Budget Highlights

Budget highlights for each of the Cal/EPA Boards, Departments, and Offices:

Air Resources Board
Department of Pesticide Regulation
Department of Toxic Substances Control
Integrated Waste Management Board
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
State Water Resources Control Board

AIR RESOURCES BOARD

2000-01 Budget Highlights
(Dollars in Thousands)

 

Funding Source	Current Year 1999-00	Budget Year 2000-01	Change
			Amount	Percentage
General	$30,034	$79,517	+$49,483	+164.7%
Federal	10,471	10,461	-10	Less than 1%
Other	100,644	97,452	-$3,192	-3.1%
TOTAL:	$141,149	$187,430	+$46,281	+32.7%
Personnel Years	992	1,033	+41	+4.1%

The Air Resources Board has the responsibility to protect the public health of Californians by ensuring that federal and state health-based air quality standards are achieved and exposure to air toxics is reduced through a variety of controls for mobile and stationary sources of pollution. The Board adopts and enforces emission standards for motor vehicles, fuels, consumer products, and toxic air contaminants. The scientific and technical foundation supporting the regulatory activities is provided through the Board’s research, monitoring and emission inventory programs.

The Board oversees control efforts of 35 local air pollution control districts. The districts are primarily responsible for controlling and permitting sources of industrial pollution. Each district adopts and enforces its own rules in compliance with applicable federal and state requirements. As a function of its oversight role, the Board reviews district rules for effectiveness, approves district clean air plans required under the federal and California Clean Air Acts, and audits district compliance programs. Controlling particulate matter and toxic compounds, investigating health impacts, and developing zero-emission technology are among the challenges for air quality in the State.

As per the Governor’s Executive Order to phase out MTBE by the earliest practical date, the Board adopted the "Phase 3" cleaner-burning gasoline regulation last December, which bans the use of MTBE in California gasoline by December 31, 2002. Phase 3 gasoline will preserve the significant emission benefits obtained from the current Phase 2 reformulated gasoline program, while providing additional flexibility to California refiners to facilitate the removal of MTBE. This year, ARB will continue to seek a waiver from the federal oxygenate requirement from the U.S. EPA and continue to work with refiners and distributors to phase out MTBE prior to the December 2002 timeline.

The 2000-2001 Governor’s Budget proposes a total of $187 million and 1,033 personnel years for the ARB. The Budget proposes an augmentation of $66 million that includes:

• An increase of $5.2 million (of which $5 million is one-time) and 1.9 PYs for the Fuel Cell Initiative for ARB to participate in the California Fuel Cell Partnership. The partnership is an industry/government program to bring fuel cell vehicles to California beginning in 2000. These funds would be used to offset the cost of 15 hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses that will be part of a fuel cell demonstration project by transit agencies in California under the partnership program.
• An increase of $1 million and 7.2 PYs to implement Chapter 731, Statutes of 1999 (SB 25, Escutia) as part of the Children’s Health Initiative. In consultation with OEHHA, ARB will review all health-based California ambient air quality standards for adequate protection of children and infants. ARB will expand the air monitoring network in six communities to include areas frequented by children, establish indoor and outdoor personal exposure monitoring focused on children, and evaluate exposures to toxic air contaminants identified by OEHHA that may have more sensitivity in children.
• An increase of $1 million and 0.9 PY as part of the Children’s Health Initiative to monitor air quality in portable classrooms.
• $50 million school bus grant for the Children’s Health Initiative as part of the School Bus Replacement Program to replace pre-1977 school buses with low-emission alternative fuel buses that will reduce emissions and exposures to school-aged children. Up to 245 older buses could be replaced under this program.
• An increase of $0.4 million and 2.9 PYs as part of the Comprehensive Enforcement Initiative to provide environmental training to local government.
• An increase of $0.7 million and 4.8 PYs for the California-Mexico Border Initiative to reduce excessive emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses by increased outreach on the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program and the Periodic Smoke Inspection Program (outlined in SB 270 and SB 2330).
• An increase of $4 million and 17.2 PYs to perform a comprehensive examination of the impacts of toxic air pollutants on community health.
• An increase of $1.7 million and 3.8 PYs to conduct a focused environmental evaluation of public exposures to two highly toxic substances, dioxins and naturally occurring asbestos.
• An increase of $0.9 million and 2.8 PYs to expand the vapor recovery program to allow additional testing to measure the performance of vapor recovery systems.
• An increase of $0.2 million and 1.9 PYs for additional air monitoring to improve the Air Board’s ability to make prescribed burning decisions.

