[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12786-12788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04516]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Office of Policy and Strategic Planning

[Docket Number: 170302221-7221-01]


Impact of Federal Regulations on Domestic Manufacturing

AGENCY: Office of Policy and Strategic Planning, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce is seeking information on the 
impact of Federal permitting requirements on the construction and 
expansion of domestic manufacturing facilities and on regulations that 
adversely impact domestic manufacturers. As directed by President 
Trump's Memorandum of January 24, 2017, ``Streamlining Permitting and 
Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic Manufacturing,'' the Secretary 
of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretaries of Agriculture and 
Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental

[[Page 12787]]

Protection Agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and other 
appropriate agency heads, is conducting outreach to stakeholders 
concerning the impact of Federal regulations on domestic manufacturing, 
and is soliciting comments from the public concerning Federal actions 
to streamline permitting for the construction and expansion of domestic 
manufacturing facilities and to reduce regulatory burdens for domestic 
manufacturers. Responses to this RFI--which will be posted at http://www.regulations.gov--will inform the report of the Secretary of 
Commerce to the President, required under the Presidential Memorandum, 
setting forth a plan to streamline Federal permitting processes for 
domestic manufacturing and to reduce regulatory burdens affecting 
domestic manufacturers.

DATES: Comments must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern time on March 31, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: The preferred method for submission of comments is via 
http://www.regulations.gov (at the home page, enter DOC-2017-0001 in 
the ``Search'' box, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the 
required fields, and enter or attach your comments). Alternatively, 
comments may be sent: Via mail carrier to The Office of Policy and 
Strategic Planning, Department of Commerce, H.C. Hoover Building Rm. 
5863, 1401 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC. 20230. All 
submissions, including attachments and other supporting materials, will 
become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. 
Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or Social 
Security numbers, or names of other individuals, should not be 
included. Submissions will not be edited to remove any identifying or 
contact information. Do not submit confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive or protected information. Attachments to 
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, or 
Adobe PDF formats only. Please do not submit additional materials. 
Comments containing references, studies, research, and other empirical 
data that are not widely published should include electronic copies of 
the referenced materials. All comments received in response to this RFI 
will be made available publicly at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice, 
contact: Carter Halfman, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Policy 
and Strategic Planning, at 202-482-7466. Please direct media inquiries 
to the Department of Commerce Office of Public Affairs at 202-482-4883, 
or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: President Trump's Memorandum of January 24, 
2017, ``Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for 
Domestic Manufacturing'' (82 FR 8667) directs the Secretary of Commerce 
to conduct outreach to stakeholders concerning the impact of Federal 
regulations on domestic manufacturing. The Department of Commerce is 
soliciting comments from the public concerning Federal actions to 
streamline permitting and reduce regulatory burdens for domestic 
manufacturers. For the purposes of this effort, ``domestic 
manufacturers'' refers to private businesses located in the United 
States (and its territories) engaged in the mechanical, physical, or 
chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into 
new products, consistent with the 2017 North American Industry 
Classification System (NAICS) definition of Sector 31-33: 
Manufacturing.
    Responses to this RFI will inform the Secretary's report to the 
President which will set forth guidelines for Federal permitting and 
regulatory agencies to streamline Federal permitting processes for 
domestic manufacturing and reduce regulatory burdens affecting domestic 
manufacturers. The plan will be coordinated with related activities 
under existing laws (e.g., FAST-41 \1\) and executive actions (e.g., 
Executive Order 13771 on ``Reducing Regulation and Controlling 
Regulatory Costs,'' (82 FR 9339, Jan. 30, 2017)).
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 4370m et seq.
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Request for Information

    Given the nature and importance of the Presidential Memorandum, the 
Secretary requests information from stakeholders about how the 
construction, operation, and expansion of domestic manufacturing 
facilities are affected by (1) the process of acquiring Federal permits 
required for the construction, expansion, or operation of such 
facilities and (2) the burdens of complying with Federal regulations 
for manufacturing facility construction, expansion, or operation.
    Through this RFI, the Department is seeking information from 
stakeholders (such as manufacturers, trade associations, and other 
interested parties) about the Federal permitting process and regulatory 
burdens affecting domestic manufacturing. The Secretary seeks 
information that will assist the Department in developing a proposal to 
reduce regulatory burdens and streamline or otherwise improve the 
permitting process by understanding the cumulative burden of federal 
regulations and permits and by improving efficiency, transparency, and 
certainty in the process.
    You may respond to any, all or none of the following questions/
requests for information, and may address related topics. Please 
identify the questions or topic areas each of your comments addresses. 
These questions are directed towards domestic manufacturers and their 
stakeholders. Responses may include estimates. Please indicate where 
the response is an estimate. Respondents may organize their submissions 
in response to this RFI in any manner, and all responses that comply 
with the requirements listed in the DATES and ADDRESSES sections of 
this notice will be considered.

General Information:

    a. NAICS code(s)
    b. What do you manufacture?
    c. Where are your facilities located?
    d. How many employees?
    e. Approximate sales revenue?

Manufacturing Permitting Process

    1. How many permits from a Federal agency are required to build, 
expand or operate your manufacturing facilities? Which Federal agencies 
require permits and how long does it take to obtain them?
    2. Do any of the Federal permits overlap with (or duplicate) other 
federal permits or those required by State or local agencies? If the 
answer is yes, how many permits? From which Federal agencies?
    3. Briefly describe the most onerous part of your permitting 
process.
    4. If you could make one change to the Federal permitting process 
applicable to your manufacturing business or facilities, what would it 
be? How could the permitting process be modified to better suit your 
needs?
    5. Are there Federal, State, or local agencies that you have worked 
with on permitting whose practices should be widely implemented? What 
is it you like about those practices?

Regulatory Burden/Compliance:

    1. Please list the top four regulations that you believe are most 
burdensome for your manufacturing business. Please identify the agency 
that issues each one. Specific citation of codes from the Code of 
Federal Regulations would be appreciated.
    2. How could regulatory compliance be simplified within your 
industry or sector?

[[Page 12788]]

    3. Please provide any other specific recommendations, not addressed 
by the questions above, that you believe would help reduce unnecessary 
Federal agency regulation of your business.

    Dated: March 2, 2017.
Earl Comstock,
Director of Policy and Strategic Planning.
[FR Doc. 2017-04516 Filed 3-3-17; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-17-P