Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, 24582-24583 [2017-10866]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 30, 2017 / Proposed Rules
unsuccessful, the parties shall resort to
mediation.
§ 601.29
[Reserved]
Dated: May 23, 2017.
Anne R. Schuyler,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017–10940 Filed 5–26–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
2 CFR Chapter IX
5 CFR Chapter XXIII
10 CFR Chapters II, III and X
41 CFR Chapter 109
48 CFR Chapter 9
Reducing Regulation and Controlling
Regulatory Costs
Office of the Secretary,
Department of Energy.
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
AGENCY:
As part of its implementation
of Executive Order 13771, ‘‘Reducing
Regulation and Controlling Regulatory
Costs,’’ issued by the President on
January 30, 2017, the Department of
Energy (DOE) is seeking comments and
information from interested parties to
assist DOE in identifying existing
regulations, paperwork requirements
and other regulatory obligations that can
be modified or repealed, consistent with
law, to achieve meaningful burden
reduction while continuing to achieve
the Department’s statutory obligations.
DATES: Written comments and
information are requested on or before
July 14, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
encouraged to submit comments,
identified by ‘‘Regulatory Burden
Reduction RFI,’’ by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: Regulatory.Review@
hq.doe.gov. Include ‘‘Regulatory Burden
RFI’’ in the subject line of the message.
Mail: U.S. Department of Energy,
Office of the General Counsel, 1000
Independence Avenue SW., Room
6A245, Washington, DC 20585.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Daniel Cohen, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of the General Counsel,
1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585. Telephone:
(202) 586–5000. Email:
Regulatory.Review@hq.doe.gov.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:39 May 26, 2017
Jkt 241001
On
January 30, 2017, the President issued
Executive Order 13771, ‘‘Reducing
Regulation and Controlling Regulatory
Costs.’’ That Order stated the policy of
the executive branch is to be prudent
and financially responsible in the
expenditure of funds, from both public
and private sources. The Order stated it
is essential to manage the costs
associated with the governmental
imposition of private expenditures
required to comply with Federal
regulations. Toward that end, for fiscal
year 2017, E.O. 13771 requires:
(1) ‘‘Unless prohibited by law,
whenever an executive department or
agency . . . publicly proposes for notice
and comment or otherwise promulgates
a new regulation, it shall identify at
least two existing regulations to be
repealed.’’ Sec. 2(a).
(2) ‘‘For fiscal year 2017, . . . the
heads of all agencies are directed that
the total incremental cost of all new
regulations, including repealed
regulations, to be finalized this year
shall be no greater than zero, unless
otherwise required by law or consistent
with advice provided in writing by the
Director of the Office of Management
and Budget . . . .’’ Sec. 2(b).
(3) ‘‘In furtherance of the requirement
of subsection (a) of this section, any new
incremental costs associated with new
regulations shall, to the extent permitted
by law, be offset by the elimination of
existing costs associated with at least
two prior regulations.’’ Sec. 2(c).
Further, the Executive Order requires
that for fiscal year 2018, and for each
fiscal year thereafter, the head of each
agency shall identify, for each
regulation that increases incremental
cost, offsetting regulations, and provide
the agency’s best approximation of the
total costs or savings associated with
each new regulation or repealed
regulation. During the Presidential
budget process beginning in fiscal year
2018 and for each year thereafter, the
Director of the Office of Management
and Budget (Director) will identify to
each agency a total amount of
incremental costs that will be allowed
for such agency in issuing new
regulations and repealing regulations for
the next fiscal year. No regulations
exceeding the agency’s total incremental
cost allowance will be permitted in that
fiscal year, unless required by law or
approved in writing by the Director. The
total incremental cost allowance may
allow an increase or require a reduction
in total regulatory cost.
Additionally, on February 24, 2017,
the President issued Executive Order
13777, ‘‘Enforcing the Regulatory
Reform Agenda.’’ The Order required
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
the head of each agency designate an
agency official as its Regulatory Reform
Officer (RRO). Each RRO shall oversee
the implementation of regulatory reform
initiatives and policies to ensure that
agencies effectively carry out regulatory
reforms, consistent with applicable law.