DEPARTMENT OF PESTICIDE REGULATION

2000-01 Budget Highlights
(Dollars in Thousands)

Funding Source	Current Year 1999-00	Budget Year 2000-01	Change
			Amount	Percentage
General	$14,340	$15,474	+$1,134	+7.9%
Federal	2,264	1,965	-299	-13.2%
Other	38,745	$41,831	+3,086	+7.9%
TOTAL:	$55,349	$59,270	+3,921	+7.0%
Personnel Years	406	433	+27	+6.6%

The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) administers the nation’s most vigorous and comprehensive program to evaluate and regulate pesticides so pests are effectively controlled with the least possible threat to public health and the environment. The department staff conducts scientific evaluations of pesticides before they are licensed for sale and use; tests fresh produce for pesticide residues; and monitors the air, water, and soil to detect, reduce, and prevent contamination from pesticides. The department oversees local pesticide use monitoring and reporting as well as local enforcement to ensure pesticides are used properly and safely. The department also administers programs to encourage the development and use of pest control practices that are both environmentally sound and effective.

Continuing initial collaborations begun in 1999, the department will participate with other Cal/EPA organizations in several key cross-media initiatives during 2000-01 which, respectively, will reduce health risks to children, improve environmental quality in the California/Mexico border region, restore water quality in impaired water bodies throughout California, and coordinate multi-media enforcement.

The Governor’s Budget for fiscal year 2000-01 proposes a total of $59.3 million and 433 personnel years for the Department of Pesticide Regulation. The major changes to the Department’s budget include:

• increase of $608,000 from the General Fund and other fund sources and 4.7 PYs to design and implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs in school districts throughout California. These IPM programs will reduce children’s exposure to pesticides at their schools.
• An increase of $82,000 and 0.9 PY to provide technical assistance and support for pesticide enforcement activities along the California/Mexico border region.
• An increase of $1 million from the General Fund and other fund sources and 7.6 PYs to develop and implement strategies and specific measures that will reduce and prevent pesticide contamination from runoff into surface waters. The department will work with the State Water Resources Control Board and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards to comprehensively monitor water quality and to develop mitigation measures for those water bodies impaired by pesticides.
• An augmentation of $471,000 from the General Fund and other fund sources and 4.7 PYs to conduct multi-media enforcement activities as part of Cal/EPA’s agency-wide Enforcement Initiative.
• An augmentation of $657,000 from the General Fund and other fund sources and 7.1 PYs to develop allowable residue limits for new reduced-risk pesticides and to evaluate new federal dietary risk assessment guidelines.
• An increase of $109,000 from the General Fund and other fund sources and 0.9 PY to evaluate trends in pesticide use and reduced risk pesticide management methods.
• An increase of $96,000 from the General Fund and other fund sources and 0.9 PY to develop and assess exposure mitigation measures for pesticide active ingredients.
• Augmentations of $150,000 and $359,000 from various fund sources to reimburse counties for pesticide use reporting data entry and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment for risk assessments of alternative pesticides to eradicate fruit flies in urban areas, respectively.

