Opponents of safeguards are fond of decrying what they claim is a regulatory system out of control, churning out rules at a break-neck pace. It’s not difficult to refute this claim when the president releases the twice-annual regulatory agenda, which spells out all the active rulemakings that are currently pending and the expected timetables for making progress on those rules that agencies expect to make over the next 12 months. Sure enough, time and time again the semiannual regulatory agenda demonstrate that most facets of the regulatory system are moving along at a snail’s pace, the victims of politics, under-funded agencies, and a rulemaking process that favors industry.
By comparing the expected timetables in this regulatory agenda against those from the most recent one in Spring 2015, one can see how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other agencies are falling further and further behind on completing crucial new safeguards. In some cases, the rules have been the subject of new delays over the past several regulatory agendas.
A review of the regulatory agendas for several agencies (the EPA; the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE/EE); the FDA; and the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (DOT/FMCSA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT/NHTSA), Federal Railroad Administration (DOT/FRA), and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (DOT/PHMSA)) uncovered the latest delays in rulemakings, ranging from two months to longer than a year:
|
Agency |
Rule |
Spring 2015 |
Fall 2015 |
|
EPA |
Modernization of the Accidental Release Prevention Regulations Under Clean Air Act (2050-AG82) |
Proposal 9/2015 |
Proposal 11/2015
2+ month delay |
|
EPA |
Standards of Performance for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (2060-AM08) |
Final rule 05/2015 |
Final rule 07/2016
14 month delay |
|
EPA |
Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead (2060-AQ44) |
Final rule 04/2016 |
Final rule 06/2016
2 month delay |
|
EPA |
Petroleum Refinery Sector Risk and Technology Review and New Source Performance Standards (2060-AQ75) |
Final rule 07/2015 |
Final rule 11/2015
4+ month delay |
|
EPA |
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs); Reassessment of Use Authorizations (2070-AJ38) |
Proposal 03/2016 |
Proposal 06/2016
3 month delay |
|
EPA |
Trichloroethylene (TCE); Rulemaking Under TSCA Section 6(a) (2070-AK03) |
Proposal 01/2016 |
Proposal 03/2016
2 month delay |
|
EPA |
Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products (2070-AJ44) |
Final rule 11/2015 |
Final rule 05/2016
6 month delay
*Statutory deadline for final rule: 01/2013 |
|
EPA |
(2070-AJ54) |
Final rule 06/2016 |
Final Rule 10/2016
4 month delay |
|
DOE/EE |
Energy Efficiency Standards for Manufactured Housing (1904-AC11) |
Proposal 05/2015 |
Proposal 01/2016
8 month delay
*Statutory deadline for final rule: 12/2011 |
|
DOE/EE |
Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Dishwashers (1904-AD24) |
Final rule 10/2015 |
Final rule 08/2016
10 month delay |
|
DOE/EE |
(1904-AB96) |
Final rule 12/2015 |
Final rule 03/2016
3 month delay
*Statutory deadline for final rule: 12/2008 |
|
DOE/EE |
Energy Conservation Standards for Fans and Blowers (1904-AC55) |
Final rule 02/2016 |
Final rule 08/2016
6 month delay |
|
FDA |
(0910-AG59) |
Proposal 02/2016 |
Proposal 07/2016
5 month delay
*Statutory deadline for final rule: 04/2013 |
|
FDA |
Establishment Registration and Product Listing for Tobacco Products (0910-AG89) |
Proposal 03/2016 |
Proposal 09/2016
6 month delay |
|
FDA |
Requirements for Tobacco Product Manufacturing Practice (0910-AH22) |
Proposal 02/2016 |
Proposal 04/2016
2 month delay |
|
FDA |
(0910-AG18) |
Final rule 03/2016 |
Final rule 10/2016
7 month delay |
|
FDA |
(0910-AG38) |
Final rule 06/2015 |
Final rule 11/2015
5+ month delay |
|
DOT/FMCSA |
(2126-AB63) |
Proposal 06/2015 |
Proposal 11/2015
5+ month delay |
|
DOT/FMCSA |
Electronic Logging Devices and Hours of Service Supporting Documents (MAP-21) (RRR) (2126-AB20) |
Final rule 09/2015 |
Final rule 11/2015
2+ month delay
*Statutory deadline for final rule: 10/2013 |
|
DOT/NHTSA |
Mandatory Event Data Recorder Requirements (2127-AK86) |
Final rule 12/2015 |
Final rule 07/2016
7 month delay |
|
DOT/FRA |
Passenger Equipment Safety Standards Amendments (2130-AC46) |
Proposal 09/2015 |
Proposal 02/2016
5 month delay |
|
DOT/FRA |
Railroad System Safety Program (2130-AC31) |
Final rule 08/2015 |
Final rule 01/2016
5 month delay
*Statutory deadline for final rule: 10/2012 |
|
DOT/PHMSA |
Pipeline Safety: Gas Transmission (2137-AE72) |
Proposal 08/2015 |
Proposal 12/2015
4 month delay |
|
DOT/PHMSA |
(2137-AF06) |
Proposal 09/2015 |
Proposal 10/2016
13 month delay |
Each of these new delays should be of great concern, since they translate into real costs to the public interest. The costs might be measured in premature deaths, lifelong debilitating injury or illness, and irreversible environmental degradation. By definition, all of the costs are preventable. Congress should also be paying close attention to these delays, particularly for those six rules above that are now several years behind their statutory deadlines. In those cases, these delays represent a failure to abide by Congress’s clear command that those safeguards be put into place by the date specified.
