Improving Our Regulations Through Periodic Retrospective Review
         Questions to Help You Formulate Your Comments
     Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be
     useful as a reference or resource.
  Editor's Note: From 02/18/2011 to 04/04/2011, EPA accepted public comment on
  how to design our plan for periodic retrospective reviews of existing regulations. The
  comment period is now closed. This document is provided for historical reference only.
EPA is beginning a new periodic retrospective review of our existing significant regulations,
to determine whether any such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or
repealed, so as to make the Agency's regulatory program more effective or less
burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives.

We want you to help us design the plan we will use to periodically review our regulations.
We're accepting your comments from now through 04/04/2011. (This is an extension of the
original comment period end date of 03/20.) We won't be able to respond to every
individual comment, but we value your input and will give your ideas careful consideration.

To share your ideas, follow these steps:
   1. Review the categories below, and select the topic that best fits how you wish to
      comment.
   2. As you do,  keep these key considerations in mind:
          •  We will uphold our mission to protect human health and the environment.
          •  Our plan will be tailored to reflect our resources, rulemaking history, and
            volume.
          •  A number of laws already direct us to regularly review certain regulations. We
            seek your input on developing a plan that is integrated with those existing
            requirements.

Please be as specific as possible when submitting your comments. We have provided the
following questions and categories to help you formulate your ideas, but do not intend to
restrict the issues  that you may wish to address.
          •  How should we identify candidate regulations for periodic retrospective
            review?
          •  What criteria should we use to prioritize regulations for review?
          •  How should our review plan be integrated with our existing requirements to
            conduct  retrospective reviews?
          •  How often should we solicit input from the public?
          •  What should be the timing of any given regulatory review (e.g., should a
            regulation be in effect for a certain amount of time before it is reviewed)?
Categories bv which you mav comment

       1.  Bv issue or impact - You may wish to suggest that we focus our review based
          on the impacts of our rules.  We have provided a non-exhaustive  list of issues or
          impacts to help you formulate your ideas, but do not intend to restrict the issues
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         that you may wish to address.  The dockets pertaining to a particular issue or
         impact are listed on the following pages.
         Bv program area - You may wish to suggest that we evaluate our rules by
         subject matter, or program area:
                 i.  Air (Regulations.QOV Docket # EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0155)
                ii.  Pesticides (EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0157)
               iii.  Toxic Substances (EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0159)
               iv.  Waste (EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0160)
                V.  Water (EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0154)
         General comments (EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0156) - Use this category if you're not sure
         what other category to choose  or if your comment spans multiple categories.
         Also, you may use this category if you wish to provide other general comments
         on the factors we should consider in  conducting our review, the process we will
         use  in setting priorities, or the  identification of candidate rules for review.
Issue or Impact Areas for Consideration

Integration and Innovation
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0161)

•  Which regulations could achieve the intended environmental results using less costly
   methods, technology, or innovative techniques? How could the regulations be changed?
   What data support this?

•  Which regulations could be improved by harmonizing requirements across programs or
   agencies to better meet the regulatory objectives? What suggestions do you have for
   how the Agency can better harmonize these requirements?

•  Which regulations have requirements that are overlapping and could be streamlined or
   eliminated? What suggestions do you have for how the Agency could modify the
   regulations? Be specific about how burden can be reduced from gained efficiencies
   related to  streamlining the requirements.

•  What opportunities exist for the Agency to explore alternatives to existing regulations?
   How can these alternatives be designed to ensure that environmental objectives are still
   met?
Environmental Justice / Children's Health / Elderly
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0168)

•  Which regulations have exacerbated existing impacts or created new impacts on
   vulnerable populations such as low-income or minority populations, children, or the
   elderly? Which ones and how? What suggestions do you have for how the Agency could
   change the regulations? What data support this?

