Bush budget proposal cuts greenbacks for NJ greens

RELEASE: February 23, 2007 – Volume XXXVII, No. 8

When the framers of our nation’s Constitution reached an impasse over how to balance the needs of smaller and larger states, The Great Compromise created the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The coming months will tell how well this compromise still works, as New Jersey’s federal legislators defend our state’s interests in the FY2008 budget process.

The Bush Administration recently proposed a budget that short changes New Jersey in many areas like education, public heath and transportation. But the proposal is especially harsh on New Jersey’s environment.

Overall, federal funding for natural resources and the environment are rolled back to their lowest point since 2001. Here’s how New Jersey’s Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez estimate some of the cuts would impact New Jersey:

Land Conservation:

The main tool for federal land preservation is the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Over the 40-year history of the fund, New Jersey has received over $330 million for projects like the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Areas, Edison National Historic site and more. The President proposes a 60-percent cut in the already under-financed federal programs supported by the fund, and complete elimination of state support which has created hundreds of parks, natural areas and outdoor recreation facilities here in New Jersey.

A second critical conservation program is the Forest Legacy program, which the President’s budget cuts nearly in half. New Jersey has preserved over 4,100 acres of forest with the help of this program. Without adequate funding, it will be that much harder to preserve the many more threatened acres, such as Sparta Mountain in the Highlands. And despite Congressional support, the President’s budget proposal doesn’t include any funding from any source specifically for preservation in the Highlands region in New Jersey.

The President’s budget also severely cuts the staff of the Resource Conservation and Development Program, which will impede soil conservation and land and water management efforts.

The budget for farm programs is up in the air because federal programs are likely to be restructured to some degree under a new Farm Bill in the works. However, the President’s budget proposes a dramatic increase in funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program, which encourages farmers to restore cultivated wetlands to their original uncultivated state.

But several conservation programs for working lands – particularly important to New Jersey’s small farmers – face consolidation and budget cuts. Programs like the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program would be zeroed out and folded into the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Unfortunately, funding for the latter program is also cut by $17 million in the proposed budget, despite the added program areas.

Clean Water:

New Jersey stands to lose $8 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a program that upgrades drinking water and sewage infrastructure. In addition, the fifth straight year of proposed cuts to the Nonpoint Source grant program would hinder New Jersey’s efforts to control runoff pollution just as we are starting to get a sense of how dangerous and pervasive it really is.

The President’s budget also eliminates the EPA’s Targeted Watershed program, from which New Jersey has received over $2.5 million in the past five years, for community-based watershed preservation efforts in the Raritan River, Passaic River, and Lake Hopatcong watersheds.

Hazardous Waste:

New Jersey has more Superfund sites than any other state. The Administration budget proposes finishing only 24 cleanups nationally this year (less than one-third of the 80-plus that were completed in the late ‘90s). Cutting funds for cleaning up the nation’s most polluted sites hardly seems prudent for public health.

The good news is… both of New Jersey’s U.S. Senators sit on the Senate Budget Committee, so they are in a position to make sure New Jersey’s interests are heard. But they will need our help to protect New Jersey’s natural resources and environment!

You can let the President know that you want our environment protected by calling the White House at (202) 456-1111, or through the White House website (www.whitehouse.gov). You can read Senators Lautenberg and Menendez’s budget analysis under the ‘Latest News’ sections of their websites (lautenberg.senate.gov or menendez.senate.gov).

And if you have questions about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources, I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org for more information.

Return to SWI Columns