[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 23 (Thursday, February 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6123-6124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2368]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Reducing Regulatory Burden

AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: As part of its implementation of Executive Order 13563, 
``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' issued by the President 
on January 18, 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking comments 
and information from interested parties to assist DOE in reviewing its 
existing regulations to determine whether any such regulations should 
be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed. The purpose of DOE's 
review is to make the agency's regulatory program more effective and 
less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives.

DATES: Written comments and information are requested on or before 
March 21, 2011. Reply comments are requested on or before April 4, 
2011.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments, 
identified by ``Regulatory Burden RFI,'' by any of the following 
methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    E-mail: [email protected]. 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.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, or 
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Cohen, Assistant General 
Counsel for Legislation, Regulation, and Energy Efficiency, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 18, 2011, the President issued 
Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' 
to ensure that Federal regulations seek more affordable, less intrusive 
means to achieve policy goals, and that agencies give careful 
consideration to the benefits and costs of those regulations. To that 
end, the Executive Order requires, among other things, that:
     Agencies propose or adopt a regulation only upon a 
reasoned determination that its benefits justify its costs; and that 
agencies tailor regulations to impose the least burden on society, 
consistent with obtaining the regulatory objectives, taking into 
account, among other things, and to the extent practicable, the costs 
of cumulative regulations; and that agencies select, in choosing among 
alternative regulatory approaches, those approaches that maximize net 
benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health 
and safety, and other advantages; distributive impacts; and equity).
     The regulatory process encourages public participation and 
an open exchange of views, with an opportunity for the public to 
comment.
     Agencies coordinate, simplify, and harmonize regulations 
to reduce costs and promote certainty for businesses and the public.
     Agencies consider low-cost approaches that reduce burdens 
and maintain flexibility.
     Regulations be guided by objective scientific evidence.

Additionally, the Executive Order directs agencies to consider how best 
to promote retrospective analyses of existing rules. Specifically, 
Agencies must develop a preliminary plan under which the agency will 
periodically review existing regulations to determine which should be 
maintained, modified, strengthened, or repealed to increase the 
effectiveness and decrease the burdens of the agency's regulatory 
program.
    To implement the Executive Order, the Department is taking two 
immediate steps to launch its retrospective review of existing 
regulatory and reporting requirements. First, as described further 
below, the Department issues this Request for Information (RFI) seeking 
public comment on how best to review

[[Page 6124]]

its existing regulations and to identify whether any of its existing 
regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed. 
Second, the Department has created a link on the Web page of DOE's 
Office of the General Counsel to an e-mail in-box at 
[email protected], which interested parties can use to 
identify to DOE--on a continuing basis--regulations that may be in need 
of review in the future. It may also be used to provide thoughts in 
this proceeding outside of the traditional initial comment and reply 
comment filings (all such comments will be made public). Together, 
these steps will help the Department ensure that its regulations remain 
necessary, properly tailored, up-to-date requirements that effectively 
achieve regulatory objectives without imposing unwarranted costs.

Request for Information

    Pursuant to the Executive Order, the Department is developing a 
preliminary plan for the periodic review of its existing regulations 
and reporting obligations. The Department's goal is to create a 
systematic method for identifying those significant rules that are 
obsolete, unnecessary, unjustified, or simply no longer make sense. 
While this review will focus on the elimination of rules that are no 
longer warranted, DOE will also consider strengthening, complementing, 
or modernizing rules where necessary or appropriate--including, as 
relevant, undertaking new rulemakings.
    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 and how best to identify those rules that might be 
modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed. 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. Interested parties may also be well-positioned to 
identify those rules that are most in need of review and, thus, assist 
the Department in prioritizing and properly tailoring its retrospective 
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

    The following list of questions represents a preliminary attempt to 
identify issues raised by the Department's efforts to develop a 
preliminary plan for the retrospective analysis of its regulations and 
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, expanded, or repealed, as well as 
specific suggestions of ways the Department can better achieve its 
regulatory objectives.
    (1) How can the Department best promote meaningful periodic reviews 
of its existing rules and how can it best identify those rules that 
might be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed?
    (2) What factors should the agency consider in selecting and 
prioritizing rules and reporting requirements for review?
    (3) 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 the 
Department's regulatory programs and, if so, what are they?
    (4) Are there rules or reporting requirements that have become 
outdated and, if so, how can they be modernized to accomplish their 
regulatory objectives better?
    (5) Are there rules that are still necessary, but have not operated 
as well as expected such that a modified, stronger, or slightly 
different approach is justified?
    (6) Does the Department currently collect information that it does 
not need or use effectively to achieve regulatory objectives?
    (7) Are there regulations, reporting requirements, or regulatory 
processes that are unnecessarily complicated or could be streamlined to 
achieve regulatory objectives in more efficient ways?
    (8) 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?
    (9) Are there any of the Department's regulations that fail to make 
a reasoned determination that its benefits justify its costs; or that 
are not tailored to impose the least burden on society, consistent with 
obtaining the regulatory objectives, taking into account, among other 
things, and to the extent practicable, the costs of cumulative 
regulations; or that fail to select, in choosing among alternative 
regulatory approaches, those approaches that maximize net benefits 
(including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, 
and other advantages; distributive impacts; and equity)?
    (10) How can the Department best obtain and consider accurate, 
objective information and data about the costs, burdens, and benefits 
of existing regulations? Are there existing sources of data the 
Department 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.
    (11) Are there regulations that are working well that can be 
expanded or used as a model to fill gaps in other DOE regulatory 
programs?
    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 publically available on http://www.regulations.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 28, 2011.
Scott Blake Harris,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2011-2368 Filed 2-2-11; 8:45 am]
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