•  Which regulations have failed to  protect vulnerable  populations (minority or low-income,
   children or elderly) and why?
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   Which regulations could be streamlined, modified, tightened, or expanded to mitigate or
   prevent impacts to vulnerable populations (minority or low-income, children or elderly)?
   What suggestions do you have for changing the regulations? What data support this?
Science / Obsolete / Technology Outdated
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0162)

•  Which regulations could be modified because the underlying scientific data has changed
   since the regulation was issued, and the change supports revision to the original
   regulation? What data support this? What suggestions do you have for changing the
   regulations?

•  Which regulations have achieved their original objective and have now become
   unnecessary or obsolete?  What data support this? What suggestions do you have for
   how the Agency could modify, streamline, expand, or repeal the regulation?

•  Have circumstances surrounding any regulations changed significantly such that the
   regulation's requirements should be reconsidered? Which regulations? What data
   support this? What suggestions can you provide the Agency about how these regulations
   could be changed?

•  Which regulations or reporting requirements have become outdated? How can they be
   modernized to accomplish their regulatory objectives better? What data support this?
   What suggestions do you have for how the Agency could change the regulations?

•  Which regulations have new technologies that can be leveraged to modify, streamline,
   expand, or repeal existing requirements? What data support this? What suggestions do
   you have for how the Agency could change these regulations?
State, Local and Tribal Governments
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0163)

•  Which regulations impose burden on state, local or tribal governments?  How could
   these regulations be changed to reduce the burden without compromising environmental
   protection?

•  What opportunities are there within existing regulations to better partner with state,
   local and/or tribal governments? If so, do you have suggestions for how to better utilize
   those opportunities?
Least Burdensome / Flexible Approaches
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0165)

•  Which regulations have proven to be excessively burdensome? What data support this?
   How many facilities are affected?  What suggestions do you have for reducing the
   burden and maintaining environmental protection?

•  Which regulations impose paperwork activities (reporting, recordkeeping, or 3rd party
   notifications) that would benefit from online reporting or electronic recordkeeping?  Tell
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us whether regulated entities have flexibility in providing the required 3rd party
disclosure or notification. What data support this? What suggestions do you have for
how the Agency could change the regulation?

Which regulations could  be made more flexible within the existing legal framework?
What data support this?  What suggestions do you have for how the Agency could change
the regulations to be more flexible?
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Benefits and Costs
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0158)

•  Which regulations have high costs and low benefits? What data support this?

•  Which regulations could better maximize net benefits (including potential economic,
   environmental, public health and safety, and other advantages; distributive impacts;
   and equity)? What data support this? What quantitative and qualitative benefits and
   costs justify your suggestion (recognizing that some benefits and costs are difficult to
   quantify)?
Small Business
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0164)

•  Which regulations have large impacts on small businesses? How could these regulations
   be changed to reduce the impact while maintaining environmental protection?  Are there
   flexible approaches that might help reduce these impacts? Which of these regulations
   have high costs and low benefits? What data support this?

•  Are there any regulations where flexible approaches for small businesses have proven
   successful and could serve as a model? Where else and how could these approaches be
   utilized?
Compliance
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0166)

•  Which regulations have complicated or time consuming requirements? To what extent
   are alternative compliance tools available? Could the regulations be modified to improve
   compliance? What data support this?

•  Which regulations or regulated sectors have particularly high compliance? How could the
   factors or approaches that lead to high compliance be utilized in other regulations and
   sectors? What data is available to support this?
Economic Conditions/ Market
(EPA-HQ-OA-2011-0167)

•  Which regulations have impacted an industry sector(s) that was hard hit by high
   unemployment in the past three years? What changes to the regulation would promote
   economic growth or job creation without compromising environmental protection? What
   data support this?

•  How can regulations spur new markets, technologies, and new jobs? What suggestions
   do you have to support this idea?

•  Which regulations have impeded economic growth in an  affected industry sector? What
   information is available to support this? How could the regulations be modified to
   improve both economic growth and environmental protection? What data support this?
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•  Where can EPA examine market-based incentives as an option to regulation?  What
   program would you design that utilizes market-based incentives and ensures
   environmental objectives are still met?

•  How can a regulation be improved so as to create, expand or transform a market?

•  Which regulations could  be modified so as to invite public/private partnerships, and
   how?
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