Headline: Climate, Other Programs Get Deep Cuts in EPA Budget Proposal

Under the tentative plan from the Office of Management and Budget, the agency’s funding would be reduced by roughly 25 percent and about 3,000 jobs would be cut, about 19 percent of the agency’s staff.

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The draft proposal for the EPA would cut its annual budget from about $8.2 billion to $6.1 billion. Proposed cuts include reducing the climate protection budget by nearly 70 percent to $29 million, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative by 97 percent to $10 million and environmental justice programs by 79 percent to $1.5 million.

Also targeted for steep spending rollbacks are the agency’s monitoring and enforcement of compliance with environmental laws, as well as regional projects intended to benefit degraded areas such as the Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. A program dealing with San Francisco Bay that received $4.8 million last year would be eliminated, as would initiatives for reducing diesel emissions and beach water quality testing.

NOAA doesn’t escape, either. A draft memo shows it takes a 17% haircut. So much for monitoring changes to climate, weather, oceans and coasts.

Fortunately, there are a lot of people who live in the areas where these cuts would take place, and their representatives in Congress are aware of the need for these programs to continue. But it shows just how radical the Trump Administration is and how willing it is to pander to the extractive industries without regard for the health of the population.