I would like to present testimony in support of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) budget proposal before you as part of LD 1968, and especially dealing with funding programs in the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management.
The DEP has managed to continue doing its job to protect the environment through past rounds of state and federal budget cuts. Environment Maine believes that funding the DEP in all its important functions is key to clean air, clean water and clean land.
In light of federal cuts to the State Waste Water Revolving Fund, the DEP is proposing covering 85 percent of a Public Service Manager with General Fund Land and Water Quality account. Creative solutions like these are important to keep the essential functions of DEP, and in my estimation, the staff have done well to maintain programs while shrinking staff. This track record is worthy of note as you look at their request for funding in hazardous waste.
The Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management’s Hazardous Waste Site Emergency Fund provides an essential service to the environment and the public in Maine. Whether it is responding to emergency accidents or spills of hazardous waste, monitoring the clean up progress of hazardous waste sites, or ensuring that hazardous waste transport and disposal is done in an appropriate manner, the programs that draw upon the Emergency Fund provide services that would otherwise not exist and would compromise public and environmental health. The money from the General Fund in order to fund these programs will be well-spent; not having operational programs around hazardous waste is simply not a viable option.
In order to deal with future funding of the program, DEP has developed a plan to increase certain fees dealing with hazardous waste which would help fund the programs response and clean-up programs. Until this increased revenue is approved and the revenues meet needs for staffing and programs, the Hazardous Waste Site Emergency Fund needs funding from the General Fund. Even after that fee increase, there may be the need of some General Fund money to keep the program whole. Using general revenue to protect the people of Maine from hazardous waste spills or other emergencies is worthwhile and should be supported.
Again, I would like to emphasize the importance of continued funding of DEP essential programs, including, but not limited to, those emergency programs within the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management.
Sincerely,
Matthew Davis
Advocate
