Associated Press
ALBANY — Environmental groups are generally pleased with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed $143 billion 2013-14 budget, noting that it increases the fund that supports myriad environmental initiatives.
After years of budget and staffing cuts, Cuomo's plan maintains current agency funding and staffing levels.
A coalition of groups called Friends of New York's Environment said Wednesday it was happy that Cuomo included a $153 million investment for the state's Environmental Protection Fund. That's a $19 million increase over last year's level, with the additional money coming from unclaimed returnable bottle deposits.
Under Cuomo's plan, the Department of Environmental Conservation would get $40 million from the New York Works capital program.
The overall DEC budget proposed by Cuomo is $897.8 million.