DEPARTMENT OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL

2000-01 Budget Highlights
(Dollars in Thousands)

Funding Source	Current Year 1999-00	Budget Year 2000-01	Change
			Amount	Percentage
General	$40,462	$49,164	+$8,702	+21.5%
Federal	22,229	22,086	-143	-0.6%
Other	73,526	78,413	+4,887	+6.6%
TOTAL:	$136,217	$149,663	$13,446	+9.9%
Personnel Years	1,065	1,138	73	+6.8%

The Department of Toxic Substances Control is responsible for the protection of public health and the environment from damage caused by hazardous substances. The Department oversees the cleanup of contaminated sites and regulates the management of hazardous waste in California. The Department’s programs include site mitigation, hazardous waste management, pollution prevention, waste minimization, and technology development.

The Department is participating in several Cal/EPA cross media budget initiatives that address the most critical environmental problems facing California. The Department is participating in the Enforcement, Children’s Environmental Health, and California-Mexico Border initiatives. In addition to participating in the cross-media Cal/EPA proposals, the Department is also proposing several augmentations to expand its enforcement resources and infrastructure in order to more effectively provide a strong enforcement deterrent for violators of environmental laws.

The 2000-01 Governor’s Budget proposes a total of nearly $150 million and 1,138 personnel years for the Department of Toxic Substances Control. The major changes to the Department’s budget include:

• An increase of $2.8 million in reimbursement authority and 30.4 PYs for oversight of removal and remedial actions at school sites as part of Cal/EPA's Children's Health Initiative.
• An increase of $443,000 in reimbursement authority and 5.7 PYs for review of Phase I Environmental Assessments and other oversight activities at potential school sites as required by Statutes of 1999, Chapters 992 and 1002.
• An increase of $2.9 million HWCA and 25.7 PYs to pursue criminal and civil enforcement of the Hazardous Waste Control Law as part of Cal/EPA's Comprehensive Enforcement Initiative.
• An increase of $689,000 General Fund (GF) and shift of $143,000 Hazardous Waste Control Account (HWCA) to GF and 6.2 PYs in order to increase coordination, consultation, and assistance with Mexican officials to jointly enforce hazardous waste laws and increase pollution prevention activities at the Border as part of Cal/EPA's California/Mexico Border Initiative.
• An increase of $1 million (GF) in external contracts to conduct or complete cleanup actions at military installations failing to comply with cleanup orders issued by the State.
• An increase of $306,000 GF and $729,000 HWCA and 0.9 PY to replace outdated laboratory equipment and restore infrastructure necessary to support enforcement actions and site cleanups.
• An increase of $54,000 GF and $669,000 Toxic Substances Control Account (TSCA) and $372,000 (HWCA) for a total of $1.10 million and 5.7 PYs to ensure that Department staff are trained and equipped to meet applicable Cal/OSHA health and safety requirements.
• An increase of $268,000 HWCA and 1.6 PYs to develop a transporter report and tracking system to collect generator information and to update the list of recyclable hazardous wastes and ensure generator compliance with that list as required by SB 606. (Chapter 745/99).
• An increase of $159,000 HWCA and 0.9 PY to develop and implement a comprehensive waste classification training program as required by AB 1332 (Chapter 629/99).
• An increase of $10,000 HWCA and $204,000 TSCA and 1.9 PYs to perform life cycle analysis to assure that multi-media impacts are considered in policy and risk management decisionmaking.
• Augmentation of $4.9 million GF for departmental overhead and $1.7 million GF for emergency response, with corresponding reductions in various special funds, to appropriately fund these activities and free up the special funds to be used for other high priority budgetary changes.

INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD

2000-01 Budget Highlights
(Dollars in Thousands)

Funding Source	Current Year 1999-00	Budget Year 2000-01	Change
			Amount	Percentage
General	$95	$211	+$116	+122.1%
Federal	2,053	2,056	+3	Less than 1%
Other	124,465	96,234	-28,231	-22.6%
TOTAL:	$126,613	$98,501	-$28,112	-22.2%
Personnel Years	455	469	+14	+3.1%

The Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB) is responsible for managing California’s solid waste stream. The Board is helping California divert 50 percent of its waste from landfills by developing waste reduction programs, providing public education and outreach, assisting local governments and businesses, and fostering market development for recyclable materials. The Board also protects public health and the environment by regulating waste management facilities, cleaning up abandoned and illegal dumpsites, and encouraging used oil recycling.

