ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
AT A GLANCE:
2006 Discretionary Budget Authority: $7.6 billion
(Decrease from 2005: 6 percent)
Major Programs:
• Superfund
• Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
• Brownfields
• Air, Water, and Hazardous Waste Regulatory Programs
• Homeland Security
MEETING PRESIDENTIAL GOALS
Promoting Economic Opportunity and Ownership
• Encouraging business investment and job creation in local communities by increasing funding
to continue brownfields clean-up.
• Using market forces to protect public health and support economic growth through the
President’s Clear Skies Initiative and the related Clean Air Interstate Rule and Clean Air
Mercury Rule.
Protecting America
• Improving lab coordination and expanding research for the Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA’s) homeland security decontamination program.
• Implementing a new water security monitoring pilot program in five major cities and providing
emergency training to the operators of large drinking water systems.
Making Government More Effective
• Providing competitive grants to States and Tribes for projects that can demonstrate environmental
and public health benefits.
• Establishing more stringent accountabilitymeasures and reforms for the Alaska Native Villages
Program to address systemic financial and programmatic deficiencies.
281
282 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
MEETING PRESIDENTIAL GOALS—Continued
Agency-specific Goals
• Preventing the emission of an estimated 1,200 tons of particulatematter annually by supporting
diesel engine retrofits, rebuilds and replacements, anti-idling measures, clean fuel infrastructure
projects, and other activities.
• Working with partners to clean up contaminated sediments at approximately six sites in the
Great Lakes region, two to three more sites than in 2005.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 283
PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND OWNERSHIP
Brownfields Clean-up
Vibrant, healthy communities encourage business investment and job creation. However, many
communities’ revitalization efforts are hindered by abandoned industrial properties that blight the
landscape and pose the threat of contamination. The EPA’s Brownfields programs helpStates,Tribes,
and local communities redevelop these sites and make them productive, vital parts of the neighborhood.
Brownfields grants support revitalization efforts by funding environmental assessment,
cleanup, and job training activities, eventually allowing the property to be used for business, parks,
or housing. From 1995 through mid-2004, program participants have reported that more than 6,000
brownfields sites have been assessed and over 2,100 properties have been made ready for reuse. The
President’s Budget provides $210 million, $46 million more than 2005, funding brownfields work at
about 600 sites.
EPA Brownfields Grant Spurs Redevelopment in Minnesota
The city of Virginia, Minnesota has a long history of iron ore and taconite mining that has created potential
contamination and redevelopment issues in some areas. To help address these problems, the city used an
EPA Brownfields grant to assess a former mine waste dumping site known as the Oneida Addition property.
The city found minimal contamination that was easily addressed, spurring developer interest. The city eventually
sold a portion of the property to a firm that constructed an Alzheimer’s patient care unit and assisted
living complex. This redevelopment provided a needed care and retirement facility and leveraged $12 million
in clean-up and redevelopment funding, as well as 115 new jobs.
Clear Skies
Often the most cost-effective way to protect the environment and public health while encouraging
economic growth lies with market forces. The Acid Rain program, enacted in 1990, is a highly successful
illustration of the value of flexible solutions. With a compliance rate of nearly 100 percent,
the Acid Rain program reduced the electric power industry’s nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulfur dioxide
(SO2) emissions by 37 and 32 percent, respectively, from 1990 levels. In recognition of the program’s
284 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND OWNERSHIP—Continued
accomplishments, the Administration proposed the Clear Skies Act. The Clear Skies legislation expands
the Acid Rain program to dramatically reduce nationwide power plant emissions of SO2, NOX,
and, for the first time ever, mercury emissions from power plants.
2000 2010 2020
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
SO (millions of tons) 2
NO (millions of tons) X
Mercury (tens of tons)
Pollutant Emissions Decline
Under Clear Skies
Source: EPA.
