Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, 16093-16097 [2017-06576]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 61 (Friday, March 31, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 16093-16097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06576]



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Vol. 82

Friday,

No. 61

March 31, 2017

Part II





The President





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Executive Order 13783--Promoting Energy Independence and Economic 
Growth



Notice of March 29, 2017--Continuation of the National Emergency With 
Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 61 / Friday, March 31, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

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                Executive Order 13783 of March 28, 2017

                
Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. (a) It is in the national interest 
                to promote clean and safe development of our Nation's 
                vast energy resources, while at the same time avoiding 
                regulatory burdens that unnecessarily encumber energy 
                production, constrain economic growth, and prevent job 
                creation. Moreover, the prudent development of these 
                natural resources is essential to ensuring the Nation's 
                geopolitical security.

                    (b) It is further in the national interest to 
                ensure that the Nation's electricity is affordable, 
                reliable, safe, secure, and clean, and that it can be 
                produced from coal, natural gas, nuclear material, 
                flowing water, and other domestic sources, including 
                renewable sources.
                    (c) Accordingly, it is the policy of the United 
                States that executive departments and agencies 
                (agencies) immediately review existing regulations that 
                potentially burden the development or use of 
                domestically produced energy resources and 
                appropriately suspend, revise, or rescind those that 
                unduly burden the development of domestic energy 
                resources beyond the degree necessary to protect the 
                public interest or otherwise comply with the law.
                    (d) It further is the policy of the United States 
                that, to the extent permitted by law, all agencies 
                should take appropriate actions to promote clean air 
                and clean water for the American people, while also 
                respecting the proper roles of the Congress and the 
                States concerning these matters in our constitutional 
                republic.
                    (e) It is also the policy of the United States that 
                necessary and appropriate environmental regulations 
                comply with the law, are of greater benefit than cost, 
                when permissible, achieve environmental improvements 
                for the American people, and are developed through 
                transparent processes that employ the best available 
                peer-reviewed science and economics.

                Sec. 2. Immediate Review of All Agency Actions that 
                Potentially Burden the Safe, Efficient Development of 
                Domestic Energy Resources. (a) The heads of agencies 
                shall review all existing regulations, orders, guidance 
                documents, policies, and any other similar agency 
                actions (collectively, agency actions) that potentially 
                burden the development or use of domestically produced 
                energy resources, with particular attention to oil, 
                natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy resources. Such 
                review shall not include agency actions that are 
                mandated by law, necessary for the public interest, and 
                consistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of 
                this order.

                    (b) For purposes of this order, ``burden'' means to 
                unnecessarily obstruct, delay, curtail, or otherwise 
                impose significant costs on the siting, permitting, 
                production, utilization, transmission, or delivery of 
                energy resources.
                    (c) Within 45 days of the date of this order, the 
                head of each agency with agency actions described in 
                subsection (a) of this section shall develop and submit 
                to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
                (OMB Director) a plan to carry out the review required 
                by subsection (a) of this section. The plans shall also 
                be sent to the Vice President, the Assistant to the 
                President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the 
                President for Domestic Policy, and the Chair of the 
                Council on Environmental Quality. The head of any 
                agency who determines that such agency does not have

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                agency actions described in subsection (a) of this 
                section shall submit to the OMB Director a written 
                statement to that effect and, absent a determination by 
                the OMB Director that such agency does have agency 
                actions described in subsection (a) of this section, 
                shall have no further responsibilities under this 
                section.
                    (d) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the 
                head of each agency shall submit a draft final report 
                detailing the agency actions described in subsection 
                (a) of this section to the Vice President, the OMB 
                Director, the Assistant to the President for Economic 
                Policy, the Assistant to the President for Domestic 
                Policy, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental 
                Quality. The report shall include specific 
                recommendations that, to the extent permitted by law, 
                could alleviate or eliminate aspects of agency actions 
                that burden domestic energy production.
                    (e) The report shall be finalized within 180 days 
                of the date of this order, unless the OMB Director, in 
                consultation with the other officials who receive the 
                draft final reports, extends that deadline.
                    (f) The OMB Director, in consultation with the 
                Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, shall 
                be responsible for coordinating the recommended actions 
                included in the agency final reports within the 
                Executive Office of the President.
                    (g) With respect to any agency action for which 
                specific recommendations are made in a final report 
                pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, the head of 
                the relevant agency shall, as soon as practicable, 
                suspend, revise, or rescind, or publish for notice and 
                comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or 
                rescinding, those actions, as appropriate and 
                consistent with law. Agencies shall endeavor to 
                coordinate such regulatory reforms with their 
                activities undertaken in compliance with Executive 
                Order 13771 of January 30, 2017 (Reducing Regulation 
                and Controlling Regulatory Costs).

