All-Cuts Budget is Environmental Crisis for Washington

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Today, Governor Christine Gregoire released an all-cuts budget that would devastate the core environmental protections that keep our families and communities healthy. These cuts will damage our state's economic recovery, as our state's environment helps attract business and qualified workers.

"Washingtonians rely on having clean water to drink, unpolluted air to breathe, and toxic contaminations cleaned up. This budget is a severe blow to each and every one of these values," said Joan Crooks, executive director of Washington Environmental Council. "Environmental protection programs are a small part of the state budget, but they pack a big punch in terms of ensuring public health, economic opportunity, and quality of life here in Washington."

"We applaud Governor Gregoire's decision to release a second budget that better reflects our state's values. In the second budget, we strongly encourage her to restore funding to critical environmental programs to protect our state's health," said Kurt Fritts, executive director of Washington Conservation Voters.

"While individual cuts may sound small, as a whole they undermine the functions of our core environmental programs. If this budget stands, our state will face more children with asthma, abandoned toxic sites that won't be cleaned up, and fewer protections for the safety of our drinking water," said Bill Robinson, state government relations director for The Nature Conservancy.

Natural resource agencies have already been cut to the bone. Last year, one quarter of the funding for natural resource agencies was eliminated. Any further reductions will eliminate the agencies' ability to deliver basic functions on which we rely. These cuts undermine our values as Washingtonians - a healthy economy and environment that go hand and hand.

About the Environmental Priorities Coalition
The Environmental Priorities Coalition is a network of more than twenty leading environmental groups in Washington State that influence policy at the state level. Each year, the Coalition selects several priority issues that receive the collective support of this network during the legislative session.

Contacts: 
Bill Robinson
(360) 701-9084
brobinson@tnc.org

Clifford Traisman
(206) 369-2235
clifford@wecprotects.org