Wisconsin’s cuts to environmental funding were among nation’s highest, report says

A new report finds Wisconsin saw one of the nation’s largest share of funding cuts to environmental agencies in the last 15 years.

The findings come as President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts could further hinder work to address air, land and water pollution.

The report released Wednesday by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project found nearly two-thirds of states have cut staffing and more than half have reduced funding for environmental agencies since 2010. Wisconsin was among the top 10 states in the nation for these cuts.

The environmental watchdog group argued states were already struggling to protect against pollution before Trump proposed a nearly 55 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2026 budget, which would reduce federal funding for states.

Jen Duggan, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said Wisconsin experienced a 29 percent cut to state funding over the period. Funding for pollution control programs at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources dropped from $121 million in 2010 to $85 million last year when adjusted for inflation, according to the report.

“That means there are fewer people and fewer resources to do the really important job of making sure that companies follow the law, that permits are protective and that communities are safe from industrial pollution,” Duggan said.

Wisconsin had the 10th largest percentage decline in state funding. The report found state funding for environmental agencies declined by the largest share in Mississippi, South Dakota and Connecticut.

The report’s findings are based on data provided by the DNR that include money spent on environmental remediation, water quality improvement and air management. The data excluded funding under the state’s clean water and safe drinking water loan programs.

As state funding has dropped, so too has funding for the EPA. Funding for the federal agency has declined 40 percent in the past 15 years when adjusted for inflation, the report said. The agency’s funding supports states as they enforce environmental laws that include the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

Under Trump’s proposed cuts to EPA, states stand to lose around $2.5 billion for revolving loan funds for water upgrades. Trump’s budget would also cut more than $1 billion in federal grants that help states manage local air quality, prevent water pollution and clean up contaminated sites.

A DNR spokesperson said the agency would not be able to assume all the work that’s currently funded by the federal government if its funding is significantly reduced as proposed under Trump’s budget.

Republicans in the U.S.House have proposed $7 billion in funding for EPA or a 23 percent cut in the agency’s budget. The Senate Committee on Appropriations proposed $8.6 billion in funding for EPA — a 5 percent reduction. When Congress ended the government shutdown in November, lawmakers postponed a vote on 2026 funding levels for the agency and the rest of the government until the end of January.

In a Nov. 13 meeting, DNR Secretary Karen Hyun said the agency is monitoring federal funding impacts.

“We continue to work really hard to mitigate the impacts at the DNR,” Hyun said. “We’re about 30 percent federally funded, so we do have strong partnerships in terms of funding and technical assistance and science with different federal agencies.”

Amid funding cuts, the report notes EPA’s workforce also shrank by 18 percent or more than 3,100 full-time positions in the last 15 years. Those figures don’t include thousands of staff who were fired or left the agency this year. An EPA spokesperson said the agency is confident it has the resources to protect human health and the environment.

“Likewise, at the Trump EPA we understand that states know states best, and we are working alongside state, tribal, and local authorities to ensure clean land, air, and water for all residents,” an EPA spokesperson said.

As for states, the report said they eliminated 3,725 positions in pollution control or related environmental programs in the last 15 years.

Under the current state budget, the DNR is down 500 positions since the beginning of the 2003-05 biennium when it had nearly 2,975 positions, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The DNR lost 256 positions in budgets approved by Democratic former Gov. Jim Doyle and around 230 positions in budgets approved by Republican former Gov. Scott Walker.

Duggan called on state lawmakers to reverse the trend of cutting state pollution control programs. Top GOP leaders and Republican chairs of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The DNR is authorized to spend more than $1.25 billion under its budget.