ANR FY26 budget: $341.7M recommended as federal funds peak; officials warn of staffing and access risks

The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 19 that the governor's recommended fiscal 2026 budget for the agency is $341,700,000 and that the increase is driven largely by one-time federal funding.

"The Governor's recommend for ANR for FY '26 is $341,700,000," ANR Secretary Julie Moore said in opening remarks to the committee. She and department leaders described a multi-year expansion in federally funded grants and loans that has pushed ANR’s budget well above pre-pandemic levels and created capacity and access risks.

Moore and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) officials said the agency’s budget has grown sharply since 2018 — from roughly $125 million then to the FY26 recommendation — and that much of the increase is tied to federal programs such as ARPA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Moore told the committee that the agency now uses limited-service staff to administer many of those grants: "we have between 50 and 60 limited service positions right now," she said, adding that those short-term positions are harder to recruit and retain as awards near their end.

Why it matters: ANR is the pass-through for major water and remediation programs. Committee members were told that 57% of the proposed FY26 budget is expected to be passed through as grants, contracts or loans, while about 28% of the budget funds salaries.

Federal-account suspensions and access risk

Moore and DEC officials told the committee that some federal awards were temporarily suspended at the federal level. "As of yesterday afternoon, we had 5 accounts that were suspended," Moore said, and she identified several programs affected, including a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and a…