The Board is participating in several Cal/EPA cross-media budget initiatives that address the most critical environmental problems facing California. The Board is participating in the Enforcement, Children’s Environmental Health, and California-Mexico Border initiatives.

The 2000-01 Governor’s Budget proposes a total of $98.5 million and 469 personnel years for the Integrated Waste Management Board. The major changes to the board’s budget include:

• An increase of $1.26 million to the Integrated Waste Management Account and 9.5 PYs to expand investigation and enforcement activities at closed, illegal and abandoned solid waste sites.
• A redirection of funds to administer the Playground Safety and Recycling Grant Program established by Chapter 712, Statutes of 1999 (AB 1055). The goal of the program is to upgrade and repair public playgrounds through the use of recycled content materials and playground equipment. $2 million in Department of Education grant money will fund the program through an interagency agreement with the Board. Additionally, $146,000 from the Recycling Market Development Revolving Loan Account (RMDRLA) to establish 1.8 two-year limited term positions.
• An augmentation of $112,000 and 0.9 PY to expand education, coordination and technical support on solid waste issues along the California/Mexico border region. Provides funding for waste management education and public outreach for Baja California
• An increase of $303,000 and 2.9 PYs to assist state agencies in implementing their Integrated Waste Management Plans. Chapter 764, Statutes of 1999 (AB 75) requires all state agencies and large state facilities to divert 25% of their solid waste from landfill disposal or transformation facilities by January 1, 2002, and 50% by January 1, 2004.
• An increase of $421,000 to the Integrated Waste Management Account and 3.8 PYs to address the declining rigid plastic packaging container recycling rates. Two positions will be dedicated to developing a certification database and implementing a certification program; two positions will provide market development and compliance assistance.
• A redirection of $250,000 RMDRLA funds and 0.9 PY to expedite closing of Recycling Market Development Zone loans and provide additional funds for marketing and waste diversion. The Board will perform the loan closing process in-house rather than the current contracting arrangement.
• A redirection of $59,000 RMDRLA funds and 0.8 PY, and $324,000 IWMA funds and 0.9 PY, to develop, administer and track a Reuse Program which will provide grants and technical assistance to expand the collection and distribution infrastructure of locally operated reuse programs.
• An increase of $261,000 and 1.9 PYs to implement a statewide Sustainable Building Plan. Sustainable building practices, also known as green building, is the concept of designing and constructing more cost effective, environmentally friendly, resource and energy efficient buildings.

OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARD ASSESSMENT

2000-01 Budget Highlights
(Dollars in Thousands)

Funding Source	Current Year 1999-00	Budget Year 2000-01	Change
			Amount	Percentage
General	$9,584	$12,777	+$3,193	+33.3%
Federal	0	0	0	0%
Other	4,317	$4,286	-31	-0.7%
TOTAL:	$13,901	$17,063	+$3,162	+22.7%
Personnel Years	142	167	+25	+17.6%

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) conducts objective, science-based evaluations of the human and ecological risks posed by hazardous substances. The Office’s multi-disciplinary team of scientists, toxicologists, physicians, and others, evaluate risk from exposure to chemicals in air, water, food, fish and shellfish, consumer products, hazardous and municipal wastes, and sediments in bay and estuarine waters. The Office provides scientific tools and information to decision makers in other state and local agencies who must manage those risks. For example, the Office evaluates the risk of chemical contaminants in drinking water and the Department of Health Services used that information as the basis for setting its maximum contaminant levels. The Office manages the Proposition 65 program, which includes publishing, updating, and improving the process for identifying chemicals known to the State to cause significant cancer risk or reproductive toxicity. The Registered Environmental Assessor program also resides in the Office.