Further, E.O. 13777 requires the
establishment of a regulatory task force
at each agency. The regulatory task force
will make recommendations to the
agency head regarding the repeal,
replacement, or modification of existing
regulations, consistent with applicable
law. At a minimum, each regulatory
reform task force shall attempt to
identify regulations that:
(i) Eliminate jobs, or inhibit job
creation;
(ii) Are outdated, unnecessary, or
ineffective;
(iii) Impose costs that exceed benefits;
(iv) Create a serious inconsistency or
otherwise interfere with regulatory
reform initiatives and policies;
(v) Are inconsistent with the
requirements of Information Quality
Act, or the guidance issued pursuant to
that Act, in particular those regulations
that rely in whole or in part on data,
information, or methods that are not
publicly available or that are
insufficiently transparent to meet the
standard for reproducibility; or
(vi) Derive from or implement
Executive Orders or other Presidential
directives that have been subsequently
rescinded or substantially modified.
Finally, on March 28, 2017, the
President signed Executive Order 13783,
entitled ‘‘Promoting Energy
Independence and Economic Growth.
Among other things, E.O. 13783 requires
the heads of agencies to 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 does not include agency
actions that are mandated by law,
necessary for the public interest, and
consistent with the policy set forth
elsewhere in that order.
Executive Order 13783 defined
burden for purposes of the review of
existing regulations to mean to
unnecessarily obstruct, delay, curtail, or
otherwise impose significant costs on
the siting, permitting, production,
utilization, transmission, or delivery of
energy resources.
To implement these Executive Orders,
the Department is taking two immediate
steps. First, as described further below,
E:\FR\FM\30MYP1.SGM
30MYP1
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 102 / Tuesday, May 30, 2017 / Proposed Rules
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
the Department is issuing this Request
for Information (RFI) seeking public
comment on how best to achieve
meaningful burden reduction while
continuing to achieve the Department’s
regulatory objectives. Second, the
Department has created an email in-box
at Regulatory.Review@hq.doe.gov,
which interested parties can use to
identify to DOE—on a continuing
basis—existing regulations, paperwork
requirements and other regulatory
obligations that can be modified or
repealed, consistent with law. Together,
these steps will help the Department
ensure it acts in a prudent and
financially responsible manner in the
expenditure of funds, from both public
and private sources, and manages
appropriately the costs associated with
private expenditures required for
compliance with DOE regulations.
Request for Information
Pursuant to the Executive Orders, the
Department is, through this request for
information, seeking input and other
assistance, as permitted by law, from
entities significantly affected by
regulations of the Department of Energy,
including State, local, and tribal
governments, small businesses,
consumers, non-governmental
organizations, and manufacturers and
their trade associations. The
Department’s goal is to create a
systematic method for identifying those
existing DOE rules that are obsolete,
unnecessary, unjustified, or simply no
longer make sense.
Consistent with the Department’s
commitment to public participation in
the rulemaking process, the Department
is beginning this process by soliciting
views from the public on how best to
conduct its analysis of existing DOE
rules. It is also seeking views from the
public on specific rules or Department
imposed obligations that should be
altered or eliminated. While the
Department promulgates rules in
accordance with the law and to the best
of its analytic capability, it is difficult to
be certain of the consequences of a rule,
including its costs and benefits, until it
has been tested. Because knowledge
about the full effects of a rule is widely
dispersed in society, members of the
public are likely to have useful
information and perspectives on the
benefits and burdens of existing
requirements and how regulatory
obligations may be updated,
streamlined, revised, or repealed to
better achieve regulatory objectives,
while minimizing regulatory burdens,
consistent with applicable law.
Interested parties may also be wellpositioned to identify those rules that
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:39 May 26, 2017
Jkt 241001
are most in need of reform, and, thus,
assist the Department in prioritizing and
properly tailoring its review process. In
short, engaging the public in an open,
transparent process is a crucial first step
in DOE’s review of its existing
regulations.
List of Questions for Commenters
To allow DOE to more effectively
evaluate suggestions, the Department is
requesting comments include:
• Supporting data or other
information such as cost information
• Specific suggestions regarding
repeal, replacement, or modification.
