LegiStorm

Summary:

Enacted on December 18, 2015, Title II of Division G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113; H.R. 2029) provided $8.14 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for FY2016. The act appropriated funding for the full fiscal year through September 30, 2016, for the 12 regular appropriations acts, including “Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies,” under which EPA is funded. The total FY2016 enacted appropriations of $8.14 billion for EPA was the same as enacted for FY2015 but $451.8 million (5.3%) below the President’s FY2016 request of $8.59 billion. No regular appropriations acts for FY2016—including the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies—were enacted prior to the start of the fiscal year. Instead, EPA and other federal departments and agencies operated under a continuing resolution (P.L. 114-53; H.R. 719) prior to the enactment of P.L. 114-113. Total discretionary appropriations enacted for FY2016 for all federal departments and agencies were based on increased limits on discretionary spending enacted November 2, 2015, in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-74; H.R. 1314). Prior to the increased spending limits per the Bipartisan Budget Act, the House Committee on Appropriations reported H.R. 2822 on June 18, 2015, for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies proposing $7.42 billion for EPA for FY2016. The Senate Committee on Appropriations reported S. 1645 on June 23, 2015, proposing $7.60 billion for EPA. With the exception of the State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) account, which represents almost 44% of the FY2016 total appropriations for EPA, the FY2016 appropriations were the same as the FY2015 enacted level for eight of the nine EPA appropriations accounts but were below the FY2016 requested levels for all nine accounts. The House and Senate committeereported bills (H.R. 2822 and S. 1645) proposed decreases for all of the EPA appropriations accounts for FY2016 compared to the President’s request and were generally less than or equal to FY2015 enacted appropriations for the nine accounts. There were both increases and decreases enacted for FY2016 across the individual program activities funded within the nine EPA appropriations accounts when compared to the FY2016 requested and FY2015 enacted appropriations. Congressional debate and hearings on EPA’s FY2016 appropriations focused significantly on federal financial assistance to states for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects, various categorical grants to states to support general implementation and enforcement of federal environmental programs as delegated to the states, funding for the agency’s implementation and research support for air pollution control regulations, EPA actions to address climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and funding for environmental remediation. Funding levels for several geographic-specific initiatives, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay, also garnered congressional interest. Additionally, similar to the debate regarding recent fiscal years appropriations for EPA, several recent and pending EPA regulatory actions received considerable attention during the consideration of EPA’s FY2016 appropriations—most notably those that address GHG emissions and the definition of “waters of the United States.” The general provisions in Title IV of Division G of P.L. 114-113 included provisions restricting the use of funds for certain EPA actions. Those provisions were similar to those contained in previous appropriations but represent only a subset of those included in the House and Senate committee-reported bills. Provisions included in P.L. 114-113 addressed EPA air quality regulation of livestock operations and reporting requirements for manure systems, use of U.S. iron and steel for drinking water infrastructure projects, and possible EPA regulation of lead in ammunition and fishing tackle. (EPA has not proposed such lead regulations.) Title IV of P.L. 114-113 also includes two provisions concerning the Great Lakes—one regarding public notice requirements for a combined sewer overflow discharge to the Great Lakes and another to amend the Clean Water Act to establish and authorize $300.0 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to carry out certain specified protection and restoration programs and projects. This CRS report provides an overview of FY2016 enacted appropriations for EPA accounts and certain program activities specified in P.L. 114-113 compared to H.R. 2822 and S. 1645 as reported, the President’s FY2016 request, and FY2015 enacted appropriations. The report also highlights issues associated with a subset of accounts and programs that were prominent in the debate on EPA’s FY2016 appropriations during the 114th Congress.