The White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) sent President Trump’s recommendations for the fiscal year 2026 budget to the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 2, 2025. The proposal includes significant cuts to EPA’s budget including:
- A decrease of $2.46 billion to the state revolving fund which states use on projects such as water infrastructure projects.
- A decrease of $1 billion to EPA’s categorical grant program which is a major source of funding for states on environmental projects.
- A decrease of $254 million to the Superfund program.
- A decrease of $235 million for the Office of Research and Development (“ORD”) limiting the budget to statutorily required research in support of core mission areas.
States often rely on federal grants and loans to fund infrastructure projects to address PFAS impacts. See our prior blog posts on this subject here, and here.
Administrator Zeldin defended the proposed cuts at the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting on May 21, 2025, where committee members of both parties expressed concerns. In particular, the Committee’s chair, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia expressed concern about the cuts to the state revolving funds which have been used to maintain state water infrastructure programs. Senator Capito also emphasized the need for EPA to be “as aggressive as possible” in addressing PFAS. In response, Administrator Zeldin indicated that the agency is exploring innovative PFAS treatment methods with the goal of reducing the cost of compliance with the new maximum contaminant levels (“MCL’s) for PFOA and PFOS in the months and years to come. Whether the proposed budget cuts will impact Administrator Zeldin’s PFAS plan remains to be seen.
Stay tuned for updates.