Setting and Enforcing Regulations

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Increase SUV Fuel Efficiency

Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced a bill (S. 265) that would require sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to meet the same fuel efficiency standards as passenger cars. The bill, introduced January 30, would require auto manufacturers to raise the fuel economy standards for light trucks and SUVs from the current 21 miles per gallon (mpg) to 27.5 mpg -- the standard that passenger cars meet today. The legislation calls for gradual increases in fuel efficiency, climbing to 23.5 mpg by 2008, 24.8 mpg by 2009, and 26.1 mpg by 2010, reaching 27.5 mpg in 2011.

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Court Ruling Overturned: Mining Companies Free to Bury Streams Once Again

To the delight of the mining industry, a federal appeals court overturned a ruling that blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from issuing permits to allow the dumping of waste from mountaintop mining into rivers and valleys.

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New Marine Diesel Rule Falls Short

EPA is issuing a weak final rule to limit nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from new marine diesel engines in large ships and tankers. The standards are equivalent to those contained in a previous international agreement, which manufacturers are already meeting, and are not expected to have much effect. Initially, EPA favored taking stronger action, but OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs blocked this effort in its review of the agency’s proposed rule.

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EPA Sidesteps Action on Dangerous Herbicide in Drinking Water

EPA will continue to allow widespread use of the weed killer atrazine despite evidence that it has contaminated certain drinking water systems at levels 12 times greater than allowed by law. EPA recently completed an

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Primary Framework

Congress laid out the basic framework under which rulemaking is conducted when it enacted the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in 1946. It remains the basic legislative standard even though its processes have been affected by more recent statutes. Of course, setting administrative procedure is not the only way Congress directs agency decision-making. In addition to substantive program legislation, Congress also monitors agency performance. It uses the appropriations process, approval of presidential appointees, investigations, oversight, and the legislative veto.

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Administration Advances E-Rulemaking

The Bush administration unveiled a new web site on January 23 that allows the public to view and comment on federal regulatory proposals, searchable by agency or keyword. From the site, Regulations.gov, the user is provided a brief description of each rule open for comment, a link to the agency’s Federal Register notice and complete text of the rule, and a web-based comment form that allows for a 4,000-character submission, as well as attachments.

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Trading Away the Clean Water Act?

A new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy, announced on January 13, will allow industrial polluters to buy trading credits instead of reducing water pollution.

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EPA Announces Plans to Withdraw Protection of Wetlands

The Bush administration unveiled plans on January 15 that would withdraw federal protection for as much as 20 million acres of wetlands, such as marshes, swamps and bogs.

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Senate Rejects Amendment Blocking Clean Air Rollback

The Senate narrowly rejected an amendment on January 22 that would have delayed a rule weakening the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Source Review (NSR) program while the National Academy of Sciences evaluates its potential impact on air pollution and human health. The final rule, set to take effect March 3, rolls back clean air protections through a series of exemptions to NSR, which requires older coal-fired power plants to add the latest anti-pollution machinery whenever they are substantially upgraded.

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EPA, FDA, OSHA Alter Regulatory Agendas

Twice a year, in the spring and fall, each federal agency publishes an agenda describing rulemakings under review and actions they expect to take. These agendas -- though frequently inaccurate in their predictions -- provide an important window into the administration’s regulatory priorities and objectives. OMB Watch examined the agendas of three agencies -- the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) -- to see what has changed during the Bush administration. The following provides the results.

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