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Issue link: http://sea-technology.epubxp.com/i/679071
16 st / May 2016 www.sea-technology.com The budget includes a combined $2 billion for EPA's Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) and $42 million in technical assistance, training and other efforts. For State and Tribal Assistance Grant funding, the bud- get provides $3.3 billion, including increases of more than $77 million for state categorical grants and opportunities, to jointly tackle environmental challenges. Maritime Administration To support shipping and port operations, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has requested $423.1 million, an increase of $16.3 million from FY 2016. The operations and training budget request is $194.1 million. This includes the Merchant Marine Academy, as well as MARAD operations and programs. For the Merchant Marine Academy, $99.9 million was requested. Academy operations and the Capital Asset Man- agement program have been appropriated $74.9 million and $25.1 million, respectively. The request for academy operations includes funding for an upgrade to the simulator program, increases to contracts for food and medical services, and requirements for train- ing vessels. The ship disposal program has requested $20 million, a $15 million increase from FY 2016. This includes $9 mil- lion to support continued obsolete vessel disposal actions, with priority emphasis on the three remaining ships in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet to meet a California court consent decree. This also includes $8 million to begin decommis- sioning the defueled nuclear power plant on board the for- mer nuclear ship Savannah. State maritime academies have been allotted $29.6 mil- lion to provide federal assistance for education and train- ing of merchant mariners and support MARAD's role in the National Response Framework for the continued support of the maintenance and service life extensions of existing training ships. To maintain commercial vessels that allow a presence in commerce overseas, the Maritime Security program has a budget request of $186 million. This amount would al- low for $3.1 million to go toward each of the program's 60 vessels. For the 2017 budget, the Title XI loan portfolio will be supported by $3 million. ST going toward investments for research and supporting sci- ence, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The budget invests $106 million in the construction of two Regional-class research vessels to meet anticipated ocean science requirements for the U.S. East Coast, West Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Programs and activities to address resilience were allot- ted $43 million to improve predictability and risk assess- ment and increase resilience to extreme natural and man- made events in order to reduce their impact on quality of life, society and the economy. Interdisciplinary research focused on understanding and modeling the food, energy and water system was given $62 million. The effort spans all aspects of the felds of science and engineering. The budget will include $512 million to support re- search and education in innovative renewable and alterna- tive energy sources for electricity and fuels; the collection, conversion, storage and distribution of energy from diverse power sources; and energy materials, use and effciency. Environmental Protection Agency The FY 2017 budget has allotted $8.267 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to further key work in addressing climate change and improving air quality and protecting U.S. waters. The budget prioritizes climate action with $235 million to support EPA efforts to address climate change through commonsense standards, guidelines and voluntary pro- grams. The budget includes $25 million in grants to help states implement their Clean Power Plan strategies. Aging systems and the increasing impacts of climate change create opportunities for innovation and new ap- proaches for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. "Obama's budget proposal lifts se- questration in future years to invest in the country's economic future and national security."