The Government Accountability Office released a report on Monday that "finds fault with the Environmental Protection Agency’s analyses of the costs and benefits of its regulations," Benjamin Goad reports for The Hill. Meanwhile, Latinos are putting their political weight behind EPA's controversial proposed rules on agricultural runoff, saying the rules would benefit the large numbers of Hispanics who live near polluted waterways along the Colorado River Basin, Goad writes in a separate story.
The GAO report "found that the agency did not always monetize the costs and benefits of proposed actions and that the EPA had estimated effects of its regulations on employment by, in part, using a study that is more than two decades old," Goad writes.
In looking at seven EPA regulations designated as "major rules," meaning that they carry an annual economic impact of $100 million or more, the report "examined the EPA’s analyses for each rule against 2003 guidance from the Office of Management and Budget that lays out best practices for how agencies should evaluate the costs and benefits of rules making their way through the federal pipeline," Goad writes. "The EPA’s rules lacked transparency, the GAO found."
The report said information EPA included in its regulatory-impact analyses "was not always clear. According to OMB guidance, RIAs should communicate information supporting regulatory decisions and enable a third party to understand how the agency arrives at its conclusions." Goad writes, "The report recommends that the EPA take steps to improve the agency’s adherence to the existing government guidance, but also that the OMB clarify the best way to apply that practice to the thorny process of estimating costs and benefits of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions." (Read more)
The proposed water rules, which have caused confusion among farmers who fear the regulations will expand EPA's jurisdiction, are being advocated by 28 Latino organizations, Goad writes. "The groups say the threat of polluted waterways disproportionately affects Latinos, both in terms of economic and public-health concerns. More than a third of the nation’s Hispanic population lives along the Colorado River basin."
The groups say politicians should support the rules, saying that polling shows that Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly in support of them, Goad writes. "More than 200 House members, primarily Republicans have voiced opposition to the rule, which has also raised concern among some congressional Democrats." But the Hispanic groups say that more than 90 percent of Latinos, "a coveted segment of the voting block, believe that the nation has a 'moral responsibility' to protect its waters." (Read more)
The GAO report "found that the agency did not always monetize the costs and benefits of proposed actions and that the EPA had estimated effects of its regulations on employment by, in part, using a study that is more than two decades old," Goad writes.
In looking at seven EPA regulations designated as "major rules," meaning that they carry an annual economic impact of $100 million or more, the report "examined the EPA’s analyses for each rule against 2003 guidance from the Office of Management and Budget that lays out best practices for how agencies should evaluate the costs and benefits of rules making their way through the federal pipeline," Goad writes. "The EPA’s rules lacked transparency, the GAO found."
The report said information EPA included in its regulatory-impact analyses "was not always clear. According to OMB guidance, RIAs should communicate information supporting regulatory decisions and enable a third party to understand how the agency arrives at its conclusions." Goad writes, "The report recommends that the EPA take steps to improve the agency’s adherence to the existing government guidance, but also that the OMB clarify the best way to apply that practice to the thorny process of estimating costs and benefits of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions." (Read more)
The proposed water rules, which have caused confusion among farmers who fear the regulations will expand EPA's jurisdiction, are being advocated by 28 Latino organizations, Goad writes. "The groups say the threat of polluted waterways disproportionately affects Latinos, both in terms of economic and public-health concerns. More than a third of the nation’s Hispanic population lives along the Colorado River basin."
The groups say politicians should support the rules, saying that polling shows that Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly in support of them, Goad writes. "More than 200 House members, primarily Republicans have voiced opposition to the rule, which has also raised concern among some congressional Democrats." But the Hispanic groups say that more than 90 percent of Latinos, "a coveted segment of the voting block, believe that the nation has a 'moral responsibility' to protect its waters." (Read more)
No comments:
Post a Comment