In accordance with Executive
Order 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” the Army Corps of
Engineers Regulatory Reform Task Force is seeking
input on its existing regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement,
or modification. The notice, which was published in the Federal Register on
July 20, lists regulations subject to the review; however, the agency will also
accept comments on regulations that are not listed in the notice. For a list of
regulations identified by the Corps, refer to the list at the bottom on the
Federal Register notice
(Docket Number COE-2017-0004).
Specifically,
the Corps is looking for comments on regulations that:
(i)
Eliminate
jobs, or inhibit job creation;
(ii)
Are
outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;
(iii)
Impose
costs that exceed benefits;
(iv)
Create
a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with
regulatory reform initiatives and policies;
(v)
Are
inconsistent with the requirements of section 515 of the Treasury and General
Government Appropriation Act, 2001 (44 U.S.C. 3516 note), or the guidance issued pursuant to
that provision in particular those regulations that rely in whole or in part on
data, information, or methods that are not publicly available or that are
insufficiently transparent to meet the standard of reproducibility; or
(vi)
Derive
from or implement Executive Orders or other Presidential directives that have
been subsequently rescinded or substantially modified.
Comments
are due on or before September 18, 2017. Please take a look at
the list and let me know if there are any you would like to see addressed. Also
let me know if there are any NOT on the list that you believe should be
reviewed. We will be diving in to the notice in greater detail but from my
initial read, I don’t think the comments will need to be that involved. I think a comment letter that identifies the
regulations of concern with a brief explanation of the barriers they create
will be sufficient. I do not think we
need to get in to a dialogue of how each regulation needs to be specifically
changed. We can assist in the preparation and submission of comments.