Department of Environmental Conservation

The Enacted Budget makes the following changes to the Executive Budget (May 1, 2003):

•         Adds $4,891,000 to the Forest & Land Program.  All of the increase is found in a Maintenance Undistributed General Fund State Operations appropriation for personal services, fringe benefits, and other indirect costs related to projects and purposes authorized to receive funding from the open space account of the Environmental Protection Fund, including suballocation to the Department of Agriculture & Markets and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

•         Adds $33,625,000 in a Special Revenue Other appropriation for the Solid & Hazardous Waste Management Program.  This add is distributed as follows:

-         Increases the Waste Tire Management & Recycling Fund maintenance undistributed appropriation by $5,625,000.   This increase is funded by expanding the Executive’s proposed $2.50 recycling fee for each tire sold to new car sales which will generates $5.625 million in SFY2003-04 and $11.2 million when fully annualized.  According to the Senate Majority Staff Report on the SFY2003-04 Adopted Budget, fees associated with this program will generate $28.1 million in SFY2003-04 and $56.2 million when fully annualized.

-         Adds $28 million for the Hazardous Waste Remedial Fund (Site Investigation & Construction Acct) for services and expenses to implement the environmental quality bond act of 1986.  Approximately $20.4 million will be for personal services and fringe benefits.  A suballocation of $6.5 million will support services & expenses related to hazardous waste remedial programs for DOH and Department of Law. 

-         This additional appropriation was necessary because the Legislature denied the Executive’s proposal to shift 254 positions in the Solid & Hazardous Waste Program supported by Special Revenues Fund Other to the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).  The Legislature reduced the Capital Projects funds associated with this shift by $25 million.

•         Provides that up to $77.960 million may be transferred from the EPF to the General Fund.  The Governor proposed a $20 million sweep to the General Fund.  According to DOB, the Legislature would be sweeping an additional $33 million in undisbursed balances from the EPF to the General Fund to pay for moving a $33.625 million appropriation from a Capital Projects appropriation to a Special Revenue Other appropriation.  DOB claims the balances remaining in the EPF will be insufficient to manage the program and will require DEC to delay important environmental protection projects.  It is unclear how this could be true since DOB was using the same EPF funding to support this program as a Capital Projects appropriation.

•         No proposal for Superfund/Brownfields is included.  Denies the Executive proposal to merge the three separate Superfund, Oil Spill, and Voluntary Cleanup Programs into one pay-as-you-go program.

The Executive Budget recommends (analysis as of February 7, 2003):

·        A year-end FTE level of 3,301, which represents a decrease of 234 FTEs from the Governor’s current estimated FTE level for 3/31/03.  However, the current estimate is already 185 FTEs below what was projected in last year’s budget, so the net loss of FTEs is actually 419.  The reduction of 185 FTEs during the current SFY is a result of the efforts to reduce the state workforce by 5,000.  All FTE reductions in DEC for SFY 2003-04 will result from attrition rather than position abolitions

·        According to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, proposes an overall $8.6 million personal service decrease resulting form the reduction of 241 FTE positions in SFY2003-04; including $4.7 million related to half-year savings from the reduction of 171 positions from an Early Retirement Incentive, and $3.9 million related to full-year savings from 70 positions shifted to Special Revenue –Other and Capital Projects Funds (40 are shifted to the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), 7 to the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund (CWSRF), 18 to the Environmental Regulatory Account, and 5 to Mined Land Reclamation Account).

·        FTE reductions in SFY 2003-04 include reductions in the following programs:  Administration (14 FTEs); Air and Water Quality Management (55); Environmental Enforcement (42); Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources (38); Forest and Land Resources (106); Operations (32); and Solid & Hazardous Waste Management (41).  Most of these reductions are positions funded by the General Fund.

·        A decrease in personal service appropriations for programs that correspond with the above decrease in FTEs.  For example, the Air & Water Quality program has a personal service decrease of $2.8 million or 28%.  The program also suffers from a $2.7 million decrease in Federal funding.  These decreases are partially offset by a $1.6 million increase in Special Revenue-Other.  The impact of the decreases is primarily in the Water Grants Account, which has a personal service decrease of $1.1 million and non-personal service decrease of $2.4 million.  These are all Federal funds.

·        The Fish, Wildlife, & Marine Resources program has an increase of $2.2 million due to a $1.8 million increase in Federal Funds and a $760,000 increase in Special Revenue-Other.  $1.7 million of this increase is in non-personal services.  These increases are partially offset by a decrease of $339,500 in personal service appropriations.

·        The Forest & Land Resources program has a $6.7 million or 13.6% decrease.  The decrease is as follows:  a $3.4 million decrease in personal service and $5.1 million decrease in Special Revenue-Federal (this decrease is mostly attributed to a non-personal service decrease in the Land & Forest Lands Grant account).  These decreases are partially offset by a $1.7 million increase in Special Revenue-Other, which includes an $826,700 increase in personal services.

·        Continuing the trend of shifting funding of positions from the General Fund to either Special Revenue Federal (SRF) or Special Revenue Other (SRO).  The General Fund now funds approximately 27 percent of the FTEs, while 55 percent are supported by State fees and other revenues and the remaining 18 percent are financed by Federal grants.

·        Shifting 254 positions in the Solid & Hazardous Waste Program supported by Special Revenues Fund Other to Capital Project Fund Other.

·        A transfer of $20 million from the EPF fund to the State’s General Fund.  According to the Division of Budget, the transfer is expected to have no program impact on current or future EPF commitments based on current and anticipated spending levels.

·        $125 million in new funding for the EPF for a variety of programs.  Newspaper reports indicate that $33 million is used to support the cost of staff that implement EPF programs.  However, the Executive Budget states that $6.2 million will be used to support staff that are essential to EPF programs at DEC, Agriculture & Markets, and the Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

·        Proposes legislation to support the refinanced Superfund program at $138 million.  Approximately $69 million is from Special Revenues (approximately $19.4 million in new fees) and $69 million will be from the General Fund.  Recommends $285 million in reappropriated funds from the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act to continue work already underway for existing Superfund sites.

·        Proposes legislation to increase fees for underground and surface mining.  Increased fees are expected to net approximately $750 million annually and are necessary to implement the SFY 2003-04 budget.

·        Proposes legislation to increase oil and gas depth fees which will result in an increase in General Fund revenues of approximately $200,000 annually and is necessary to implement the SFY 2003-04 budget.

·        Proposes legislation to amend the Environmental Protection Act of 1993 to expand the purposes for which the EPF may be used.

·        Proposes legislation to increase state pollution discharge elimination fees to raise approximately $1.5 million in additional annual revenues necessary to implement the 2003-04 budget and support the Department’s water quality programs.

·        Proposes legislation to establish the Waste Tire Management Recycling Act which would generate approximately $22.5 million in General Fund revenues, $2.5 million of which would be transferred to the Environmental Conservation Special Revenue Fund, waste tire management and recycling account.  This is a maintenance undistributed appropriation and it is unlikely that any of it will be used for personal services.

·        Proposes legislation to extend the heavy-duty vehicle emission inspection program to preserve the $620,000 in annual fees necessary to offset the costs of this program.

·        Proposes legislation to increase the Environmental Facility Corporations bond cap for environmental infrastructure projects from $135 million to $277 million and authorize the use of proceeds from EFC bonds to support $128 million in DEC programs ($10 million for Onondaga Lake Cleanup, $11 million for DEC Capital projects expenditures, $43 million for projects supported by the Environmental Protection Fund, $64 million for the identification, classification, investigation, and remediation of inactive hazardous waste disposal sites).