                Sec. 3. Rescission of Certain Energy and Climate-
                Related Presidential and Regulatory Actions. (a) The 
                following Presidential actions are hereby revoked:

(i) Executive Order 13653 of November 1, 2013 (Preparing the United States 
for the Impacts of Climate Change);

(ii) The Presidential Memorandum of June 25, 2013 (Power Sector Carbon 
Pollution Standards);

(iii) The Presidential Memorandum of November 3, 2015 (Mitigating Impacts 
on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private 
Investment); and

(iv) The Presidential Memorandum of September 21, 2016 (Climate Change and 
National Security).

                    (b) The following reports shall be rescinded:

(i) The Report of the Executive Office of the President of June 2013 (The 
President's Climate Action Plan); and

(ii) The Report of the Executive Office of the President of March 2014 
(Climate Action Plan Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions).

                    (c) The Council on Environmental Quality shall 
                rescind its final guidance entitled ``Final Guidance 
                for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration 
                of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate 
                Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews,'' 
                which is referred to in ``Notice of Availability,'' 81 
                Fed. Reg. 51866 (August 5, 2016).
                    (d) The heads of all agencies shall identify 
                existing agency actions related to or arising from the 
                Presidential actions listed in subsection (a) of this 
                section, the reports listed in subsection (b) of this 
                section, or the final guidance listed in subsection (c) 
                of this section. Each agency shall, as soon as 
                practicable, suspend, revise, or rescind, or publish 
                for notice and comment proposed rules suspending, 
                revising, or rescinding any such actions, as 
                appropriate and consistent with law and with the 
                policies set forth in section 1 of this order.

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                Sec. 4. Review of the Environmental Protection Agency's 
                ``Clean Power Plan'' and Related Rules and Agency 
                Actions. (a) The Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency (Administrator) shall immediately 
                take all steps necessary to review the final rules set 
                forth in subsections (b)(i) and (b)(ii) of this 
                section, and any rules and guidance issued pursuant to 
                them, for consistency with the policy set forth in 
                section 1 of this order and, if appropriate, shall, as 
                soon as practicable, suspend, revise, or rescind the 
                guidance, or publish for notice and comment proposed 
                rules suspending, revising, or rescinding those rules. 
                In addition, the Administrator shall immediately take 
                all steps necessary to review the proposed rule set 
                forth in subsection (b)(iii) of this section, and, if 
                appropriate, shall, as soon as practicable, determine 
                whether to revise or withdraw the proposed rule.

                    (b) This section applies to the following final or 
                proposed rules:

(i) The final rule entitled ``Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for 
Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units,'' 80 Fed. 
Reg. 64661 (October 23, 2015) (Clean Power Plan);

(ii) The final rule entitled ``Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas 
Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: 
Electric Utility Generating Units,'' 80 Fed. Reg. 64509 (October 23, 2015); 
and

(iii) The proposed rule entitled ``Federal Plan Requirements for Greenhouse 
Gas Emissions From Electric Utility Generating Units Constructed on or 
Before January 8, 2014; Model Trading Rules; Amendments to Framework 
Regulations; Proposed Rule,'' 80 Fed. Reg. 64966 (October 23, 2015).

                    (c) The Administrator shall review and, if 
                appropriate, as soon as practicable, take lawful action 
                to suspend, revise, or rescind, as appropriate and 
                consistent with law, the ``Legal Memorandum 
                Accompanying Clean Power Plan for Certain Issues,'' 
                which was published in conjunction with the Clean Power 
                Plan.
                    (d) The Administrator shall promptly notify the 
                Attorney General of any actions taken by the 
                Administrator pursuant to this order related to the 
                rules identified in subsection (b) of this section so 
                that the Attorney General may, as appropriate, provide 
                notice of this order and any such action to any court 
                with jurisdiction over pending litigation related to 
                those rules, and may, in his discretion, request that 
                the court stay the litigation or otherwise delay 
                further litigation, or seek other appropriate relief 
                consistent with this order, pending the completion of 
                the administrative actions described in subsection (a) 
                of this section.

