ILMA Compoundings – October 2019 - 7

LETTER FROM THE CEO

Building an EPA of the 21st Century

f all the controversies surrounding the Trump administration, the deregulation initiative has
stirred less disagreement than other activities. Perhaps that's because it has resulted in substantial savings for the taxpayer. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew
Wheeler recently shared that his agency has finalized 42 deregulations, a savings of $3.7 billion. Wheeler
says the agency has another 47 deregulations to go. "Deregulation means modernizing our regulations
and working with industry to do it.," he explained.
But in addition to the effort to streamline and eliminate duplicative, outdated and occasionally nonsensical
regulations, the EPA is undertaking an even more ambitious initiative: modernizing the agency. Wheeler
intends to build the EPA of the 21st century.
What does this mean?
A LEANER ORGANIZATION
The agency has realigned its regional offices to mirror the EPA headquarters. This
involves aligning department names and agency staff titles with those in headquarters. For the regulated community, this will make it easier for people to know who
they need to contact when they have questions or when issues arise.
SPEEDIER PERMITTING
Another goal is to speed up the permit process. President Donald Trump's mandate
for all agencies is two years. Wheeler's goal for the EPA is six months, though
currently, he estimates the permit process takes close to two years. In the past, no
one measured the amount of time it took to permit projects. The EPA is now tracking the process and has reduced the backlog of permit applications on Wheeler's
watch. "We owe it to the regulated community to make a decision within a specific
amount of time," he said.
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Perhaps most relevant for ILMA members, the EPA would require a cost-benefit
analysis (CBA) of all regulations. What are the costs of a regulatory action, and
what are the benefits? Wheeler says CBA is "about becoming more transparent,
more accountable and more responsive." Under current law, a CBA is only
conducted if required by executive order or by statute. The EPA will go statute by
statute and require CBA for every regulation.
MODERNIZING REGULATIONS
The EPA is also examining regulations and determining what sections may be outdated. One regulation
currently under examination is the rule on heavy-duty diesel engines.
The timing of this initiative couldn't be more prescient. The EPA will be 50 years old in 2020. Over
the years, the agency has done some great things, and today our air is 74% cleaner than when the
agency was founded. There's still room for improvement, as Wheeler laid out. It's a refreshing change
when the agency views industry as partners rather than adversaries. We really all have the same goal:
a cleaner environment brought about in a sensible way.

Holly Alfano
Chief Executive Officer

ILMA Compoundings – October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings – October 2019