Are your clients subject to burdensome environmental rules?  If so, the time to act is now.  Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Scott Pruitt has directed EPA to solicit recommendations for the rollback of onerous regulations including air, water, chemicals, and waste programs.  But the window for submitting proposals to EPA is this month! 

On March 24, 2017, Administrator Pruitt established a Regulatory Reform Task Force charged with recommending existing regulations that can be repealed, replaced, or modified to make them less burdensome.  Administrator Pruitt established the Task Force to implement President Trump’s government-wide February Executive Order on Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda ^[1] and the January presidential order ^[2] which directs agencies to identify two regulations for elimination whenever it seeks to promulgate one new rule.

To inform which rules should be repealed, replaced or modified, Administrator Pruitt is giving stakeholders an opportunity to weigh in with the agency. Specifically, Administrator Pruitt has directed various EPA headquarters and regional offices including air, water, chemicals, and waste programs to consult with stakeholders and hold dedicated public meetings to listen and learn directly from those impacted before making recommendations. 

Administrator Pruitt set an ambitious deadline of May 15, 2017, for the program and regional offices to give the Task Force their recommendations on which specific regulations should be considered for repeal, replacement, or modification.

This provides a rare opportunity to influence EPA’s future regulatory agenda.  But the clock is ticking.  Any stakeholder subject to burdensome air, water, hazardous waste, or other environmental regulation should take advantage of this opportunity and consider weighing in with EPA. 

_{[1] Presidential Executive Order on Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/24/presidential-executive-order-enforcing-regulatory-reform-agenda.}

_{[2] Presidential Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/30/presidential-executive-order-reducing-regulation-and-controlling.}