Four Bright Green Spots in the Budget
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been spending a lot of time this year helping clients see how the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) can help support their environmental initiatives.
But last week, when the President sent Congress the fine print of his proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget, even I had a start: Never before has US government set out to make its spending so green. Not even the stimulus.
Here’s a list of Four Green Bright Spots:
1. Pouring Money Into Water. The Environmental Protection Agency’s funding will increase roughly 30 percent from the $7.6 billion in the fiscal 2009 omnibus to $10.5 billion.
There’s a massive increase for water infrastructure, including $2.4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a low-interest wastewater loan program that helps states construct water treatment facilities. (The fund received just $689 million in fiscal 2009.) The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund would receive $1.5 billion, up from $829 million this year.
2. Carbon Infrastructure. The EPA will dedicate $17 million to the development of a GHG registry for US greenhouse gas emissions. As we’ve written before, this is a necessary first step toward regulating carbon emissions.
3. Oil is Out. Over at the Department of Energy, the proposed spending is flat from last year. Of course, that doesn’t include the nearly $40 billion showered on the department from the stimulus law for alternative-energy and efficiency initiatives. There are significant changes in emphasis on spending, though when it comes to fossil fuels. The budget completely cuts funding for the oil research and development program authorized by the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Finally, a budget that leaves behind the perverse incentives supporting fossil fuels that are costing us so much more than their sticker price.
4. Adaptation Gets Attention. State Department is contributing $600 million to two World Bank funds, one that supports clean technology in the developing world and the other that helps spur adaptation solutions in countries struggling with climate change. Over at Interior, the department is touting $183 million in increases for clean energy and the mitigation of climate impacts on the home front.
I’m sure there’s more to find, but the four points give some sense of this extraordinary bright green spending plan that, if adopted, will change the federal government’s impact on the economy.
