Groups watching EPA also get agency funds

Political fodder
From another standpoint, the grants have drawn fire in recent years from political conservatives, like Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, who last year called environmental groups “simply Democrat political machines.”

EPA doesn’t turn away grantees because of their criticism or lawsuits, said spokesman Bob Zachariasiewicz. A new policy requires competitive bidding for any grant over $15,000 and the money cannot be spent on lobbying, political or litigation work.

NRDC spokesman Jon Coifman said there’s been no dilemma for his $65 million a year organization whose government grants were less than 1 percent of its budget -- “far too small to have any effect one way or the other on NRDC’s broader policy decisions,” he said.

NRDC has sued EPA 35 times the past two years, he said. “We don’t feel that we’ve given up an inch of our integrity on this,” Coifman said.

Other recipients made the same point but acknowledged potential perception problems.

“It’s a legitimate question,” said Ben McNitt, spokesman for the National Wildlife Federation, recipient of $292,620 from EPA. He said government grants in 2004 were less than 1 percent of NWF’s annual revenues, and the group’s lawsuits and vigorous criticism of EPA policies on wetlands, mercury emissions and other issues prove it is not co-opted.

The Pesticide Action Network, which advocates for reduced pesticide use, received a $97,000 grant to develop online information on pesticide use and water pollution, co-director Steve Scholl-Buckwald said.

“In every case we’re asking the question: Is this money allowing us to do something we want to do and it or is it something someone else wants us to do?”

Non-profits get 7 percent of pie
EPA conducts about half of its work, or $4.3 billion in 2004, through grants, mostly to state, local and tribal governments. Non-profits account for about 7 percent of the total, including many ordered by Congress. Besides the environmental groups, many recipients are agriculture and industry allies with keen interest in EPA regulatory policies, along with academic, civic and other groups that advocate on health, the elderly and consumer issues.

Overall, the inspector general has cited grant oversight as an EPA weakness. In a September report, it said EPA has improved but still needs to pursue greater accountability from project managers. Zachariasiewicz said that process is ongoing through new performance measurements.

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