A long-standing environmental program that has succeeded in improving water quality in southwest Florida faces federal budget cuts, the New York Times reports.
The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program is a regional effort to improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the Charlotte Harbor, whose watershed includes the Peace River that begins in Polk and flows through Hardee, DeSoto and Charlotte counties.
About half of the program’s approximately $1.1 million budget comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The rest comes from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Southwest and South Florida water management districts and local governments within the basin.
Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump’s head of the EPA, has proposed eliminating the National Estuary Program’s funding in next year’s budget, the Times reports.
The final decision on funding rests with Congress so even though Pruitt has proposed cutting program funding, House and Senate members may have different ideas.