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President Clinton and Vice President Gore:
Protecting Our Environment and Public Health
Over the past seven years, President Clinton and Vice President Gore
have significantly strengthened protections for the environment and public
health, and won new resources to help states and communities protect their
water, land and coasts. Here are some of the ways the state of New Mexico
has benefited:
Accelerating Toxic Cleanups. The Clinton-Gore Administration has
greatly accelerated the cleanup of contaminated sites, protecting
communities and revitalizing local economies by returning land to
productive use.
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Superfund -- Nationwide, the Administration has completed
525 Superfund cleanups since 1993, more than three times the number
completed in the previous twelve years. In New Mexico, 6 Superfund
cleanups have been completed since 1993.
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Brownfields -- Administration initiatives have steered
more than $110 million to more than 300 communities to assess, clean up
and redevelop brownfields - abandoned, contaminated sites, usually in
distressed urban neighborhoods. New Mexico has received 7 grants totaling
$1.4 million.
Strengthening Water Quality Protections. Through a variety of
programs, the Administration has provided significant new resources to
states and communities to safeguard public health by improving drinking
water and to protect rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. These include:
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Clean Water State Revolving Fund -- This fund supports
low-interest loans to help communities build and upgrade sewage treatment
plants and other wastewater systems. Since 1993, the Environmental
Protection Agency has provided $10.7 billion to states for these loans.
New Mexico has received $54.6 million.
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Drinking Water State Revolving Fund -- This fund,
proposed by President Clinton and enacted in 1996, supports low-interest
loans to help communities build and upgrade their water treatment systems.
Since 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency has provided nearly $3.5
billion to states for these loans. New Mexico has received $35.1 million.
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Polluted Runoff Grants -- These grants help states and
communities develop programs to combat the largest remaining threat to
water quality - polluted runoff from sources such as farms and city
streets. Since 1993, EPA has provided grants totaling nearly $900
million. New Mexico has received $12.5 million.
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Rural Water Grants -- These grants and loans provide
special assistance to small rural communities to upgrade their drinking
water systems. Since 1993, the Department of Agriculture has provided
nearly $9 billion in loans and grants. New Mexico has received $119.8
million.
Protecting Local Lands. The Administration has won significant
new resources to help states, communities, and landowners protect farms
and other local green spaces that support wildlife, recreation, and water
quality.
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Land and Water Conservation Fund -- Since 1993, the
Department of the Interior has provided states and communities with $81.5
million through the Land and Water Conservation Fund to acquire and
protect threatened lands. New Mexico has received $792,302.
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Conservation Reserve Program -- This Department of
Agriculture program provides payments to farmers who remove
environmentally sensitive lands from production and improve them by
restoring wildlife habitat, planting windbreaks, or creating streamside
buffers. Since 1993, farmers in New Mexico have received funds to protect
590,716 acres.
April 2000
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