                Sec. 5. Review of Estimates of the Social Cost of 
                Carbon, Nitrous Oxide, and Methane for Regulatory 
                Impact Analysis. (a) In order to ensure sound 
                regulatory decision making, it is essential that 
                agencies use estimates of costs and benefits in their 
                regulatory analyses that are based on the best 
                available science and economics.

                    (b) The Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of 
                Greenhouse Gases (IWG), which was convened by the 
                Council of Economic Advisers and the OMB Director, 
                shall be disbanded, and the following documents issued 
                by the IWG shall be withdrawn as no longer 
                representative of governmental policy:

(i) Technical Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 
Analysis Under Executive Order 12866 (February 2010);

(ii) Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 
Analysis (May 2013);

(iii) Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 
Analysis (November 2013);

(iv) Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 
Analysis (July 2015);

(v) Addendum to the Technical Support Document for Social Cost of Carbon: 
Application of the Methodology to Estimate the Social Cost of Methane and 
the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide (August 2016); and

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(vi) Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact 
Analysis (August 2016).

                    (c) Effective immediately, when monetizing the 
                value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting 
                from regulations, including with respect to the 
                consideration of domestic versus international impacts 
                and the consideration of appropriate discount rates, 
                agencies shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, 
                that any such estimates are consistent with the 
                guidance contained in OMB Circular A-4 of September 17, 
                2003 (Regulatory Analysis), which was issued after peer 
                review and public comment and has been widely accepted 
                for more than a decade as embodying the best practices 
                for conducting regulatory cost-benefit analysis.

                Sec. 6. Federal Land Coal Leasing Moratorium. The 
                Secretary of the Interior shall take all steps 
                necessary and appropriate to amend or withdraw 
                Secretary's Order 3338 dated January 15, 2016 
                (Discretionary Programmatic Environmental Impact 
                Statement (PEIS) to Modernize the Federal Coal 
                Program), and to lift any and all moratoria on Federal 
                land coal leasing activities related to Order 3338. The 
                Secretary shall commence Federal coal leasing 
                activities consistent with all applicable laws and 
                regulations.

                Sec. 7. Review of Regulations Related to United States 
                Oil and Gas Development. (a) The Administrator shall 
                review the final rule entitled ``Oil and Natural Gas 
                Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and 
                Modified Sources,'' 81 Fed. Reg. 35824 (June 3, 2016), 
                and any rules and guidance issued pursuant to it, for 
                consistency with the policy set forth in section 1 of 
                this order and, if appropriate, shall, as soon as 
                practicable, suspend, revise, or rescind the guidance, 
                or publish for notice and comment proposed rules 
                suspending, revising, or rescinding those rules.

                    (b) The Secretary of the Interior shall review the 
                following final rules, and any rules and guidance 
                issued pursuant to them, for consistency with the 
                policy set forth in section 1 of this order and, if 
                appropriate, shall, as soon as practicable, suspend, 
                revise, or rescind the guidance, or publish for notice 
                and comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or 
                rescinding those rules:

(i) The final rule entitled ``Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal 
and Indian Lands,'' 80 Fed. Reg. 16128 (March 26, 2015);

(ii) The final rule entitled ``General Provisions and Non-Federal Oil and 
Gas Rights,'' 81 Fed. Reg. 77972 (November 4, 2016);

(iii) The final rule entitled ``Management of Non-Federal Oil and Gas 
Rights,'' 81 Fed. Reg. 79948 (November 14, 2016); and

(iv) The final rule entitled ``Waste Prevention, Production Subject to 
Royalties, and Resource Conservation,'' 81 Fed. Reg. 83008 (November 18, 
2016).

                    (c) The Administrator or the Secretary of the 
                Interior, as applicable, shall promptly notify the 
                Attorney General of any actions taken by them related 
                to the rules identified in subsections (a) and (b) of 
                this section so that the Attorney General may, as 
                appropriate, provide notice of this order and any such 
                action to any court with jurisdiction over pending 
                litigation related to those rules, and may, in his 
                discretion, request that the court stay the litigation 
                or otherwise delay further litigation, or seek other 
                appropriate relief consistent with this order, until 
                the completion of the administrative actions described 
                in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

                Sec. 8. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

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                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    March 28, 2017.

[FR Doc. 2017-06576
Filed 3-30-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P