Emissions (units as specified)
While significant progress has been made
under the existing Clean Air Act, further
health benefits could be achieved faster, with
more certainty, and at less cost to consumers
through Clear Skies. Clear Skies would
reduce SO2, NOX , and mercury emissions by
nearly 70 percent. The legislation would set
national caps on these three pollutants and
distribute allowances to emitters that total
the cap amounts. Clear Skies would encourage
innovation and the deployment of cleaner, more
cost effective technologies by requiring that the
emissions caps decline over time and allowing
emitters the flexibility to choose whether to
reduce their emissions or purchase allowances
from other sources. By 2020, Clear Skies could
result in the avoidance of up to 14,000 premature deaths annually, virtual elimination of chronic
acidity in northeastern lakes, and noticeable air visibility improvements in a large portion of the
Midwest and East.
Clear Skies was submitted to the Congress in 2002 and the Administration continues to promote
its enactment. Although the legislation is the strongly preferred solution, the Administration is pursuing
a regulatory path that would achieve many of the same health and clean air benefits. EPA
has proposed the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which uses a market-based system to reduce SO2
and NOX emissions by up to 70 percent, the steepest emissions cuts in more than a decade. CAIR,
together with EPA’s clean diesel rules and other clean air programs, will ultimately bring 278 additional
counties into compliance with the ozone and particulate matter National Ambient Air Quality
standards. This will result in cleaner air for the Nation as a whole, and especially for the 120 million
people currently living in those counties.
EPA also has proposed the Clean Air Mercury Rule, which will require the first ever reduction of
mercury emissions from power plants. Reductions will be obtained by using one of two approaches.
One approach requires coal-fired power plants to install currently available pollution controls known
as “maximum achievable control technologies.” The second, more flexible approach, sets a mandatory
cap on the total mercury emissions allowed from coal-burning power plants nationwide. This
approach would reduce mercury emissions by nearly 70 percent from current levels. Altogether, the
Clean Air rules, like the Clear Skies legislation, would create a multi-pollutant strategy to improve
air quality throughout the United States. The proven, market-based approach of emissions caps and
allowance trading will make emissions reductions further, faster, cheaper, and more effective than
current Clean Air Act regulations.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 285
PROTECTING AMERICA
An EPA scientist prepares to test real-time, online sensors for water
distribution systems. The sensors detect changes in water quality that
would result from the intentional release of chemical and biological
contaminants.
Protecting Water Systems
EPA is the lead Federal agency for coordinating
security of America’s water systems.
Since the enactment of the Bioterrorism Act
of 2002, EPA has provided assistance to water
utilities, including over 9,000 drinking water
systems, to help them complete vulnerability
assessments and update their emergency
response plans. For 2006, the Administration
proposes the Water Sentinel Initiative to
further protect the Nation’s water supply.
Water Sentinel will develop an operational
water monitoring and surveillance system for
dangerous contaminants. The program will
demonstrate a standardized, cost-effective
approach that States can implement to
enhance water security. These efforts will
help protect hundreds of thousands of miles of
drinking water systems and provide an early chemical and biological terrorism warning mechanism
for millions of drinking water consumers. The Administration requests $44 million to fund Water
Sentinel as a pilot program in five major cities. Lessons learned from this program will be used in
future State and local water system protection efforts.
EPA’s Environmental Response Team provides technical and scientific
expertise in air, soil, and water monitoring and sampling to deal with the
human health and environmental impacts of terror attacks.
Detection of Terror Attacks
The agency also has responsibility for
managing the decontamination of buildings,
equipment, and the environment in the event
of a chemical, biological, or radiological attack.
For 2006, the Administration requests $19
million to develop the necessary capabilities
for detection and decontamination of threat
agents. This investment in decontamination
will advance the Federal Government’s role
from solely response to being more prepared
for emergencies. With this funding, EPA
will be able to better respond following a
contamination event. Additionally, $12 million
is dedicated to the Environmental Laboratory
Preparedness and Response program to
develop a network to standardize analytical testing methods, provide surge capacity, and establish
connectivity between laboratories. This laboratory capability will ensure that we can monitor water
systems and the environment quickly and accurately. The Budget maintains resources of $107
million to continue support for investigation and training activities, technical assistance to States,
cooperative research, and EPA’s national response teams. In total, the President’s Budget requests
$185 million for EPA’s homeland security activities, a 73-percent increase over 2005.
286 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE EFFECTIVE
Through the State and Tribal Performance Fund,
additional funds will be awarded on a competitive
basis for projects that can demonstrate public
health and environmental benefit. Wetlands and
habitat restoration projects, such as the one
pictured above, are among eligible activities.
