President proposes trimmed EPA budget

WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Environmental Agency's funding would be reduced by 3.5 percent from the 2012 level in President Obama's proposed 2014 budget, the White House says.

The new funding level comes amid modernization of the agency through consolidation of positions and restructuring of its workforce while still retaining the necessary skills for current levels of environmental protection, the administration said.

Under the proposed budget, the EPA would receive $8.2 billion, a decrease of $296 million from the enacted 2012 level.

The proposed funding would limit new Hazardous Substance Superfund remedial action projects but would maintain emergency preparedness and response programs, the White House said.

Outdated, underperforming and overlapping programs totaling $54 million would be eliminated in the proposed budget as part of the administration's effort to focus resources on programs that benefit most from federal support and have the greatest impact, the administration said.

The budget figure includes investment in the EPA's E-Enterprise Initiative to transition from paper-based to electronic reporting to improve the quality of data used for environmental decision-making and allow both the agency and U.S. states to regulate and enforce environmental compliance more effectively and efficiently, the White House said.