The Office will participate with other Cal/EPA organizations in several key inter-departmental initiatives during 2000-01 that address children’s environmental health risks, particularly at schools, environmental enhancement along the California/Mexico border region, and the multi-media impacts of new fuels.

The Governor’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2000-01 proposes a total of $ 17.1 million and 167 personnel years for the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. The major changes to the Office’s budget include:

• An increase of $843,000 GF and 4.8 PYs to develop guidance for assessing multi-media risks in schools and methodologies to assess cancer risks to children.
• An increase of $647,000 GF and 5.7 PYs to review children’s exposure to toxic air contaminants and to work with the Office of the Secretary’s new Children’s Environmental Health Center and the Air Resources Board to ensure that ambient air quality standards and control measures adequately protect infants and children.
• An increase of $100,000 GF and 0.9 PYs to assist Cal/EPA organizations and other state and local agencies in providing risk assessment, education and training on environmental and public hazards in the California/Mexico border region.
• An increase of $803,000 GF and 5.7 PYs to evaluate the multi-media health effects of new or reformulated fuels pursuant to the requirements of Senate Bill 989.
• An augmentation of $174,000 GF and 1.9 PYs to assess the health effects of contaminants in drinking water in order to establish public health goals pursuant to Senate Bill 635.
• An increase of $359,000 in reimbursements and 2.8 PYs to conduct risk assessments to assist in evaluating the safety and effectiveness of using alternative pesticides in the eradication of fruit flies in urban areas.
• An augmentation of $670,000 GF and 5.7 PYs to provide guidance to the business community in complying with Proposition 65 regulations.
• An aggregate augmentation of $110,000 from various fund sources and 0.9 PY for increased personnel and increased operating costs.

STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD

2000-01 Budget Highlights
(Dollars in Thousands)

Funding Source	Current Year 1999-00	Budget Year 2000-01	Change
			Amount	Percentage
General	$58,173	$73,105	+$14,932	+25.6%
Federal	124,501	$125,202	+701	+0.5%
Other	334,605	344,268	+9,663	+2.8%
TOTAL:	$517,279	$542,575	+25,296	+4.8%
Personnel Years	1,517	1,597	+80	+5.2%

The mission of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) is to preserve and enhance the quality of California’s water resources, and to ensure their proper allocation and efficient use for the benefit of present and future generations. Board activities include regulatory oversight of the State’s surface, ground, and coastal waters; allocation of unappropriated water rights; abatement of unauthorized diversions; and protection of water quality in watersheds and coastal waters from point source and nonpoint sources of pollution.

In 2000-01, the Board will participate in a number of programs that combine the efforts of several departments and agencies within California to provide a more comprehensive approach to improved water quality and environmental management. Primary examples of these collaborative efforts include a Water Quality Initiative aimed at restoring impaired water bodies to their beneficial uses, a Comprehensive Enforcement Initiative designed to strengthen the Board’s ability to take formal action against dischargers who habitually violate the provisions of State and federal laws, and activities that will improve the environment and public health in the California/Baja border region.

The 2000-01 Governor’s Budget proposes a total of $542 million and 1,597 personnel years (PYs) for the SWRCB and RWQCBs. The Budget proposes an augmentation of $80 million for a net increase of $25.3 million after accounting for one-time augmentations to the FY 1999-00 Budget and 161 PYs that includes:

• An increase of 9.7 million to implement a Water Quality Initiative that will combine the efforts of the SWRCB, the nine RWQCBs, and the Department of Pesticide Regulation to restore water quality in impaired water bodies throughout the State. The Initiative includes comprehensive water monitoring activities designed to assess the general health status of water bodies and to determine pollutant loads and sources. Many of these sources are designated as non-point sources, such as agricultural and silvicultural practices that can result in pesticide runoff and accumulation of sediments in surface waters. The Initiative has two components:

