Environmental Protection
Program Enhancements and Other Budget Adjustments

Despite the need for significant General Fund reductions to ensure a balanced budget, the Governor's Budget includes these program enhancements to restore, preserve, and enhance California's environmental quality and protect public health.


WATER QUALITY AND WATER RIGHTS INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT
 The Budget includes $790,000 Waste Discharge Permit Fund, $524,000 Water Rights Fund, and 8.5 positions to fund investigators and enforcement personnel for the State Water Resources Control Board. The program enhancements will improve the Water Boards' ability to enforce state laws.


CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE
 The Budget includes $1,167,000 and 0.9 positions one-time for 2008-09 and $917,000 and 0.9 positions one-time for 2009-10 from the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund to implement the California Education and the Environment Initiative. The California Integrated Waste Management Board will assist in the development of the K-12 classroom curriculum for core subjects incorporating environmental principles and concepts, and will educate students in how their personal consumption and recycling choices affect the environment.


GREEN CHEMISTRY INITIATIVE
 Green chemistry consists of a set of coordinated strategies intended to identify more effective approaches for dealing with the hazardous effects of many industrial chemicals. These strategies include:

  • Developing a consistent method for comparing and evaluating the hazards and risks associated with the use of various chemicals.
  • Identifying safer alternatives for use in both production processes and in the products themselves.
  • Encouraging, and, in some cases, requiring the use of non-toxic or less hazardous alternatives.
  • Developing a cradle-to-cradle approach to the use of hazardous chemicals, in order to reduce if not eliminate the need to manage and control waste at the end of a production cycle.

GREEN CHEMISTRY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION
 The Budget includes $772,000 and 5.7 positions to expand the existing Pollution Prevention program in the area of green chemistry. These resources will focus on product design and industrial innovation that reduces the use of harmful chemicals in products and generates fewer emissions and less waste, thereby moving California towards safe and sustainable industrial chemistry.
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CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS for Environmental Protection Back to Top

 Proposed Workload Budget
 Proposed Budget-Balancing Reductions
image of black pointing arrowProgram Enhancements and Other Budget Adjustments
PRINTABLE BUDGET DOCUMENTS Back to Top
Budget Summary - Environmental Protection (pdf * - 122K) -
Provides this entire Environmental Protection Chapter in pdf format.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Back to Top
Proposed Budget Detail - Environmental Protection
Displays Proposed Budget Detail information for Environmental Protection.