EPA Administrator Testifies on EPA's Proposed Fiscal Year 2013 Budget

Two subcommittees of the House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, recently held a joint hearing on EPA's Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget request. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was the sole witness at the February 28, 2012 hearing.

Administrator Jackson discussed some of the highlights of EPA's budget request in her testimony. President Obama has proposed a budget of $8.344 billion for FY 2013. The proposed FY 2013 budget is approximately $105 million less than the enacted FY 2012 budget. The budget is proposed to be allocated among the following five goals: $3.782 billion for water protection; $1.938 billion for clean-up actions; $1.125 billion for climate change and air quality; $830 million for enforcement; and $699 million for chemical safety and pollution prevention. Administrator Jackson testified that almost 10% of the budget request covers science and technology programs. The funding request for research programs includes a request for $14 million to study impacts from hydraulic fracturing. As we have previously discussed, EPA is currently studying the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water. The $14 million request will cover additional studies regarding the potential air, ecosystem, and water quality impacts of hydraulic fracturing. Administrator Jackson indicated that EPA will use "[s]trong science" to answer these questions.

With respect to climate change and air quality, EPA has requested increases of $2 million for the development of New Source Performance Standards for greenhouse gases (GHGs), $2.9 million for the GHG reporting program, and $2.4 million for the review of criteria pollutant standards. In her testimony, Administrator Jackson referenced EPA's "investments to support standards for clean energy and efficiency." Specifically, EPA has requested $101.9 million in funding (a $10 million increase from FY 2012) to administer the joint EPA/NHTSA GHG and fuel economy standards, and to develop GHG standards for non-road transportation sources. Some significant decreases in proposed funding include: $-359.3 million in reduced funding for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds, $-37.4 million in reduced funding for the Superfund program, $-13.8 million in reduced funding for large ecosystems such as Puget Sound and the Gulf of Mexico, and $-9.7 million due to the elimination of funding from the Environmental Education program.

Although EPA's FY 2013 budget request is less than its FY 2012 budget, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) noted the importance of scrutinizing the proposed budget since EPA's regulations often impose economic costs. Republicans will likely also continue attempts to limit EPA's regulatory authority through the appropriations process.