.0

$963.1

$917.9

$956.3

$906.9

—Special (Congressional) Project Grants

$132.9

$145.0

$0.0

$145.0

$156.8

$0.0

$1,078.3

$1,094.9

$0.0

$1,094.9

$1,116.4

$1,104.2

$1,088.8

$1,032.0

$1,054.4

—Brownfields Section 104(k) Grants

$93.5

$97.0

$100.0

$197.0

$100.0

$99.8

$94.8

$89.9

$90.0

—Diesel Emission Reduction Grants

$49.2

$60.0

$300.0

$360.0

$60.0

$49.9

$30.0

$18.9

$20.0

—Other State and Tribal Assistance Grants

$54.2

$53.5

$0.0

$53.5

$50.0

$19.9

$15.0

$14.2

$15.0

State and Tribal Assistance Grants Total

$2,926.2

$2,968.5

$6,400.0

$9,368.5

$4,970.2

$3,758.9

$3,612.9

$3,962.4

$3,535.2

-$5.0

-$10.0

$0.0

-$10.0

-$40.0

-$140.0

-$50.0

$7,461.5

$7,635.7

$7,220.0

$14,855.7

$10,291.9a

$8,682.1

$8,449.4

$8,478.4

$8,200.0

—Categorical Grants

Rescissions of Unobligated Balancesb

Total EPA Accounts

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service using the most recent information available from House, Senate, or conference committee reports

accompanying the annual appropriations bills that fund EPA and Administration budget documents, including the President’s annual budget requests as presented by the

Office of Management and Budget (OMB), EPA’s accompanying annual congressional budget justifications, and EPA’s FY2013 operating plan submitted to the House and

Senate Appropriations Committees. “ARRA” refers to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). The ARRA amounts do not reflect rescission

of unobligated balances as per P.L. 111-226. Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

FY2010 amounts presented for the base appropriations for the S&T account and the EPA total include $2.0 million in supplemental appropriations for research of

the potential long-term human health and environmental risks and impacts from the releases of crude oil and the application of chemical dispersants and other

mitigation measures under P.L. 111-212, Title II.

In addition to other across-the-board rescissions, the FY2008-FY2013 rescissions presented here are from unobligated balances from funds appropriated in prior

years within the eight accounts, and made available for expenditure in a later year. In effect, these “rescissions” increase the availability of funds for expenditure by

the agency in the years in which they are applied, functioning as an offset to new appropriations by Congress. With regard to the FY2011 enacted rescissions,

Section 1740 in Title VII of Division B under P.L. 112-10, Congress referred only to “unobligated balances available for ‘Environmental Protection Agency, State

and Tribal Assistance Grants’” (not across all accounts), and Congress did not specify that these funds were to be rescinded from prior years. For FY2012, the

administrative provisions in Division E, Title II of P.L. 112-74 rescinded unobligated balances from the STAG ($45.0 million) and the Hazardous Substance

Superfund ($5.0 million) accounts. FY2012 rescissions specified by Congress within the STAG account included $20.0 million from categorical grants, $10.0 million

from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), and $5.0 million each from Brownfields grants, Diesel Emission Reduction Act grants, and U.S.-Mexico Border

water infrastructure grants. For FY2013, in Section 1406 of Title IV in P.L. 113-6, Congress rescinded unobligated balances from the Hazardous Substance

CRS-26

Superfund ($15.0 million) and STAG ($35.0 million) accounts. FY2013 rescissions specified within the STAG account included $5.0 million from categorical grants,

$10.0 million each from the Clean Water and the Drinking Water SRFs, and $10.0 million from Brownfields grants.

CRS-27

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): FY2015 Appropriations

Author Contact Information

(name redacted)

Specialist in Environmental Policy

[redacted]@crs.loc.gov, 7-....

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