Programs across state government would take smaller hits to compensate for the programs the House wants to save, and I’m still poring over exactly what the differences are.

But the biggest single source of extra money lawmakers found above Gov. Chris Gregoire‘s cuts appears to be the greater-than-expected revenue coming in from taxes on oil and other pollutants.

It’s a fund lawmakers have raided before, and House Democrats want to sweep $17 million from it, even though voters who imposed the taxes dedicated that money to cleaning up hazardous waste sites.

Rep. Ross Hunter, the House budget chairman, said it’s unused money and no cleanup projects scheduled for the ongoing budget period would be canceled.

But state port officials, who use the money to clean up polluted shipyards and industrial sites, said the money should be kept in the toxics fund to increase the number of projects that move forward next year, creating more jobs at places like the Port of Tacoma.

“Even if there’s a short-term surplus right now, (future projects) are coming down the pike,” said Sean Eagan, lobbyist for the Port of Tacoma.

The port, for example, hopes to use $2 million in toxics money next year to continue cleanup of a former Kaiser Aluminum smelter site on the Tacoma Tideflats. The port bought the property and has spent more than $5 million on cleanup already, with plans to turn it into a shipping terminal.