Meat and Poultry Agency Struggles without Leader

Without a Senate-confirmed head, rulemaking at the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has ground to a halt. FSIS, the agency responsible for ensuring the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products, made progress on only one significant regulation in the past six months, according to the semiannual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions published Monday.

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Coal Ash Rule Still on Track?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still plans to issue a proposal for the regulation of coal ash in the coming weeks, according to the agency’s most recent regulatory agenda.

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More Than 200 Groups Press Obama on Coal Ash Regulation

Yesterday, 239 public interest and environmental groups (that’s two full pages of organization names…single spaced!) including OMB Watch wrote to President Obama to ask him to move forward with plans to regulate coal ash. A draft proposed rule, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, has been under review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) since Oct. 16, 2009.

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Obama Calls for Review of Mine Safety Policy

In reaction to the West Virginia explosion that left 29 miners dead, President Obama called today for reform of mine safety laws and regulations and better enforcement of those regulations by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). His remarks are available on the White House website.

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Coal Ash Communities Call on the White House for Protection

Residents of communities impacted by toxic coal ash met with the White House yesterday to argue for new regulations aimed at protecting public health and the environment. 

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White House Tries to Ease Tracking of Rules

In an effort to increase transparency and expand public participation in the rulemaking process, White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator Cass Sunstein issued a memo today encouraging agencies to consistently use Regulation Identifier Numbers, or RINs, to tag documents.

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White House Sidelines the Public in Coal Ash Debate

On Dec. 22, 2008, an earthen dam holding back a pond of coal ash in Kingston, Tenn., broke, sending 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic goo cascading across the landscape. That's enough to fill the White House from top to bottom 200 times over.

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Coal Ash Delay Silences the Voice of the Little Guy

A citizen advocacy group is asking the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to take a closer look at the environmental and human health impacts of coal ash – a toxic byproduct of coal combustion often precariously stored in outdoor retention ponds. The request was placed on day 153 of OIRA’s review of an EPA proposal to more strictly regulate coal ash. By its own rules, OIRA is to spend no more than 120 days reviewing agency proposed and final regulations.

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EPA to Put Environmental Justice on the Cost-Benefit Ledger

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to better account for environmental justice when analyzing the costs and benefits of proposed regulations, experts said yesterday at an EPA symposium. BNA news service (subscription) reports:

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White House Increasing Pressure over Invalid Rules

Federal rulemaking agencies continue to fail to submit new regulations to Congress, potentially invalidating them, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

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