Building on 37 years of progress in protecting human health and the environment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has released the agency's $7.14 billion fiscal year 2009 budget.

"President Bush's budget request will continue to deliver environmental results today, as well as keep EPA on course to deliver a cleaner, healthier tomorrow," Johnson said. "This budget represents government at its best--it helps EPA meet our environmental goals while being responsible stewards of taxpayers' dollars."

Specifically, the budget proposes to strengthen EPA's efforts in energy and homeland security, urban areas around major ports and nanotechnology research targets and recognizes the challenge of managing in a time of tight fiscal constraints.

For water programs, the fiscal year 2009 budget meets the president's commitment for funding state revolving fund grants with a request of $555.5 million for clean water grants and $842.2 million for drinking water grants. Several sustainable structure initiatives are included: targeting Energy Star saving technologies to help reduce the $4 billion annually that water utilities spend on energy costs, supporting a multiyear research program to foster innovation in distribution and collection systems and proposing private activity bonds to provide another mechanism for water project financing.

Source: U.S. EPA