Ever thought an existing regulation is out of date and is a waste of time because it does not make sense in today’s environment? Well now at DOE you can have your say. As part of President Obama’s issued Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, DOE is reviewing existing regulations to determine whether they are still necessary and crafted effectively to solve current problems. Back in January, DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public comment on how best to review its existing regulations and to identify whether any of its existing regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed. Surprisingly, only 16 comments and 9 reply comments were filed. DOE considered these comments in the development of its preliminary plan. However, when you consider the number of entities affected by DOE’s rules, there was a low turnout for comments. As if to say, “work with me people,” DOE is providing yet another opportunity to suggest improvements. The Department issued a notice seeking comments on its Preliminary Plan to implement Executive Order 13563. The plan describes how the Department intends to conduct retrospective review of its regulations. The Department developed its Preliminary Plan based on public input received in response to an RFI and is now interested in receiving further comment to refine and improve the plan. For additional information and to review the comments and reply comments filed in response to the RFI, please see the Office of the General Counsel website: Retrospective Review of Regulations.
August 1, 2011 is the deadline to file comments. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to have your say. After all, when was the last time a regulator asked for your opinion regarding which regulations should be repealed?