Determination of Costs Relating to the Environmental Education Act

Information was compiled on the estimated costs incurred by the government in administering the Environmental Education Act and by applicants in applying for grants under the act. The estimates are based largely on unverified information obtained through interviews and responses to questionnaires. The estimated cost of $1.5 million is equivalent to about 50 percent of the $3 million grant funds awarded for fiscal year (FY) 1976. The recipients of the 90 grants awarded for FY 1976 were selected from among 1,154 applicants, 300 of which were considered to be in the fundable range. Estimated costs broken down by agencies are as follows: the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was $322,803 and the Office of Management and Budget was $425. Officials of the Office of Environmental Education indicated that they had received approximately 370 congressional endorsements on behalf of the applicants. Congressional costs were estimated to be in the range of $1,600 to $6,500. Responses to questionnaires sent to applicants indicated that, in total, the 1,154 applicants spent from $929,000 to $1,521,000 in preparing FY 1976 grant applications.