Accountability in Environmental Programs
To assist States and Tribes in protecting the environment,
the Budget includes $23 million for a new State and Tribal Performance
Fund. This program will award competitive grants
to States and Tribes for projects that can demonstrate environmental
or public health benefits. The Performance Fund
will allow States and Tribes to receive additional funding for
their highest priority, most beneficial projects, while ensuring
accountability and results. Eligible projects will include activities
such as air quality assessments, wetlands restoration, and
hazardous waste management.
To help evaluate programs’ results and accountability,
the President implemented the Program Assessment Rating
Tool (PART). A PART analysis of the Alaska Native Villages
Program rated the program Ineffective. In particular, the
PART found poor program management had resulted in
significant contracting, accounting, and performance problems.
To address these problems, the 2006 Budget reduces
funding to $15 million, a $30 million reduction from 2005, and
recommends the program develop regulations that will provide
a framework for improved management and innovation. The
funding reduction may be reconsidered once the program can
demonstrate improved effectiveness and management.
EPA’s Ecosystem Research Program was evaluated during the development of the 2005 Budget.
The PART scored the program Results Not Demonstrated and noted that it did not coordinate effectively
within EPA and with other Federal agencies. It also lacked appropriate performance measures
to track the program’s progress. EPA is working to address these findings but has not yet implemented
any changes. As a result, the 2005 Budget proposed, and the Congress supported, funding
the program at $94 million, $22 million less than the 2004 level. The 2006 President’s Budget proposes
to fund it at $84 million in order to fund higher priority programs such as homeland security
and the Great Lakes Legacy Act.
The Administration is also taking other steps to improve program performance and accountability.
The President’s Budget includes $24 million for a water quality monitoring initiative that will
provide grants to States to implement statistically valid, probabilistic monitoring programs.
Probabilistic monitoring would allow States to develop a statistically valid sampling methodology
that would provide consistent water quality information across States. EPA will award these
additional funds to States ready to adopt probabilistic monitoring programs to help them and
EPA better target Federal, State, and local resources and make scientifically-defensible decisions
regarding water quality.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 287
Update on the President’s Management Agenda
The table below provides an update on EPA’s implementation of the President’s Management
Agenda as of December 31, 2004.
Human Capital
Competitive
Sourcing
Financial
Performance E-Government
Budget and
Performance
Integration
Status
Progress
EPA’s focus on management reforms has resulted in strong performance in financial management
and E-Government (E-Gov). EPA has linked financial and performance information to aid in day-to-day
decision-making, and has also submitted a timely and clean financial audit. In E-Gov, EPA has acceptable
business cases for its major systems and has demonstrated, using Earned Value Management or operational
analysis, that overruns and shortfalls average less than 10 percent for all major information technology projects.
EPA is also establishing a Government-wide electronic regulatory docket which, when fully implemented, will
increase public participation and access to Government information. To support the Human Capital initiative,
EPA is implementing a multi-level performance appraisal system, and identifying mission critical occupations;
however, further work is needed to implement its workforce planning strategy at the local level and reduce
skill gaps in mission critical areas. EPA announced its first standard competition and has an accelerated
timeline for additional competitions so that it can achieve savings in commercial activities. For Budget and
Performance Integration, EPA continues to focus on demonstrating results and improving programs based on
recommendations from PART evaluations. Approximately 89 percent of programs that were reassessed for the
2006 Budget showed improvements and received a higher rating, and over 80 percent of assessed programs
have been able to demonstrate results.
Initiative Status Progress
Eliminating Improper Payments
EPA identified two programs at risk for improper payments and completed a preliminary measurement plan
and corrective action plan for reducing improper payments to primary recipients. They initiated an enhanced
measurement strategy to better detect improper payments in all recipient transactions. (Because this is the first
quarter that agency efforts in this Initiative were rated, progress scores were not given.)