The following list of questions
represents a preliminary attempt by
DOE to identify rules/obligations on
which it should immediately focus. This
non-exhaustive list is meant to assist in
the formulation of comments and is not
intended to restrict the issues that may
be addressed. In addressing these
questions or others, DOE requests that
commenters identify with specificity the
regulation or reporting requirement at
issue, providing legal citation where
available. The Department also requests
that the submitter provide, in as much
detail as possible, an explanation why a
regulation or reporting requirement
should be modified, streamlined, or
repealed, as well as specific suggestions
of ways the Department can do so while
achieving its regulatory objectives.
(1) How can DOE best promote
meaningful regulatory cost reduction
while achieving its regulatory
objectives, and how can it best identify
those rules that might be modified,
streamlined, or repealed?
(2) What factors should DOE consider
in selecting and prioritizing rules and
reporting requirements for reform?
(3) How can DOE best obtain and
consider accurate, objective information
and data about the costs, burdens, and
benefits of existing regulations? Are
there existing sources of data DOE can
use to evaluate the post-promulgation
effects of regulations over time? We
invite interested parties to provide data
that may be in their possession that
documents the costs, burdens, and
benefits of existing requirements.
(4) Are there regulations that simply
make no sense or have become
unnecessary, ineffective, or ill-advised
and if so what are they? Are there rules
that can simply be repealed without
impairing DOE’s statutory obligations
and, if so, what are they?
(5) Are there rules or reporting
requirements that have become outdated
and, if so, how can they be modernized
to better accomplish their objective?
(6) Are there rules that are still
necessary, but have not operated as well
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
24583
as expected such that a modified, or
slightly different approach at lower cost
is justified?
(7) Are there rules of the Department
that unnecessarily obstruct, delay,
curtail, or otherwise impose significant
costs on the siting, permitting,
production, utilization, transmission, or
delivery of energy resources?
(8) Does DOE currently collect
information that it does not need or use
effectively?
(9) Are there regulations, reporting
requirements, or regulatory processes
that are unnecessarily complicated or
could be streamlined to achieve
statutory obligations in more efficient
ways?
(10) Are there rules or reporting
requirements that have been overtaken
by technological developments? Can
new technologies be leveraged to
modify, streamline, or do away with
existing regulatory or reporting
requirements?
(11) Does the methodology and data
used in analyses supporting DOE’s
regulations meet the requirements of the
Information Quality Act?
The Department notes that this RFI is
issued solely for information and
program-planning purposes. While
responses to this RFI do not bind DOE
to any further actions related to the
response, all submissions will be made
publicly available on
www.regulations.gov.
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 19,
2017.
Daniel R. Simmons,
Chair, Department of Energy Regulatory
Reform Task Force.
[FR Doc. 2017–10866 Filed 5–26–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1217
[Document Number AMS–SC–16–0066]
Softwood Lumber Research,
Promotion, Consumer Education and
Industry Information Order; De Minimis
Quantity Exemption Threshold
Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
This action proposes to
establish a de minimis quantity
exemption threshold under the
Softwood Lumber Research, Promotion,
Consumer Education and Industry
Information Order (Order). The Order is
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\30MYP1.SGM
30MYP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 30, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24582-24583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10866]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
2 CFR Chapter IX
5 CFR Chapter XXIII
10 CFR Chapters II, III and X
41 CFR Chapter 109
48 CFR Chapter 9
Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: As part of its implementation of Executive Order 13771,
``Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,'' issued by the
President on January 30, 2017, the Department of Energy (DOE) is
seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist DOE
in identifying existing regulations, paperwork requirements and other
regulatory obligations that can be modified or repealed, consistent
with law, to achieve meaningful burden reduction while continuing to
achieve the Department's statutory obligations.
DATES: Written comments and information are requested on or before July
14, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments,
identified by ``Regulatory Burden Reduction RFI,'' by any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: Regulatory.Review@hq.doe.gov. Include ``Regulatory Burden
RFI'' in the subject line of the message.
