Under the leadership of Chairman Bob Smith, each subcommittee is conducting oversight hearings on EPA's budget. EPA Administrator Carol Browner testified on EPA's overall budget before the full committee last month. Today, we will have the opportunity to review OSWER's budget and priorities in greater detail. It is important that this subcommittee focus on OSWER's priorities so Congress can make informed decisions on EPA's overall needs. I hope that Mr. Fields will address criticisms that some have made of EPA's spending habits. Critics have claimed that EPA funds new initiatives before it has completed work at existing priorities, and that EPA spends too much money on administrative costs and too little on cleanup. We must strike delicate balances between our constrained resources and our top priorities.
For example, the Centredale Manor Superfund site in North Providence, Rhode Island was added to the National Priorities List just this year. This site contains high-rise apartment buildings for handicapped and elderly residents. Significant levels of dioxin were found in soils at the site and in sediments in the Woonasquatucket River. You can only imagine the high level of emotion that exists when residents learn that toxic chemicals are present in the ground near their homes. This is certainly not a unique situation in Rhode Island. Using their emergency response authorities, EPA responded swiftly and effectively to the relief of everyone in the community. I want to ensure that EPA has sufficient funds to carry out emergency response actions and other necessary functions, but I also want to know that each dollar is spent appropriately. I am also looking forward to Mr. Fields testimony regarding underground storage tanks. Public attention has focused on the discovery of MTBE in groundwater resources. Since leaking underground storage tanks are the primary pathway for MTBE to reach groundwater, it is imperative that EPA maximize its underground storage tank funding to ensure compliance with the federal requirements.
Establishing priorities and balancing the needs of all programs within OSWER and EPA is a difficult task. Given unlimited resources, there will always be projects that we could fund. However, today's fiscal environment demands that we establish priorities and fund those priorities first. I hope that today's hearing will provide a forum for EPA to identify its priorities and that we can have an open discussion among members of this subcommittee.