The heads of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) have written to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, urging the Trump administration to preserve federal funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and State Energy Program (SEP).
The White House’s Budget Blueprint seeks to eliminate both programs, which together were funded at $2 billion in the 2017 budget. According to the Blueprint, elimination of the programs will “reduce federal intervention in state-level energy policy and implementation.”
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) WAP provides grants to states, territories, and some Indian tribes to improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income families. The SEP provides funding and technical assistance to state and territory energy offices to help them advance their clean energy economy while contributing to national energy goals.
Not a Matter of Intervention
Patrick McDonnell, DEP’s acting secretary, and Dennis Davin, DCED’s secretary, write that rather than pulling back on federal intervention, the cuts would reduce valuable resources that Pennsylvania relies on to implement an all-of-the-above energy policy.
“This includes fossil, renewable, and energy efficiency programs designed to benefit families, businesses, schools, and local governments,” the letter states. “This funding allows Pennsylvania to work in partnership with the federal government to plan for, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of energy supply emergencies.”
Benefits Low-Income Families
According to the letter, Pennsylvania receives about $41 million in WAP funds, which are managed by the DCED. WAP dollars provide energy conservation, heating, emergency interventions, and weatherization services to more than 8,000 low-income families. These activities support nearly 1,000 jobs, including auditors, quality control inspectors, and private construction and heating contractors. The program sources building materials from more than 300 suppliers. Defunding would also end DCED’s participation with five other states in the National Radon Study. The secretaries say that 49 of the state’s 67 counties have high levels of radon. The Budget Blueprint also seeks to eliminate EPA’s Indoor Radon Program, currently funded at $1.3 million.
Small-Business Energy Assessments
In recent years, the DEP has received $1.5 million in federal SEP funds, “leveraged at least four to one,” say the secretaries. Programs that would close with loss of funding include energy-efficiency training for building managers operating schools, local government buildings, and state government buildings; development and use of tools to respond appropriately to energy supply disruptions caused by weather, failures in cybersecurity, and other events; and at least 60 energy assessments for small-business owners of urban restaurants and corner stores in at-risk neighborhoods.
The letter notes that both the WAP and the SEP have received “broad bipartisan support” in Pennsylvania.
Increases for Nuclear
Increased DOE funding in the Blueprint is focused on nuclear capability, providing a $1.4 billion hike, an 11 percent increase, over the approved 2017 budget for the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Blueprint would also provide $120 million to restart licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and initiate a robust interim storage program.