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James Goodwin | February 17, 2010

EPA’s Cooperative Approach on Coal Ash Nets ‘Action Plans’ From Industry — But Here’s What EPA Could Really be Doing With Existing Authority

In 2008 alone, coal-fired power plants produced some 136 million tons of coal ash waste – dangerous stuff, because it contains arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and a host of other toxins that are a significant threat to basic human health. Ironically, coal ash has been growing as a problem in recent years in part because better […]

Rena Steinzor | February 12, 2010

Eye on OIRA: The 121st Day and Coal Ash Still Going to Pits in the Ground

Tomorrow will be the 120th day since the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) began its review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) star-crossed proposal to declare coal ash that is not safely recycled to be a hazardous waste. The number is significant because it marks the end of OIRA’s allotted review […]

Rena Steinzor | February 10, 2010

Eye on OIRA: Coal Ash Visits by Regulation Foes Up to 28; OIRA’s Open Door Policy Creates Double Standard for Special Interests, Flouting Obama Ethics Initiatives

According to recent statements from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) press office, Administrator Cass Sunstein and staff are adamantly committed to granting an audience with OIRA senior staff to anyone who asks to see them about anything, and most especially pending health and safety rules. So not only are special interests granted […]

Ben Somberg | February 10, 2010

Eye on OIRA: Coal Ash Visits by Regulation Foes Up to 28; OIRA’s Open Door Policy Creates Double Standard for Special Interests, Flouting Obama Ethics Initiatives

According to recent statements from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) press office, Administrator Cass Sunstein and staff are adamantly committed to granting an audience with OIRA senior staff to anyone who asks to see them about anything, and most especially pending health and safety rules. So not only are special interests granted […]

Ben Somberg | February 9, 2010

New CPR Report Examines Regulatory Dysfunction at OSHA

CPR today releases the white paper Workers at Risk: Regulatory Dysfunction at OSHA (press release). The report examines an Occupational Safety and Health Administration where Today its enforcement staff is stretched thin and the rulemaking staff struggle to produce health and safety standards that can withstand industry legal challenges. In short, OSHA is a picture […]

Douglas Kysar | February 5, 2010

The State of the Cost-Benefit State: What We Can Expect from Sunstein, ‘Nudge,’ and OMB on Regulatory Impact Analysis

This week the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its annual report to Congress on the costs and benefits of federal regulatory programs. For the policy wonks among us, the most intriguing part was a section on recommendations for reform of the OMB regulatory review process. Here we find hints of what […]

James Goodwin | January 29, 2010

OIRA’s First Year Under Obama: Deregulatory Stronghold Still Intact

This post is the seventh and final in a series on the new CPR report Obama’s Regulators: A First-Year Report Card. The White House can influence the performance of protector agencies by the way it structures the regulatory landscape in which these agencies operate. Specifically, it can adjust the contours of this landscape in ways […]

Rena Steinzor | January 29, 2010

EPA’s New NO2 Rule: A Tale of OMB Interference

The EPA issued a new rule recently on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) — but not before it was weakened by OMB. The consequences for the public health are real. The possibility of OMB interference in the rule was first raised by Matt Madia of OMB Watch. He noted that EPA’s draft final rule — sent to […]

James Goodwin | January 25, 2010

NHTSA’s First Year Under Obama: Stuck in Neutral

This post is the fifth in a series on the new CPR report Obama’s Regulators: A First-Year Report Card. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) progress on its statutory mission of reducing traffic fatalities came to a screeching halt in recent years, making it imperative that the Obama Administration work quickly to get this […]