UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
OFFICIAL. BUSINESS
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222 En vironmental News
Rice (202) 755-0344
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1978
EPA LISTS NEW REGULATIONS, RESPONDS TO PRESIDENTIAL REFORMS
The Environmental Protection Agency, acting in conjunction
with today's Presidential Order on improving government regula-
tions, called for public participation in developing over 13 0
new regulations and established a national toll-free phone
number for citizen inquiries about the status of these regulations.
"The President's Executive Order will help turn the promise
of an open and responsive regulatory process into a reality,"
said EPA Administrator Douglas M. Costle. "We have worked
hard at improving the way EPA writes its regulations and we
welcome the President's action. We want to make effective,
fair and understandable regulations a normal part of the way
government conducts its business. We are especially proud
that the Presidential Order mirrors many of the reforms in
regulation writing that were pioneered by EPA."
The semi-annual agenda of upcoming regulatory actions
lists all major anticipated regulations in air and
water pollution control, drinking water protection, noise
abatement, radiation protection, solid waste management, and
control of toxic substances and pesticides. It includes a
description of each action, the expected publication date of
the proposed regulation, and the name and telephone number of
the agency contact.
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The agenda enables citizens to contact the EPA staff
members directly involved in regulation development well in
advance of formal proposal while a number of alternative
approaches are being explored.
The new toll-free phone number, 800-424-9064/ will be in
operation from May 1 through May 31, between the hours of
9 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. This temporary service will provide
updated status information on regulations that EPA is develop-
ing. It will be extended if the public finds it useful.
Publication of the regulatory agenda is only one of forty
regulatory reform initiatives announced by Costle last December.
In keeping with the President's emphasis on improving the regu-
latory process, many of these reforms are aimed at improving
the Agency's internal management. These efforts increase the
openness of Agency procedures and streamline the regulatory
process to remove undue delay and excessive burdens imposed
on the public.
Significant regulatory reforms of this type already under
way include:
-	Reducing paperwork burdens imposed by EPA regulations.
A State-Federal task force has already reduced internal report-
ing requirements for EPA regional offices by 36 percent/ and
similar reductions for State and local officials are currently
under review.
-	Ensuring that EPA regulations are written in "Plain
English."
-	Formulating a "sunset" provision for new reporting
requirements so they will automatically expire on a certain
date unless continuance can be justified.
-	Improving public involvement in the regulatory process
through an expanded public comment period of 60 days and
selective funding for public participation in rulemaking.
-	Coordinating actions on public health issues with other
Federal agencies and State and local officials, primarily
through membership in the Interagency Regulatory Liaison Group.
Several of EPA's reforms—for example, the regulatory
agenda, 60-day comment periods, routine use of advance notices
of proposed rulemaking, and the requirement that a plan for
public participation is prepared before substantive work on a
regulation begins—have been incorporated into the new Executive
Order. The President's Office of Management and Budget has
cited EPA's procedures for developing regulations as a model
for many of the new requirements.
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"In the new Executive Order's spirit of continuing self-
evaluation, we intend to actively pursue further improvements
in the way we develop regulations, and the Order represents
an excellent start. Our own goal is not only to ensure that
all EPA regulations are prepared efficiently in an open atmos-
phere and avoid unfairness and unnecessary burdens on the
public—we expect our procedures to enable us to learn
systematically from our experience so that we can do even
better in the future," Costle said.
The regulations agenda will be published in the Federal
Register and mailed to over 13 thousand individuals and
organizations who have expressed an interest in environmental
issues.
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