Thursday, January 29, 2004

Contact: Arthur Stamoulis
(215) 567-4004 ext. 222

ELECTION YEAR POLITICS DRIVING WHITE HOUSE BUDGET ON ENVIRONMENT
Great Lakes Initiative, Everglades, Forests Funding Aimed at Presidential Battleground States

Philadelphia, PA - Environmental advocates criticized Bush administration spending and policy priorities as reports surfaced from around the country about various provisions of this year's federal budget, expected to be released next week.

"Despite ignoring the environment in his State of the Union address, President Bush is on a public relations offensive in election battleground states, with poll-driven policies tailored to those states," said Arthur Stamoulis, Policy Analyst for Clean Air Council.

"In recent days, stories have surfaced about cleaning up the Great Lakes, more money for Everglades National Park, and for bogus forests projects in the Pacific Northwest. With the President's budget due next week, we'll probably see more of these cynical attempts to rehabilitate this administration's environmental record," said Stamoulis.

"The administration has cut funding for toxic waste clean-up, and refuses to reinstate the 'Polluter Pays' tax, leaving communities all over the country with hazards to their health," said Stamoulis. "Now toxic hot spots around the Great Lakes are getting funding, but communities outside of swing states are out of luck."

"Today the EPA Administrator is holding a press conference to tout their Great Lakes efforts. But on Friday afternoon, when fewer people are paying attention, we expect them to quietly announce new regulations on behalf of electric utilities to allow ten extra years of toxic mercury emissions from power plants. These are the same utilities who are contributing to the mercury pollution in our lakes and streams around the country, including the Great Lakes," said Stamoulis.

"The administration has repeatedly shown its ties to industry by undermining toxic waste laws. They have played games with the budget for Superfund, the nation's leading toxic waste program. For three years in a row they have tried to exempt the Department of Defense from toxic waste and clean air laws. They are currently trying to push through a plan to give industry a pass on solid toxic waste," said Stamoulis.

"Some projects, like funding increases for cleaning up the Great Lakes and increasing money for Everglades National Park are welcome first steps, if only a drop in the bucket of needed funding," said Stamoulis. "Other projects, like funding the 'Healthy Forests Initiative' are actually bad environmental policy concealed by buzzwords tested in focus groups by industry and the White House."

# # #

================================

BACKGROUND

* Today in Detroit, EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt announced that the Administration is seeking $45 million for ridding toxic pollution in the great lakes. Regional groups welcome the funding, but describe it as a "drop in the bucket." For perspective, Congressional plans to clean up the Great Lakes allocate between $4 and $6 billion in funding.

* Earlier this month, a report from the EPA Inspector General's office found that Superfund, the nation's leading toxic waste cleanup program, faces a funding shortfall of almost $175 million. Under the Bush administration, the number of sites cleaned-up per year has been cut nearly in half.
*Under pressure from the oil and chemical industries, Congress allowed the tax on these industries that financed the Superfund to expire in 1995. These corporations now benefit by an estimated $1.7 billion per year from the expiration of the Superfund tax. While former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Clinton both asked Congress to reinstate the tax, President George W. Bush has not supported this move. Since the industry tax has expired, the Superfund program has suffered: fewer cleanups are being completed and important preparations to begin other projects are being delayed.
* Every year since taking office, the White House has attempted to exempt the Department of Defense from Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Clean Air Act. Though Congress has stopped them, in 2003 the Administration successfully weakened related wilderness and wildlife protections.

* EPA is currently in a public comment period on a plan to change RCRA so that many solvents from the chemical industry, spent catalyst from petroleum refineries, and other hazardous secondary materials may be exempt from the federal hazardous waste management rules.

* On Friday, EPA is expected to publish in the Federal Register new rules dealing with air pollution from power plants, including emissions of toxic mercury. The proposed standards are not protective of public health, allowing power plants to emit far more mercury into the air, and for a decade longer, than EPA had previously said was possible with existing control technologies.