June 9, 2017. Now that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released detailed budget documents, the impact of President Trump’s proposed budget has become more clear. In addition to eliminating some federal grants altogether (see an earlier post), the President’s budget would significantly reduce federal funds supporting basic state environmental protection programs. The tables below have been based on the percentage reduction to each federal grant category proposed in the President’s budget as applied to the certified 2016-2017 state budget for the corresponding program. Additional detail not available in OMB documents comes from a budget analysis prepared by the Environmental Council of States (an organization of state environment officials).
The President has proposed a 30% reduction in grants to the states to carry out federal Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act permitting and enforcement programs. The proposed budget makes significant cuts in funding to support federal environmental protection programs delegated to the states, although not at the level in the “skinny budget”. OMB budget documents now show a 30% reduction in those state grants. Since federal grants provide 50% of the total funding for North Carolina’s Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act programs, a 30% cut in those federal grants would create a big hole in budgets for state permitting and enforcement. The result (by comparison to certified state budget for 2016-2017):
| Total Need | Federal Grant | Federally Funded | President’s Budget | Program Impact |
| $4,854,105 | $2,482,845 | 50% | -30% | -$744,853 (15%) |
| Total Funding | Federal Grant | Federally Funded | President’s Budget | Program Impact |
| $14, 160,554 | $6,662,950 | 50% | -30% | – $1,998,885 (14%) |
| Total Funding | Federal Grant | Federally Funded | President’s Budget | Program Impact |
| $5,870, 612 | $ 3,316,895 | > 50% | -30% | – $1,459,433 (25%) |
The President’s budget makes significant cuts to funding for programs addressing hazardous waste and petroleum contamination.
Superfund. The federal Superfund program addresses contaminated sites nationwide that pose the greatest risk to human health. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency takes the lead on assessment and cleanup of those “national priority” sites. North Carolina has around 40 designated Superfund sites contaminated by pesticides, solvents and other hazardous substances. (For more information, see the EPA list of N.C. Superfund sites.) The President’s budget proposes to cut funding for Superfund cleanups by 30%.
Petroleum underground storage tanks (USTs): The budget significantly cuts federal grants to address past petroleum contamination and to regulate USTs to prevent future contamination. As a geographically large and rural state, North Carolina has nearly 20,000 properties contaminated by petroleum leaks from gas station or convenience store gas pumps. The President’s budget appears to reduce federal funds to assess and cleanup up past contamination by 30%. The budget entirely eliminates grant funds to support state regulatory programs enforcing federal standards to prevent future UST leaks.
“Brownfields” redevelopment. The federal Brownfields program supports cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties. EPA makes grants for individual redevelopment projects and provides grants to state programs promoting cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties. Brownfields grants can be particularly important to redevelopment of urban areas that might otherwise be under-utilized because of concerns about environmental contamination and liability. The President’s budget cuts direct federal Brownfields grants by 14% and reduces grants to state Brownfields programs by 30%. North Carolina’s Brownfields program — supported entirely by developer fees and federal grant funds — has leveraged over $10 billion in private development since 1997.