President Obama's Jan. 18 Executive Order 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" (E.O. 13563), instructed federal agencies to develop plans for the ongoing review of existing regulations to identify rules that are "outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them." On Aug. 23, the administration released final retrospective review plans, submitted by 26 agencies, that contain the list of rules to be addressed in accordance with the E.O. The plans also include descriptions of how the agencies intend to incorporate ongoing retrospective review processes into their administrative procedures. OMB Watch now has a webpage where the public can read about the plans of key health, safety, and environmental agencies responsible for safeguarding the public.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) rule, a policy mandating that public water systems provide annual reports to consumers on the quality of local drinking water. The resulting reports have been criticized for being overly technical, complex, and difficult for the general public to understand or act upon.