288 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
AGENCY-SPECIFIC GOALS
The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh surface water on Earth, and the basin is home
to more than one-tenth the population of the United States, one-quarter the population of Canada,
and heavy concentrations of industry. Over the years, industrial development has contaminated
sediments throughout the lakes with toxic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
heavy metals, putting large populations and the tremendous water resource at risk. Currently, the
Great Lakes States have among the highest number of fish consumption advisories in the country
due to the accumulation of toxics in fish tissue.
The Great Lakes form the largest surface freshwater system on Earth,
but their health is threatened by contaminated sediments and other
environmental problems.
In recognition of the Great Lakes’ national
significance and the extent of its contaminated
sediment problem, President Bush signed an
Executive Order in May 2004, establishing a
Great Lakes Interagency Task Force. Chaired
by the EPA Administrator, one of the primary
assignments of the Task Force is to convene a
regional collaboration of States, local communities,
Tribes, regional bodies, and other groups
regarding policies, strategies, and priorities for
the environmental health of the Great Lakes.
EPA formally launched the collaboration on
December 3, 2004, convening over 400 regional
leaders and stakeholders that publicly pledged
to support an intergovernmental partnership
to protect the Great Lakes ecosystem.
The Great Lakes Legacy Act, signed by the President in 2002, is one of the primary means of protecting
the ecosystem. This program authorizes EPA to clean up contaminated sediments, protecting
water quality and keeping toxic pollutants from entering the food chain. For 2006, the President’s
Budget funds sediment clean-up activities under the Great Lakes Legacy Act at its fully authorized
level of $50 million, an increase of $28 million over 2005 levels.
Clean Diesel
Uncontrolled exhaust from old diesel engines can exacerbate the symptoms of people suffering from
serious respiratory illnesses, and can negatively impact the environment. During President Bush’s
first term, the Administration issued strict new rules to significantly reduce air pollutant emissions
from diesel fuel and engines so that the black puff of smoke from diesel tailpipes will become a thing
of the past. These rules will ensure that the next generation of trucks, buses, and offroad equipment
will be cleaner, quieter, more powerful, and more fuel efficient. The new engine and fuel standards,
which begin to take effect in 2007, are expected to reduce harmful emissions by asmuch as 95 percent
when the rules are fully implemented.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 289
Innovative emission control technology can reduce
emissions from existing diesel engines, such as the one
above, by as much as 90 percent. EPA’s Clean Diesel
Initiative will fund diesel retrofit and replacement projects
that deliver immediate air quality improvements.
To achieve more immediate air quality improvements,
the Budget provides $15 million for a Clean Diesel
Initiative to support diesel engine retrofits, rebuilds
and replacements, anti-idling measures, clean fuel
infrastructure projects, and other activities to reduce
emissions. The Clean Diesel Initiative will maximize
Federal resources and achieve significant environmental
results by working collaboratively with State, local,
non-profit, and private sector partners to leverage
additional support. EPA estimates that the program will
generate $360 million in health benefits by preventing
1,200 tons of particulate matter emissions.
Clean-up Programs
In 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as Superfund,
was enacted to address abandoned hazardous waste
sites. Since Superfund’s inception, over 46,500 sites have
been assessed and 33,500 that do not require Federal action
have been removed from EPA’s waste site inventory
to help promote economic redevelopment of these properties.
Over 8,200 clean-up actions have been taken to
reduce immediate threats to health and safety at the remaining
sites. By the end of 2004, clean-up projects were underway or completed at 82 percent of the
sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). For 2006, the Administration is proposing $1.3 billion for
the Superfund program, $32 million over the 2005 level.
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
Clean-Up Construction Completed
at 900 Listed Superfund Sites
Source: EPA.
NPL sites
NPL Sites
Construction Completions
The remaining sites on the NPL are large,
complex sites that present more challenges.
Cleaning up these sites, which generally cost
$50 million or more, requires an innovative
approach. In 2003, funding needs for eight
such sites (out of a total of 94 such sites receiving
funding) accounted for approximately
50 percent of the money available for Superfund-
led remedial actions. EPA estimates that
clean-up at an average site costs $18 million,
while a large site costs $132 million. The
Administration will work with the Congress,
communities, and citizens over the upcoming
year to find ways to effectively and efficiently
address this growing challenge.
