EPA funding critical to salmon and clean water
Our environment and natural systems hold a special place in Kitsap County’s history and culture, and are significant to quality of life for our families, friends and community. For years, communities across the nation have made investments in programs and projects that protect or restore these natural treasures. Such efforts have built economies that integrate environmental stewardship as part of successful modern business models.
This certainly holds true across Kitsap County. Despite years of steady improvements to our water, air and lands, the federal government could now be faced with a 2019 budget proposed before the 2018 budget becomes law. Endless distractions and gridlock mire the wheels of government, and inevitably it is communities like here on the Kitsap Peninsula, the natural side of Puget Sound, that end up bearing the cost. Members of Congress have until January 19 to budget for the 2018 fiscal year, and huge gaps still exist between the various funding levels proposed by the White House, House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Environmental Protection Agency is particularly vulnerable for drastic cuts. Previous budget proposals from the White House and Congress have reduced EPA funding, in some versions by nearly a third. Supporters of EPA budget cuts are calling it a simple transfer of power and responsibility back to the states. While on the surface, this seems reasonable, the reality is that more than 22 percent of Washington State environmental agencies’ funding is through the federal government. Cutting the EPA budget would greatly harm important state programs and local initiatives.
Any cuts to the EPA budget would hurt our state and Puget Sound; and the proposed reductions for 2018 and beyond undoes hard-won health and environmental gains, undermines public safety and hamstrings efforts to build modern economies in Puget Sound’s diverse communities.
The proposed budget cuts will hit Kitsap communities directly. We could lose resources for salmon recovery, and along with it the incremental gains we’ve achieved through years of hard work. We could also see cuts to drinking water protections, toxic cleanups, and clean air programs that benefit more than 600,000 Washingtonians diagnosed with respiratory conditions.
Past EPA funding allowed Kitsap County to preserve and protect hundreds of acres in Kitsap County. Kitsap has benefited from EPA programs to acquire land around Sinclair Inlet associated with Gorst Creek and most recently in the forestland strategy related to the 4,000-acre Port Gamble Forest and Bay acquisition. It also developed preservation plans for Chico Creek and supported the Shore Friendly program helping shoreline residents countywide voluntarily protect their property while preserving Puget Sound’s ecosystem.
None of these community successes would have been possible without the EPA’s support.
Congress has passed several short-term bills, known as Continuing Resolutions, to keep the government funded at current levels. The latest extended funds through January 19, at which point there will be a government shutdown unless the President has signed a new budget into law, or Congress passes another Continuing Resolution. Congress needs to pass a full and final budget to allow federal agencies to plan for the future and avoid critical harm to projects and initiatives vital to the health of Kitsap County and Puget Sound. This is where the decisions on EPA funding will be won or lost--and time for action is running short. We want Congress to know that constituents are paying attention.
Rep. Derek Kilmer and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are long-standing champions of Puget Sound, and they will fight hard to properly fund agencies like the EPA that protect Washington’s economy, public safety and the environment. And they need our support.
I hope you will join me in advocating for the passage of a federal budget that maintains healthy funding levels for the agencies that have served Puget Sound and our state well.
By: Charlotte Garrido
Source: Kitsap Sun