President Trump is giving his first formal address to Congress tonight. His first budget proposal is expected in mid-March, and it reportedly includes a 25 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s music to the ears of many Republicans, and many Alaskans, who feel the EPA has overstepped its bounds.
There’s no word yet on where exactly the budget ax will fall within the agency, but Alaska has a lot at stake. The state received $78 million last year from the EPA, in grants and contracts. And cutting EPA’s regulatory side could have unintended consequences.
John Iani, who was EPA regional administrator for Region 10, including Alaska, during the George W. Bush presidency.
“If it were just a 25 percent across-the-board cut, it could really slow things down,” Iani said.
Iani said deep cuts could diminish certainty for regulated industries.
“And certainty means that permits get published and environmental work gets done so that projects can precede,” Iani said. “And I think what happens when you just slash budgets, things come to a grinding halt. And that’s a problem.”
Iani also said lack of environmental enforcement could leave projects vulnerable to lawsuits. Citizens cans sue polluters under the Clean Water and Clean Air acts.
A spokeswoman for the Alaska Oil & Gas Association said it’s too early for the industry group to comment, since the Trump administration hasn’t identified which parts of the EPA budget would be cut.
Any president’s budget is more of a request, or a starting point. Congress ultimately decides how to allocate money among departments and agencies.
Also today, President Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of rewriting an EPA regulation known as “Waters of the U.S.” WOTUS, a proud achievement of the Obama administration, is at or near the top of the Alaska congressional delegation’s dislike list. The administrative process to revise it could take two years.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
