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March 27, 2015

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting public input on the Agency's periodic retrospective review of its regulations under Executive Order (E.O.) 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review , and E.O. 13610, Identifying and Reducing Regulatory Burdens  according to a notice published in the March 9 Federal Register.

This Advocacy Alert provides a brief summary of the Agency’s review, and solicits feedback from members on particular regulations that need to be modified and/or streamlined. Comments on the proposal are due to EPA by April 8, and NACWA plans to provide input to the Agency based on member feedback. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any input by March 27.

Background

In early 2011, the White House launched a review of existing rules to eliminate, streamline or update those that no longer make sense in their current form through issuance of E.O.s 13563 and 13610. As part of this review, in 2011 the Agency issued its Final Plan for Periodic Retrospective Reviews of Existing Regulations (Plan ), which was based on input that EPA sought through an earlier public comment process. Since then, EPA has maintained an open comment docket for public feedback on the existing Plan and its subsequent progress reports. Five new reviews were added in July 2014, and based on the March 9 notice, 21 of the retrospective reviews have been completed.

Proposed Rule

The focus of this new request for input is on how the Agency can promote regulatory modernization through process streamlining and improved technology. EPA is specifically soliciting comments on the following questions:

1. Which regulations, including economically significant rules, could be transitioned from paper to e-Reporting? (see related NACWA comments  on Proposed NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule)
2. How can the EPA reduce duplicative reporting requirements in existing regulations that may overlap other federal requirements?
3. How can the EPA streamline or consolidate reporting requirements to reduce burden?
4. Which regulations could benefit from the use of existing shared services (such as the Substance Registry System) or new shared services?
5. Should the EPA create a joint registry of regulated facilities with states and tribes to streamline electronic reporting to multiple programs and maximize burden reduction?
6. Which regulations could be improved through the use of advance monitoring techniques or the development of mobile applications to facilitate environmental protection?
7. Which regulations could be amended to reduce the frequency of reporting while maintaining effective programs?
8. Is the same information being collected in multiple places, either across different regulations, or across different levels of government (Federal, State, Tribal, and local)?

The Association is soliciting member input specific to the questions above. Though these reviews are recurring, this specific round is requesting refined information – and is an opportunity for utilities to express concerns and suggestions for how to improve regulations that are not currently being addressed, or addressed sufficiently, in the Plan. Comments are due on or before April 8, 2015, so please return any feedback to Brenna Mannion by March 27.