290 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
AGENCY-SPECIFIC GOALS—Continued
1992 1995 1998 2001 2004
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
Releases Awaiting Clean-up
Clean-ups Underway
Remaining Work Declines as LUST Program
Cleans Up Contaminated Sites
Source: EPA.
Clean-ups Completed (Cumulative)
In 2004, EPA and States reduced the
number of leaking underground storage
tank sites requiring remedial action to fewer
than 130,000—the lowest level since 1992.
Preventative measures, State inspections, and
increased training of underground storage
tank owners and operators contributed to over
4,000 fewer leaks reported in 2004. Coupled
with the effectiveness of the program’s
preventative measures, EPA expects to reduce
the backlog of sites requiring remedial action
to below 120,000 by the end of 2006. The
Administration proposes $73 million in 2006
for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank
(LUST) Program, $4 million above the 2005
enacted level.
Community Action for a Renewed Environment
Many cities and towns have expressed concerns about exposure to toxic pollutants. EPA’s Community
Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program is geared to help address these concerns.
Through cooperative agreements, the CARE program provides communities with technical support
and assistance in implementing local solutions that reduce exposures to toxic pollutants. In 2006,
EPA will increase the scope of the program by establishing cooperative agreements with up to 80
communities while still achieving much of the risk reduction through application of existing successful
voluntary programs. CARE empowers communities to reduce exposure risks and encourages the
formation of self-sustaining community-based partnerships that will continue to improve local environments.
Clean and Safe Water
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2004 Budget
2006 Budget, adjusted for enacted
2006 Budget Meets Capitalization Goal
for Clean Water State Revolving Fund
6.8
Billions of dollars (cumulative)
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF) provides grants to States to capitalize
their municipal wastewater State revolving
funds. States provide matching funds and then
make loans to communities at below-market
rates for wastewater infrastructure projects
such as sewer rehabilitation and treatment
plant expansion. Loan repayments and interest
are recycled back into the program.
The 2006 Budget funds the CWSRF at $730
million. Due to significant additional funds
provided by the Congress in 2004 and 2005,
at this funding level, the total capitalization
provided between 2004-2011 will remain the
same as committed to in the 2004 Budget. This
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 291
will ensure communities have access to capital to finance their wastewater infrastructure needs. Additionally,
the program will meet its long-term revolving level target of $3.4 billion. The revolving
level is the amount of loans available annually over the long term after Federal capitalization ends
and an indicator of the CWSRF’s financial stability.
EPA has made the protection of drinking water a priority since enactment of the initial Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) in 1974, and continues to work to improve its drinking water programs. Statistics
show that drinking water quality is improving, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
recently estimated that 31 drinking water-related waterborne disease outbreaks occurred in
2001-2002, down from 39 outbreaks in 1999-2000. The 1996 SDWA amendments created the Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) which, like the CWSRF, provides grants to States to help
capitalize revolving loan funds. Communities use these funds to finance drinking water systems and
infrastructure improvements, including compliance with regulatory drinking water requirements.
The Budget provides $850 million to fund the DWSRF in 2006.
Environmental Protection Agency
(In millions of dollars)
Estimate 2004
Actual 2005 2006
Spending
Discretionary Budget Authority:
Operating Program .............................................................................................. 4,325 4,268 4,439
Clean Water State Revolving Fund................................................................ 1,342 1,091 730
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund........................................................... 845 843 850
Brownfields cleanup funding ............................................................................ 93 89 121
Diesel School Bus Retrofit Program.............................................................. — 7 10
Targeted water infrastructure funding ........................................................... 429 408 69
Requested (non-add) .................................................................................... 98 94 69
Unrequested (non-add) ................................................................................ 331 314 —
Superfund................................................................................................................ 1,258 1,247 1,279
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks ........................................................... 76 69 73
Total, Discretionary budget authority ................................................................. 8,368 8,023 7,571
Memorandum: Budget authority from enacted supplementals ............... — 3 —
Total, Discretionary outlays ................................................................................... 8,429 7,928 8,315
Mandatory Outlays:
Superfund Recoveries ........................................................................................ 74 60 60
All other .................................................................................................................... 21 6 53
Total, Mandatory outlays ........................................................................................ 95 66 113
Total, Outlays.............................................................................................................. 8,334 7,862 8,202
