Washington ? The Environmental Protection Agency intends to close labs, cut its cadre of upper-level scientists and reduce regulatory oversight, according to an internal agency document.

In a memo dated June 8, a top agency official outlined “a set of proposed disinvestments, innovations, efficiencies and consolidations” for the upcoming 2008 fiscal budget.

“The decisions we make will be critical, difficult and will have long-term consequences,” EPA Chief Financial Officer Lyons Gray wrote.

The EPA’s budget has been dropping steadily since it reached a record $8.13 billion in fiscal 2003. The Bush administration’s proposed fiscal 2007 budget was nearly $1 billion lower, but Congress hasn’t yet approved a final version.

In his memo, Gray asked for plans to close at least 20 percent of the EPA’s 16 research laboratories by 2011, including a minimum 10 percent cut by 2009.