The two houses of Congress agreed Saturday on a spending bill that will give the government agencies responsible for activities that affect the environment an approximate total of $134 billion for Fiscal Year 2005. The measure is now headed for the White House where President George W. Bush is expected to sign it into law. Conservationists were disappointed in many aspects of the massive spending bill.

The agencies associated with the Interior Department received $20 billion to cover their costs in the coming year. The energy and water section of the enormous spending measure totalled up at $28.79 billion, the agency responsible for oceans and atmosphere received $6.7 billion, while the Agriculture Department and its related agencies received the lion's share at $85.27 billion.

Forests, Fish, Wildlife, Parks

Of the Interior Department's $20 billion, more than 10 percent will be spent on fire activities. A total of $2.947 billion is earmarked for wildland fire activities, including a total of $2.47 billion for wildland fire management activities of the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

The measure provides $500 million in supplemental fire suppression funding, if needed "to help avoid massive fire borrowing that has severely crippled ongoing Forest Service and Department of the Interior programs in recent years," the lawmakers said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be funded at $1.31 billion, an amount which is $2 million above this year's level.

Grizzly bear with three cubs in Yellowstone National Park (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

The National Park Service is budgeted at $2.349 billion, a figure that is $90.3 million over the 2004 budget.

This appropriation allows $1.707 billion for operation of the national park system, including $74.6 million for increases to individual park base budgets. The increase provided for park base budgets is $52 million over the budget request.

An estimated $573 million is provided for park maintenance activities, and $72.75 million is provided from the Historic Preservation Fund, including $39.25 million for preservation grants to states and tribes.

The increase met with approval from National Parks Conservation Association President Tom Kiernan. "This week, we are an important step closer to restoring the luster to America's crown jewels - the national parks," he said, giving lawmakers on both sides of the aisle "enormous credit."

In May, House National Parks Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Brian Baird, a Washington Democrat, sponsored a letter to the appropriators signed by 83 members of Congress, seeking increased funds to address the national parks' crippling operating shortfall, now in excess $600 million annually.

In the 2005 budget, a $75 million increase is earmarked specifically for individual parks. In particular, Kiernan pointed out, the bill states that all 388 national park sites will receive, at a minimum, an increase of five percent for base operations.

Agriculture, Rural Life

On the Department of Agriculture side, the Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses are funded at President’s request of $1.008 billion, an increase of $25 million above last year, to continue delivery of farm programs.

The Agricultural Research Service is funded at $1.3 billion, an increase of $153 million above last year’s level and $133 million above the President’s request.

In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted an open house to mark completion of the first phase of construction for the National Centers for Animal Health. (Photo courtesy USDA)

Conservation operations activities are increased by $127 million over the President’s request, bringing FY 05 funding to $837 million, a decrease of $11 million below last year.

The Rural Community Advancement Program is funded at $716 million, a decrease of $37 million below last year but an increase of $174 million above the President’s request. Included in the increase is an additional $111 million for rural water and waste grants above the President’s request.

Clean Water, Flood Control

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is budgeted at $4.7 billion, which is $585 million more than the President’s request.

The appropriation covers three Corps projects that environmentalists have lobbied against - the Yazoo Backwater pumps to carry floodwaters away from a low-lying area of Mississippi, dredging of Florida's Apalachicola River, and the construction of the St. Johns and New Madrid Floodway, a project to control the Mississippi River as it runs through Missouri.

Elizabeth Birnbaum, vice president for American Rivers, called the bill "a profound disappointment to every American who believes it our responsibility to look out for our children as well as for ourselves."

She said the $25 million appropriated for the three Corps projects "a stack of promissory notes in red ink to special interests - notes that will come due when today's children enter the workforce.

Yet, said Birnbaum, "legislators have tightened their belts when it comes to repairing America's decrepit sewage treatment plants, cutting funding by $242 million below last year. The steady decay of such facilities nationwide foreshadows a time when vacations on the river, lake, or beach means playmates for our children like salmonella, cholera, E.coli, and dysentery."

In Pinellas County, Florida, rainwater washes down into stormdrains, which lead to the storm sewer system. The storm sewer is not connected with the sanitary sewer. It is a separate system that carries rainwater directly to the nearest water body, such as Lake Seminole, or Tampa Bay. (Photo courtesy Pinellas County)

This cut reduces funding levels for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund - the nation's biggest water quality financing source - 20 percent from last year's level of $1.3 billion.

