Alabama ranks among the top 10 states in terms of biodiversity, but the entire yearly budget of its environmental agency adds up to less than a fancy hamburger for every person in the state.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management ranked dead last in per capita funding among state environmental agencies in a recent study published by the Environmental Council of States.

The survey found ADEM received an average of just $10.85 per person, per year from 2013 to 2015.

State environmental agencies usually administer the federal environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in their state, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The state agencies issue permits for industries seeking to discharge pollution into the air or water, enforce those permits and ensure spills are cleaned up.

The ongoing budget crisis at ADEM could lead to fewer inspections of polluting facilities, longer wait times for permits and decreased ability by the department to respond to an environmental disaster. Proposed EPA cuts could hammer Alabama

Alabama's per capita funding was last among the 46 states, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, that participated in the survey.

ADEM Director Lance LeFleur said the four states that did not respond to the survey questions "historically are well funded," meaning Alabama very likely spends less per person on its environmental agency than any other state.

"The department is no longer 49th," LeFleur said during prepared remarks at last week's Alabama Environmental Management Commission meeting. "As of 2014 and continuing in 2015, Alabama is dead last in funding."

And, as LeFleur detailed in his director's report to the Commission, ADEM's budgetary picture is probably more bleak than the survey shows.

The survey ended at the 2015 budget year, before the state legislature required ADEM to transfer $1.2 million into the general fund in 2016, essentially giving the department a negative appropriation from the state. In 2017, ADEM got $280,000 in funding from the state, down from about $800,000 in 2014 and 2015.

LeFleur said the department would have to increase its total funding by $7.9 million just to climb out of last place. That seems unlikely to happen soon.

State environmental agencies are typically funded from three sources: appropriations from the state legislature, federal grants from the EPA, and permit fees or fines collected.

None of those three legs of the stool are likely to see increases in Alabama, and steep cuts have been proposed for federal "pass-through grants" to state environmental agencies from the EPA.

In Alabama, ADEM has received less than $1 million from the state's general fund every year since 2013 and LeFleur said there appears to be little movement in the legislature to increase that amount.

ADEM has already increased the permit fees it charges to regulated industry by more than 100 percent in the last three years to deal with cuts from state budget cuts, and ADEM external affairs chief Lynn Battle said the department is unlikely to ask for more fee increases in the near future.

ADEM's total budget averaged $52.5 million from 2013-2015. South Dakota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Nevada and Vermont all had smaller total budgets over those years, but also have smaller populations.

Alabama also spends less than neighboring states on its environmental agency, the survey showed.

Georgia's Environmental Protection Division got about $132 million per year, with about $26 million per year coming from the state's general fund.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality had a budget of about $258 million per year, with more than $10 million per year coming from the general fund.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation reported budgets ranging from $135 million to $169 million, with the state portion ranging from $28 million to $24 million.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection spent $1.4 billion in 2015, with $286 million in support from the general fund.