By Steven M. Siros

If budget sequestration takes effect on January 2, 2013, U.S. EPA will face a $716 million budget cut.  According to a September 14, 2012 report from the White House Office of Management and Budget ("OMB"), U.S. EPA's budget would be reduced from approximately $8.4 billion to $7.7 billion. The OMB report projects that the Superfund program would face cuts of approximately $122 million; state and tribal assistance grants would be cut by approximately $293 million; and U.S. EPA's program account would be cut by approximately $220 million. The OMB report goes on to acknowledge that these cuts would degrade U.S. EPA's "ability to protect the water we drink and the air we breathe" and encourages Congress to act to prevent these cuts from being triggered. According to an U.S. EPA official, U.S. EPA is developing its 2014 fiscal year budget without accounting for these significant budget cuts. To see a copy of the OMB report, please click here.