EPA Releases Plan to Review Environmental Regulations

On May 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a preliminary version of its master plan for reviewing existing regulations to determine whether any should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed.  At this point, the Agency seeks to conduct 31 regulatory reviews covering a range of issues and programs—such as its lead and stormwater programs—and involving short-term and long-term actions.  EPA is accepting public comment on its draft plan through June 27, 2011. EPA’s action comes in response to President Obama’s January 18, 2011, Executive Order 13563 “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review” that requires all federal agencies to periodically review their existing significant regulations in an effort to make to the government’s regulatory program more effective or less burdensome.  (See Observer article March 2011 for more information.)  Many other federal agencies and departments also have proposed similar plans for periodic retrospective reviews of existing regulations and are looking for public input. Specifically, EPA’s Preliminary Plan for Periodic Retrospective Reviews of Existing Regulations identifies 16 short-term, or early, actions that the Agency could accomplish in 2011.  These actions include strategies such as electronic reporting, harmonizing of requirements, setting priorities and improving transparency in specific program areas.  In addition, EPA announced that it will take a closer look at its lead and stormwater programs, which could directly impact environmental risks and responsibilities on construction sites. Excerpts of those sections of the preliminary plan are below.

2.1.1 Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program: considering new post-work requirements designed to ensure cleaning meets clearance standards

Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children. To protect against this risk, on April 22, 2008, EPA issued the Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program rule (Lead RRP) requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning April 22, 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. On May 6, 2010, EPA proposed additional requirements designed to ensure that renovation work areas are adequately cleaned after renovation work is finished and before the areas are re-occupied. These additional requirements included dust wipe testing after renovations and additional cleaning, if needed, designed to ensure that renovation work areas meet clearance standards before re-occupancy. The cost of EPA's proposed additional testing requirements were between $272 million to $290 million per year ($2008). EPA is now reviewing the efficacy of both its original testing requirements as well as those additional requirements proposed in 2010 and expects to issue a final rule in summer 2011.

2.1.11 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): coordinating permit requirements and removing outdated requirements

EPA plans to review the regulations that apply to the issuance of NPDES permits, which are the wastewater permits that facility operators must obtain before they discharge pollutants to any water of the United States. EPA plans to review NPDES permitting regulations in order to find provisions that are outdated or ineffective. EPA expects the review to most likely focus on: a) eliminating inconsistencies between regulations and application forms; b) improving the consistency between the application forms; c) updating the application forms to address current program practices; d) clarifying the existing regulations and modifying or repealing permitting, monitoring, and reporting requirements that have become obsolete or outdated due to programmatic and technical changes that have occurred over the past 20 years; and e) modifying permit documentation and objection procedures to improve the quality and transparency of permit development. As an example of an outdated regulation which could be changed to reduce burden, as well as improve transparency and public access to information, EPA is considering whether to revise the public notice requirements to allow a state to post notices and draft permits on their state agency websites in lieu of traditional newspaper posting. EPA expects to propose modifications to NPDES permit regulations by the end of 2011.

The proposed plan also included 15 regulatory reviews that the Agency will focus on in the longer term.  These actions focus on reducing regulatory burdens in some of its reporting programs, coordinating regulatory requirements in some programs, simplifying and clarifying requirements in several programs such as the Water Quality Standard regulations and Clean Air Act Title V Permit programs and reducing burden in the State Implementation Plan among others. To read EPA’s preliminary plan and to comment on the plan, go to EPA’s Improving Our Regulations Web page.