"The $279 million cut will cripple more than 500 projects that protect drinking water sources, treat sewage, clean up contaminated stormwater, and reduce animal waste flowing into waterways," NRDC said, all projects that have been relying on federal funding.

"We should be spending more to protect our water supply, not less," said Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC's Clean Water Project. "We're going to see more beach closings, disease outbreaks, and serious harm to people, fish and wildlife. Cutting already inadequate funding is the exact opposite of what we need."

In September, the NRDC and a coalition of state and local governments, together with labor, construction, environmental and public health groups released a report, "All Dried Up: How Clean Water is Threatened by Budget Cuts," which warned about the consequences of cutting the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

Old pipes are leaking or breaking, combined sewer and stormwater overflows are overwhelming treatment capacity, and more beaches are closed every year.

Up to 75,000 sewage overflows occur nationwide annually, resulting in the release of three billion to 10 billion gallons of untreated wastewater, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

Over the last 16 years the revolving fund has provided more than 14,200 loans totaling $47 billion to communities to rehabilitate aging sewer plants, minimize raw sewage overflows, and reduce stormwater runoff.

Oceans and Atmosphere

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is part of the Commerce Department, received more than half of that department's $6.7 billion budget.

NOAA's allotment for next year will be $3.94 billion, which lawmakers point out is $239 million above the FY04 level and $567 million above the President's request.

Fishing vessel berthed in San Diego, California, 1997. (Photo by William Folsom courtesy NOAA)

This initiative includes increases for satellites, ocean health, Sea Grant and education, ocean exploration and observations, marine mammal research, marine debris, and infrastructure.

The budget includes $791 million for the National Weather Service, the President's full request, to improve forecasting.

But conservationists said the appropriation falls far short of what is needed to restore ocean health.

Ted Morton, federal policy director for the national ocean advocacy group Oceana, said, "Oceana is deeply disappointed that Congress did not increase investments in key ocean wildlife and water quality programs for NOAA."

"Congress actually cut funding for programs to put more scientists aboard fishing vessels to observe what is actually caught, and for enforcement of fishery regulations," Morton said.

"Although NOAA did receive an overall increase of nearly six percent from last year’s levels," said Morton, "most conservation programs did not benefit from the extra investments."

Energy: Nuclear, Fossil and Renewable

The budget provides $23.3 billion for the Department of Energy, which is $1 billion above fiscal year 2004.

The Committee funds the Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository at last year’s level of $577 million and does not include the proposed authorization language to reclassify the fees paid by nuclear power plant operators into the Nuclear Waste Fund.

The National Nuclear Security Administration, which includes the nuclear weapons program, defense nuclear nonproliferation, naval reactors and the office of the administrator, is funded at $8.8 billion, an increase of $156 million over last year.

A nuclear warhead for the U.S. Air Force Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile, contained in the large, pointed metal nose cone, is passed through a wall of fire in a test performed to ensure the U.S. nuclear weapon stockpile remains safe and reliable. (Photo courtesy The White House)

Environmental cleanup of nuclear waste and contaminated sites is budgeted at $7.325 billion, which is $81 million more than the President’s request.

Renewable energy research and development will receive $389 million, which is $15 million more than the President’s request.

And nuclear energy research and development will receive the same amount - $389 million, which is $90 million more than the President’s request.

The bill provides $3.63 billion for basic scientific research, which is $197 million more than the President’s request.

The Power Marketing Administrations are funded at $210.5 million, the same as the President’s request and $1.2 million below last year.

The energy budget includes $500 million for fossil energy research and development, including $50 million for the Clean Coal Power Initiative.

Only $18 million was appropriated to continue development of FutureGen. This level fully funds the expected need for FutureGen in FY05, the lawmakers said, but it falls short of the funding level that would see the world's first integrated sequestration and hydrogen production research power plant completed any time soon. Costed at $1 billion dollars, the FutureGen project is intended to create the world's first zero emissions fossil fuel plant.

The 2005 energy budget includes $649 million for energy conservation, including $44.8 million for state energy grants and $158 million for FreedomCAR and fuel cell technology.

The Energy Information Administration will receive $85 million, and $172 million is earmarked for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In addition, $5 million is set aside for the Northeast Home Heating Oil reserve.