Mark Salley, Communications Director | 303-692-2013 | mark.salley@state.co.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mar. 16, 2017
Statement from Dr. Larry Wolk, executive director and chief medical officer
regarding President Donald Trump’s proposed EPA budget cuts
The president's proposed budget is just that - proposed. We won\'t know the details of this budget until at least May. It will be up to Congress to approve the final budget, so there is much work left to do before a budget is adopted.
Nevertheless, we are concerned about the proposed cuts we are seeing. Like all states, Colorado relies on federal funds to support our work to protect public health and the environment. We rely on the categorical grants to support our core programs: clean air, clean water, safe drinking water and clean lands. The cuts proposed today will affect nearly every program in the department and every community in the state. Our concerns extend to proposed cuts to Superfund: We rely on Superfund to help fund cleanup of sites such as the Bonita Peak Mining District site near Silverton and the Colorado Smelter site in Pueblo. And we rely on the research EPA does through its Office of Research and Development.
We will be watching the budget closely as more details come out in May and as it works through Congress. We will be working with our congressional delegation to ensure they understand the potential impacts these cuts will have on our state programs.