• $2.97 million and 21 PYs will be used to expand on current efforts of the RWQCBs to develop and implement numeric targets, or "total maximum daily loads" (TMDLs) for specific pollutants in impaired water bodies. These funds will allow the RWQCBs to initiate implementation of approximately 10 TMDLs per year as the second phase in the process of restoration of impaired water bodies to their beneficial uses.
• $6.77 million and 15 PYs will be devoted to comprehensive water quality monitoring, both to assess current conditions and to evaluate the effectiveness of these restoration measures implemented through the TMDL process and make adaptive changes when necessary.

• An increase of $1.09 million and 9.5 PYs as part of the Comprehensive Enforcement Initiative to focus on enforcement of waste discharge requirements by monitoring compliance of municipal and industrial point source discharges with permit limitations, and to take appropriate enforcement actions where necessary.
• An increase of $0.86 million and 2.8 PYs as part of the Border Initiative for the SWRCB and RWQCBs to characterize the impact of Mexican surface water discharges to the Tijuana, New and Alamo Rivers and provide technical assistance and coordination capabilities by RWQCBs adjacent to the Border that will facilitate implementation of the pollution abatement projects in Baja California, Mexico.
• An increase of $1.45 million and 10.1 PYs for the SWRCB and RWQCBs to continue technical review and regulatory activities supporting the CALFED program in the Bay-Delta as part of consolidated efforts with the Resources Agency.
• An increase of $0.58 million and 6.4 PYs for the SWRCB and the RWQCB to participate in a multi-agency watershed assessment program in the North Coast.
• An increase of $0.24 million and 0.9 PY to develop and evaluate alternatives for treating and managing ballast water discharges pursuant to Assembly Bill 703.
• An increase of $7.1 million and 68.4 PYs for a one-year continuation of last year’s budget item to further focus on the elimination of backlogs in the inspection and permitting programs. This will allow the RWQCBs to conduct more than 2,400 additional inspections statewide and update approximately 600 waste discharge permits.
• An increase of $0.97 million and 5 PYs to address environmental impacts in some of California’s predominantly agricultural areas and to work with growers in the San Joaquin Valley and Kern/Tulare Lake basin to develop and implement regional and on-farm management practices that will reduce salt levels in agricultural drainage waters.
• An increase of $.1.12 million and 5 PYs for the Salinas Valley Groundwater Protection Program needed to protect water quality. This will begin a two-year intense review of the Salinas Valley groundwater problems resulting from seawater intrusion, to formulate a plan of action for State involvement in finding a solution, and to provide funding for local agencies to develop alternative solutions to the seawater intrusion problem and assess the environmental impacts of the various alternatives identified.
• An increase of $1.12 million and 10 PYs to permanently establish the Watershed Management Initiative coordinators. The WMI coordinators will continue to guide water quality efforts using a comprehensive watershed approach to eliminate water pollution.
• An increase of $0.4 million and 4 PYs to strengthen the Boards’ Dairy Pollution Program that addresses the environmental impacts from dairy farming. The RWQCBs will continue to identify, locate and inspect dairies, expand the regulation of dairies through point source permitting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program, and address environmental impacts from dairies through participation in the multi-agency California Dairy Quality Assurance Program and the implementation of it’s 14-party Partnership Agreement.
• An increase of $0.3 million and 1.9 PYs to supplement the Water Rights Permitting Process and address the backlog in the Water Rights Program.
• An increase of $0.5 million and 1 PY to enhance Phase 1 of the System for Water Information Management (SWIM).
• An increase of $53 million in expenditure authority from the Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund to expedite the distribution of all available revenues to new and existing claimants for the cleanup of as many contaminated petroleum sites as possible.

Cal/EPA Budget Briefing 2000-2001 | Budget Home