Mail: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel,
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Room 6A245, Washington, DC 20585.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Cohen, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586-5000. Email:
Regulatory.Review@hq.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 30, 2017, the President issued
Executive Order 13771, ``Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory
Costs.'' That Order stated the policy of the executive branch is to be
prudent and financially responsible in the expenditure of funds, from
both public and private sources. The Order stated it is essential to
manage the costs associated with the governmental imposition of private
expenditures required to comply with Federal regulations. Toward that
end, for fiscal year 2017, E.O. 13771 requires:
(1) ``Unless prohibited by law, whenever an executive department or
agency . . . publicly proposes for notice and comment or otherwise
promulgates a new regulation, it shall identify at least two existing
regulations to be repealed.'' Sec. 2(a).
(2) ``For fiscal year 2017, . . . the heads of all agencies are
directed that the total incremental cost of all new regulations,
including repealed regulations, to be finalized this year shall be no
greater than zero, unless otherwise required by law or consistent with
advice provided in writing by the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget . . . .'' Sec. 2(b).
(3) ``In furtherance of the requirement of subsection (a) of this
section, any new incremental costs associated with new regulations
shall, to the extent permitted by law, be offset by the elimination of
existing costs associated with at least two prior regulations.'' Sec.
2(c).
Further, the Executive Order requires that for fiscal year 2018,
and for each fiscal year thereafter, the head of each agency shall
identify, for each regulation that increases incremental cost,
offsetting regulations, and provide the agency's best approximation of
the total costs or savings associated with each new regulation or
repealed regulation. During the Presidential budget process beginning
in fiscal year 2018 and for each year thereafter, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget (Director) will identify to each agency
a total amount of incremental costs that will be allowed for such
agency in issuing new regulations and repealing regulations for the
next fiscal year. No regulations exceeding the agency's total
incremental cost allowance will be permitted in that fiscal year,
unless required by law or approved in writing by the Director. The
total incremental cost allowance may allow an increase or require a
reduction in total regulatory cost.
Additionally, on February 24, 2017, the President issued Executive
Order 13777, ``Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.'' The Order
required the head of each agency designate an agency official as its
Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO). Each RRO shall oversee the
implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and policies to ensure
that agencies effectively carry out regulatory reforms, consistent with
applicable law. Further, E.O. 13777 requires the establishment of a
regulatory task force at each agency. The regulatory task force will
make recommendations to the agency head regarding the repeal,
replacement, or modification of existing regulations, consistent with
applicable law. At a minimum, each regulatory reform task force shall
attempt to identify regulations that:
(i) Eliminate jobs, or inhibit job creation;
(ii) Are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;
(iii) Impose costs that exceed benefits;
(iv) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with
regulatory reform initiatives and policies;
(v) Are inconsistent with the requirements of Information Quality
Act, or the guidance issued pursuant to that Act, in particular those
regulations that rely in whole or in part on data, information, or
methods that are not publicly available or that are insufficiently
transparent to meet the standard for reproducibility; or
(vi) Derive from or implement Executive Orders or other
Presidential directives that have been subsequently rescinded or
substantially modified.
Finally, on March 28, 2017, the President signed Executive Order
13783, entitled ``Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.
Among other things, E.O. 13783 requires the heads of agencies to 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 does not include agency
actions that are mandated by law, necessary for the public interest,
and consistent with the policy set forth elsewhere in that order.
Executive Order 13783 defined burden for purposes of the review of
existing regulations to mean to unnecessarily obstruct, delay, curtail,
or otherwise impose significant costs on the siting, permitting,
production, utilization, transmission, or delivery of energy resources.
To implement these Executive Orders, the Department is taking two
immediate steps. First, as described further below,
[[Page 24583]]
the Department is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) seeking
public comment on how best to achieve meaningful burden reduction while
continuing to achieve the Department's regulatory objectives. Second,
the Department has created an email in-box at
Regulatory.Review@hq.doe.gov, which interested parties can use to
identify to DOE--on a continuing basis--existing regulations, paperwork
requirements and other regulatory obligations that can be modified or
repealed, consistent with law. Together, these steps will help the
Department ensure it acts in a prudent and financially responsible
manner in the expenditure of funds, from both public and private
sources, and manages appropriately the costs associated with private
expenditures required for compliance with DOE regulations.
