U.S. Geological Survey: FY 2002 Request

The Bush Administration has requested an FY 2002 budget for the U.S. Geological Survey of $813.4 million. This is a reduction of 7.9%, or $69.4 million, from the FY 2001 budget of $882.8 million.

If approved, the FY 2002 budget would be approximately the same as the FY 2000 budget of $814.6 million. In introducing this budget, USGS Director Charles Groat stated, “USGS has played a key role in recent events where public health and safety were a primary concern such as the Seattle earthquake and the outbreak of West Nile Virus in the Northeast and Mid- Atlantic. The President’s budget enables USGS to continue its critical mission in monitoring for these and other hazards. At the same time, we are working with the other DOI [Department of Interior] bureaus to better identify and provide the science needed for informed land and resource management decisions.”

The DOI budget document describes how the $69.4 million reduction would be made: “The budget proposes to reduce funding for one-time projects, Congressional add-ons, lower priority programs, and select programs that may be more appropriately funded by USGS partners. It also provides programmatic reductions to cover a majority of the bureau’s uncontrollable cost increases. The FY 2002 budget focuses resources on core mission programs, such as mapping and hazards, and those that directly support the Department of Interior’s land and resource management bureaus, including the Fish and Wildlife Service.”

There are six major activities in the budget document. Funding for five of them would decrease, while Science Support would increase:

The National Mapping Program budget would decrease 5.2%, or $6.8 million, from $130.4 million to $123.7 million.

The Geologic Hazards, Resource, and Processes budget would decrease 5.1%, or $11.5 million, from $225.3 million to $213.8 million.

The Water Resources Investigations budget would decrease 21.6%, or $44.0 million, from $203.5 million to $159.5 million. A USGS release states: “A significant portion ($30.0 million) of the proposed decreases affects two USGS water quality programs that primarily benefit other federal agencies and states. The National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) and the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program provide extensive data and information to state and federal regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These entities rely on USGS to provide information to help them fulfill their own mission-critical responsibilities. The Department and USGS will work with EPA and other beneficiaries of both programs in an effort to obtain partnership funding to maintain current scope and schedule in both programs.”

The Biological Research budget would decrease 7.0%, or $11.3 million, from $160.6 million to $149.3 million.

The Science Support budget would increase 10.2%, or $7.5 million, from $73.7 million to $81.3 million.

The Facilities budget would decrease 3.7%, or $3.3 million, from $89.2 million to $85.9 million.