Oil and gas associations responded favorably to US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew R. Wheeler’s May 13 memorandum stating that the agency should ensure its regulatory decisions are “rooted in sound, transparent, and consistent approaches to evaluating benefits and costs.”
The American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers became the latest business groups to express their approval on May 22, joining the National Association of Manufacturers, American Chemistry Council, and other organizations.
“Many EPA statutes contemplate the consideration of benefits and costs as part of regulatory decision-making,” Wheeler noted in his memo. “However, benefits and costs have historically been treated differently, depending on the media office and the underlying authority. This has resulted in various concepts of benefits, costs, and other factors that may be considered.”
The memo initiated an effort to rectify such inconsistencies through sector-specific actions, it indicated. Wheeler sent it to EPA’s assistant administrators on May 21.
“We applaud EPA’s move to update how it approaches cost-benefit analyses for its regulations. These efforts will create a more consistent and transparent process for evaluating the costs and benefits of EPA rules and will ultimately lead to better regulations,” AFPM Pres. Chet Thompson said.
“Furthermore, EPA’s intention to update the cost-benefit approach for each individual media—air, water, chemicals, and waste—will avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and ensure the most appropriate and accurate analysis for each decision,” Thompson said.
A spokesman for API told OGJ via e-mail, “API applauds EPA’s move to improve their regulatory decision-making and to make their work more transparent and accessible to the public and companies alike.”
The Independent Petroleum Association of America also welcomed Wheeler’s action. “In June 2018, IPAA joined 100 other business trade associations in a letter to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Neomi Rao regarding the need for greater cost-benefit analysis at EPA,” IPAA Executive Vice-Pres. Lee O. Fuller said.
Fuller noted that cost-benefit analysis, “although not perfect, is the best tool agencies have available to them to ensure that regulations promote the public good and do more good than harm.”
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].