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| They're At It Again…States Attack Environmental Programs |
| In another round of attempts to balance state budgets, many environmental programs across the country are being disproportionately targeted for cuts and even elimination (see Watchdog #38: http://www.serconline.org/watchdog/watchdog_alerts.html#watchdog38 for previous examples). Some California legislators have suggested eliminating funding for the California Costal Commission that serves as an environmental watchdog to the state's 1,110 miles of coastlines to balance their $38 billion deficit. The commission was authorized when voters passed Proposition 20 in 1972, and made permanent by the legislature in 1976. Utah's Division of Air Quality has been forced to shut down air pollution monitoring stations in order to help the Department of Environmental Quality trim down its budget. This comes at a time when air pollution is on the rise. Water quality monitoring programs in Alaska are now threatened due to a shift in federal funds. The state has opted to put the federal funds towards targeting non-point-source pollution problems in state water bodies considered impaired and away from monitoring measures aimed at preventing clean waters from becoming polluted. In Washington State, the Department of Ecology has lost funding, due to industry lobbyists pressuring legislators, for its program to phase-out persistent toxic chemicals (PBTs). PBTs include toxic chemicals such as dioxins and mercury. In Massachusetts, Gov. Romney issued budget vetoes eliminating or reducing funding for three environmental programs: a toxic uses reduction program, the state's recycling program, and the riverways watershed protection program. The environmental budget in Massachusetts makes up approximately 1% of the overall budget and appears to have been hit quite hard, with the Department already trying to recover from the loss of over two hundred jobs. This is not a time to eliminate environmental programs in a rash of poor planning and at the expense of the public's health. Instead, states should be looking to cut environmentally harmful programs and subsidies. |
For
more information about SERC, or to use our services, contact our national
headquarters at:
State Environmental Resource Center
106 East Doty Street, Suite 200 § Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Phone: 608-252-9800 § Fax: 608-252-9828
Email: [email protected]
106 East Doty Street, Suite 200 § Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Phone: 608-252-9800 § Fax: 608-252-9828
Email: [email protected]
