EPA 1990 Budget

Abstract

Lee M. Thomas, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, announced that President Reagan has proposed a total fiscal budget of $4.9 billion for EPA, representing a 9% increase from 1989. The request includes $1.83 billion for operating programs, $1.75 billion for the Superfund program, $100 million for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) program, $1.2 billion for the Construction Grants program, and $421.5 million for research and development.EPA's major shift of emphasis for 1990 will be an increased focus on long‐term research, to complement their traditionally shorterterm regulatory demands. This will allow the agency to anticipate and address emerging environmental problems that require a longer‐term perspective, especially the effects of global climate change. The policy will also allow EPA to prevent pollution at its source, rather than concentrating primarily on cleanup efforts, as has been done in the past. Superfund is a high priority for 1990, as is the LUST progam.