By M. Power |
2/2/2010
While I'm not a big fan of the alternative energy section of the Obama 2010 budget, (see "Nuclear Nanny State") the new EPA funding is a small step closer to the green tech transition. The new philosophy of the EPA office seems to be
clean up the existing mess left behind by years of corporate and government misbehavior, so we can move on to real environmental progress.
Technically, the first item on the EPA priority list is Climate Change, but it's not the highest funded. That slice of the pie is supposed to go toward R&D and science aimed at assessing how to achieve the necessary CO2 reductions. Let's hope it results in real action.
The big money--$5.1 billion of the new budget--focuses first on repairing and upgrading the nation's fresh water supply. That may not be a glamorous idea, but if you've tried to pull a permit for a new home that wants to tap a municipal water drop, you know how concerned cities are about their water systems.
I'm curious to see how giant foreign bottling companies such as Nestle fit into the EPA's future scenario for U.S.
water supplies. Let's hope the federal axe comes down on these snake oil sellers before they get their hands on more of our public commons.
Next on the hit list is a slight increase in funding for Superfund cleanup. Here's an excerpt.
The FY 2010 Budget requests an overall annual appropriation of over $1.3 billion for
Superfund. The Budget request for the Superfund Remedial program is approximately
$605 million, sustaining the FY 2009 Enacted level. EPA will continue to devote more
resources toward post-construction activities, as well as beginning construction at new
sites and continuing to fund large and complex ongoing construction projects. In FY
2010, EPA estimates it will achieve 22 site construction completions for a cumulative
total of 1,102 National Priorities List (NPL) sites (69 percent). These construction
completions will contribute to the increase in EPA’s target from 30 sites to 65 sites.
Unless you're a large scale infill builder, of course, this program isn't likely to affect your business. What may affect it is the EPA's slight increase in enforcement funding (about $32 million over last year.) More importantly the agency has reaffirmed its commitment to doing its job:
The Budget reflects this Administration’s strong commitment to vigorous enforcement of our nation’s
environmental laws and ensures that EPA will have the resources necessary to
maintain a robust and effective criminal and civil enforcement program.
Tougher scrutiny on the part of the EPA is likely to be focused mainly on commercial and larger scale projects of course, and in my opinion, will be more of a benefit to builders than a hurdle. If you're already approaching projects from a sustainability perspective--and your competitor isn't--he's the one who will be handing over EPA fines and getting the bad press for tearing up that wetland, or polluting a local stream.