Subcommittee hears EGLE budget overview; members note heavy federal and restricted funding, SQUIF largely exhausted

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Environment, Great Lakes and Energy heard an overview of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy's current-year budget from Austin Scott, fiscal analyst with the House Fiscal Agency. Scott told the subcommittee the department’s budget is a little over $1 billion and that federal grants and numerous restricted funds make up roughly three-quarters of current-year funding.

Scott said, “Most federal funding in the EGLE budget comes from the Environmental Protection Agency.” He told members much of the recent federal funding stems from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is channelled to state water programs, particularly water state revolving funds used for drinking water and clean water infrastructure projects such as treatment facilities and pipe replacement.

The presentation emphasized that nearly a third of EGLE’s funding comes from restricted revenue and that the budget includes more than 50 restricted funds. Scott…