Regulatory Authority in the EPA - Policy Integrity · Regulatory Authority in the EPA: White House...
Transcript of Regulatory Authority in the EPA - Policy Integrity · Regulatory Authority in the EPA: White House...
Regulatory Authority in the EPA:White House Checks on EPA’s Authority
Presented to The Federalist SocietyJune 15, 2010
by Jason A Schwartz, Policy Integrity Legal Fellow
• What is Policy Integrity?• Non‐partisan advocacy organization and think tank
• Promotes balanced costbenefit analysis in support of rational government decisionmaking
• www.policyintegrity.com
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White House Checks on Agency Authority
• Appointments and Removals
• Veto over Original Delegation
• Persuasion and Public Agenda
• Budget and Resources*
• Information*
• Inter‐Agency Harmonization*
• Regulatory Review*
• Procedure
• Cost‐Benefit Analysis***
• Substance
Atrazine as a Case Study of OMB’s Influence
• Budget and Prioritization
• Information
• Procedure, Delays, Burdens of Proof
• Regulatory Review and Cost‐Benefit Analysis
• What we’ve seen so far
• What to expect going forward
Office of Management and Budget
• Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, established 1998, is a decade behind in its work
• Budget was cut 20% from 2003 to 2008
• Small funding increase for FY 2011
Office of Management and Budget
• Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
• New Administrator Cass Sunstein
• Cost‐Benefit Analysis
• Just a tool; just a proxy
• Should be “humanized”
• Precautionary Principle
• No guidance; points both directions
• Availability bias
• Probability neglect
• Status quo bias
• System neglect
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
• Paperwork Reduction Act
• Industry appeal
• NGO reaction
• Burden of proof?
• Value of information?
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
CostBenefit Analysis Required!
FIFRA Language• 7 U.S.C. 136(bb): “any unreasonable risk to man or the environment, taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of any pesticide”
SDWA Language• 42 U.S.C. 300g‐1(b)(3): “the Administrator shall…[analyze] incremental costs and benefitsassociated with each alternative maximum contaminant level considered”
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Atrazine’s Costs and Benefits in 2003/2006
• Costs of Restricting Atrazine
• $2 billion per year in yield loss and farm costs?
• “Imprecise” assumptions that “over‐estimate the true impact”
• Calculation based on “worst‐case,” “unlikely” scenarios
• Relied on private sector data; ignored a state government study
• Benefits of Restricting Atrazine
• Uncertainty did not quantify,did not monetize, did not assignprobabilities
• Also did not thoroughly analyzequalitative benefits of alternatives
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Sunstein’s Ideal Approach to CBA
• Uncertainty
• Probabilities matter
• Anti‐catastrophe precaution
• Use breakeven/sensitivity analysis
• Evidence‐Based
• Better numbers and values (e.g., latency)
• Alternatives
• Retrospective analysis
• Humanized CBA
• Non‐quantifiable; qualitative
• Distribution and future generations
• Existence values?This is NOT what “humanized”costbenefit analysis is about.
Modern Practice of CBA: Work in Progress
• Some Improvements
• Better numbers (e.g., jobs in air toxics rule)
• Consideration of catastrophes (e.g., SCC)
• Work Remains (e.g., coal ash rule)
• Probability neglect and worst cases
• Skewed presentation of alternatives
• Concerns About Access
• Industry meetings
• Industry influence
Thank you!
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