'Poison Pill Parks Bill' Defunds Environment; Watchdog Groups Hold Albany Accountable for Votes Slashing Fund

ALBANY, NY (05/28/2010)(readMedia)-- New York's largest environmental accountability groups expressed profound disappointment in the State Legislature and Governor Paterson for approving massive cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund that will compromise the health of the state's natural resources. Calling the deal a colossal blunder, EPL/Environmental Advocates, the Long Island Environmental Voters Forum, and the New York League of Conservation Voters also attacked the late-night deal as procedurally flawed and wholly inadequate.

Earlier in the year, the organizations vowed to hold lawmakers accountable on their votes to restore the Fund, keep state parks open, and restore operating resources to the State's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in the groups' ratings, endorsements and political campaigns. Although the State Legislature has found a way to keep state parks open, they did so by defunding the Environmental Protection Fund; meanwhile, the fate of the DEC hangs in the balance.

"Governor Paterson threatened to keep some parks closed and the spineless State Legislature folded like a beach chair," said Richard Amper, Chairman of the Long Island Environmental Voters Forum. "The sad part is that the EPF represents less than one percent of the State's budget, so our environment and health will be hurt without any significant reduction in the State's $9.2 billion deficit. The budget for New York's environment has been cut not with a scalpel, but a machete, and this will adversely impact not a single interest group but every New Yorker."

Governor David Paterson's threats to keep parks closed for the forthcoming Memorial Day weekend if the State Legislature didn't accede to massive and disproportionate cuts to the Fund held New York's environment hostage. A move like this, outside of the context of the state budget, is bad fiscal policy, bad public policy and will have long-term effects for the safety of clean drinking water, endangered wildlife habitat, recycling programs and much more.

"Today's assault on the Environmental Protection Fund underscores the need for New Yorkers to elect leaders who share their values," said Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. "Opening parks is great, but doing so at the expense of our other natural resources is a violation of the public's trust. Legislators' actions today will have a significant impact on our political activities this fall, and we look forward to the election of leaders who will restore New York's deeply tarnished environmental reputation."

The Environmental Protection Fund budget was cut to $134 million, or 37 percent from last year, disproportionately more than almost any other proposed reduction; this final number was far less than the Senate and Assembly passed in their budget resolutions and even lower than the Governor had initially proposed this winter. The cuts come after nearly $500 million was swept from the Fund over the past eight years.

"The New York State Legislature entered into hostage negotiations with the Governor this week, with State Parks and the Environmental Protection Fund acting as hostages," said Robert Moore, executive director of EPL/Environmental Advocates. "These things rarely end satisfactorily and this closed-door negotiation was no exception."

The organizations warned that the EPF budget agreed to today doesn't provide any indication of how agencies such as the DEC will be funded. How lawmakers move to restore agency resources will also weigh heavily on scores, endorsements and political campaigns.

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