Bush Budget Slashes Environmental Programs

116189 Resource 107527 107631 91008 1140038444690 1142850344443 Controlled Bush Budget Slashes Environmental Programs Across the Board; Clean Water Hardest Hit

Got Clean Water? There will be less of it if the Bush administration has its way.

President Bush announced his 2007 Budget spending plan last Tuesday to slash the EPA’s 2007 budget by 5%.  The $315 million reduction in spending is mainly seen in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund where $200 million will be cut.  Environmentalists and legislators across the country are extremely alarmed by the news.  Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., said it shows the <A title="CBS News article on recent cuts to environmental spending" href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/11/ap/tech/mainD8FMIKLG0.shtml" target=_blank>environment isn't a Bush administration priority</A>.  "We cannot allow this dangerous trend to continue," said Jeffords, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. How Dirty is your Water? By far, the deepest cuts at EPA affect water quality – slashed to the lowest levels ever. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), which provides states with low interest loans for priority water pollution control projects, was hit particularly hard. The 2007 program is targeted for <A title="Natural Resources Defense Council News 2007 Budget" href="http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/060208a.asp" target=_blank>cuts totaling $200 million</A> and have drastically reduced from 2004 levels. Is the U.S. EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund Drying Up? 2004:  $1.24 billion 2005:  $1.09 billion 2006:  $887 million 2007:  $687 million (proposed by Bush) "This is the most troubling budget we've seen from this White House," said Heather Taylor, deputy legislative director for Natural Resources Defense Council. The news is frustrating, especially in today's world where every penny is needed to combat polluted water and other environmental endeavors.  The EPA, tasked with protecting human health and the environment, shouldn't be forced to decide which sites will benefit from clean water because of a lack of funding. by Erin Swanson <A href="mailto:ESwanson@enviance.com">ESwanson@enviance.com</A> 9 application/xml false clean water environment environmental water quality Bush Budget Slashes Environmental Programs Natural Resources Defense Council press release http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/060208a.asp EPA Budget Cuts Trouble Environment Groups CBS News article outlining the 2007 Bush Budget Proposal that cuts EPA funding http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/11/ap/tech/mainD8FMIKLG0.shtml Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; iOpus-I-M; SV1; Alexa Toolbar) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 Rodney_Rumford false true false false true 205814 false false true false false false true 107527 blog blogsite/Enviance/web