Request for Information
Pursuant to the Executive Orders, the Department is, through this
request for information, seeking input and other assistance, as
permitted by law, from entities significantly affected by regulations
of the Department of Energy, including State, local, and tribal
governments, small businesses, consumers, non-governmental
organizations, and manufacturers and their trade associations. The
Department's goal is to create a systematic method for identifying
those existing DOE rules that are obsolete, unnecessary, unjustified,
or simply no longer make sense.
Consistent with the Department's commitment to public participation
in the rulemaking process, the Department is beginning this process by
soliciting views from the public on how best to conduct its analysis of
existing DOE rules. It is also seeking views from the public on
specific rules or Department imposed obligations that should be altered
or eliminated. While the Department promulgates rules in accordance
with the law and to the best of its analytic capability, it is
difficult to be certain of the consequences of a rule, including its
costs and benefits, until it has been tested. Because knowledge about
the full effects of a rule is widely dispersed in society, members of
the public are likely to have useful information and perspectives on
the benefits and burdens of existing requirements and how regulatory
obligations may be updated, streamlined, revised, or repealed to better
achieve regulatory objectives, while minimizing regulatory burdens,
consistent with applicable law. Interested parties may also be well-
positioned to identify those rules that are most in need of reform,
and, thus, assist the Department in prioritizing and properly tailoring
its review process. In short, engaging the public in an open,
transparent process is a crucial first step in DOE's review of its
existing regulations.
List of Questions for Commenters
To allow DOE to more effectively evaluate suggestions, the
Department is requesting comments include:
Supporting data or other information such as cost
information
Specific suggestions regarding repeal, replacement, or
modification.
The following list of questions represents a preliminary attempt by
DOE to identify rules/obligations on which it should immediately focus.
This non-exhaustive list is meant to assist in the formulation of
comments and is not intended to restrict the issues that may be
addressed. In addressing these questions or others, DOE requests that
commenters identify with specificity the regulation or reporting
requirement at issue, providing legal citation where available. The
Department also requests that the submitter provide, in as much detail
as possible, an explanation why a regulation or reporting requirement
should be modified, streamlined, or repealed, as well as specific
suggestions of ways the Department can do so while achieving its
regulatory objectives.
(1) How can DOE best promote meaningful regulatory cost reduction
while achieving its regulatory objectives, and how can it best identify
those rules that might be modified, streamlined, or repealed?
(2) What factors should DOE consider in selecting and prioritizing
rules and reporting requirements for reform?
(3) How can DOE best obtain and consider accurate, objective
information and data about the costs, burdens, and benefits of existing
regulations? Are there existing sources of data DOE can use to evaluate
the post-promulgation effects of regulations over time? We invite
interested parties to provide data that may be in their possession that
documents the costs, burdens, and benefits of existing requirements.
(4) Are there regulations that simply make no sense or have become
unnecessary, ineffective, or ill-advised and if so what are they? Are
there rules that can simply be repealed without impairing DOE's
statutory obligations and, if so, what are they?
(5) Are there rules or reporting requirements that have become
outdated and, if so, how can they be modernized to better accomplish
their objective?
(6) Are there rules that are still necessary, but have not operated
as well as expected such that a modified, or slightly different
approach at lower cost is justified?
(7) Are there rules of the Department that unnecessarily obstruct,
delay, curtail, or otherwise impose significant costs on the siting,
permitting, production, utilization, transmission, or delivery of
energy resources?
(8) Does DOE currently collect information that it does not need or
use effectively?
(9) Are there regulations, reporting requirements, or regulatory
processes that are unnecessarily complicated or could be streamlined to
achieve statutory obligations in more efficient ways?
(10) Are there rules or reporting requirements that have been
overtaken by technological developments? Can new technologies be
leveraged to modify, streamline, or do away with existing regulatory or
reporting requirements?
(11) Does the methodology and data used in analyses supporting
DOE's regulations meet the requirements of the Information Quality Act?
The Department notes that this RFI is issued solely for information
and program-planning purposes. While responses to this RFI do not bind
DOE to any further actions related to the response, all submissions
will be made publicly available on www.regulations.gov.
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 19, 2017.
Daniel R. Simmons,
Chair, Department of Energy Regulatory Reform Task Force.
[FR Doc. 2017-10866 Filed 5-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P