Environmental Protection Agency: FY2007 Appropriations Highlights

During its first session, the 110^th Congress completed action on FY2007 appropriations for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the enactment of the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution for FY2007 (P.L. 110-5, H.J.Res. 20). P.L. 110-5 provided funding through the end of that fiscal year for EPA and other federal agencies not funded in the appropriations laws for the Department of Defense (P.L. 109-289) and Homeland Security (P.L. 109-295). P.L. 110-5 provided funding for EPA in FY2007 at the same level, and under the authority and conditions, specified in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-54), unless otherwise specified in P.L. 110-5.

As for other federal agencies, P.L. 110-5 did not indicate a total dollar amount for EPA. However, the law did specify dollar amounts for two of the agency's activities, including $1.25 billion for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites under the Superfund program and $1.08 billion for capitalization grants to support Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs). Both amounts were an increase above the FY2006 appropriation. The law funded other EPA activities in FY2007 at the same level as specified for FY2006 in P.L. 109-54, including rescissions that were applicable to FY2006, but excluding emergency supplemental funding that had been provided in FY2006. EPA had received a total of $21 million in emergency supplemental appropriations in FY2006 for hurricane-related assistance.

With the exception of Superfund and Clean Water SRF grants, the allocation of FY2007 funding at the FY2006 level applied to activities specified in P.L. 109-54. Within that statute, Congress specified funding for the eight accounts that fund EPA, and for relatively few program activities in those accounts. As in past years, Congress specified FY2006 funding for most program activities in non-binding committee report language, rather than in the statute. Therefore, EPA had discretion in allocating funding for such activities. However, P.L. 110-5 explicitly directed EPA and other agencies not to fund specific projects in FY2007 for which monies had been earmarked in committee reports for FY2006. The law stated that any language specifying an "earmark" in reports accompanying an FY2006 appropriations act "shall have no legal effect" on FY2007 funding. The law also stated that no EPA funds shall be available for making special project grants in FY2007 for water infrastructure, which were identified in the conference report on the FY2006 Interior appropriations bill (H.R. 2361, H.Rept. 109-188).

As Congress specified dollar amounts for relatively few program activities in P.L. 110-5, the law required federal agencies to report their allocations of FY2007 funding to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The following table indicates the allocation of FY2007 enacted appropriations for each of EPA's eight statutory accounts, and certain activities within those accounts. For comparison, the table also indicates the President's FY2007 budget request, proposals for FY2007 funding considered in the 109^th Congress before the enactment of P.L. 110-5, and prior-year enacted amounts for FY2006.