Regulatory Reform Implementation

On February 24, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13777 entitled, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda” to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.  The Executive Order established a Regulatory Reform Officer (RRO) for each agency and a Regulatory Reform Task Force.  The RRO oversees "...the implementation of regulatory reform initiatives and policies to ensure that agencies effectively carry out regulatory reforms…”

Goals of the Regulatory Reform Initiative

E.O. 13777 establishes two main goals for Federal agencies in furtherance of alleviating unnecessary burdens placed on the American people:  

  1. Improve implementation of the regulatory reform initiatives and policies specified in section 2 of E.O. 13777 [E.O. 13771 (Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs); E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), as amended; Section 6 of E.O. 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review) regarding retrospective review; and termination, consistent with applicable law, of programs and activities that derive from or implement E.O.s, guidance documents, policy memoranda, rule interpretations, and similar documents, or relevant portions thereof, that have been rescinded]; and 
  2.  Identify regulations for repeal, replacement, or modification considering, at a minimum, those regulations that:
    • Eliminate jobs, or inhibit job creation;
    • Are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;
    • Impose costs that exceed benefits;
    • Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with regulatory reform initiatives and policies;
    • Rely, in part or in whole, on data or methods that are not publicly available or insufficiently transparent to meet the standard for reproducibility; or
    • Derive from or implement E.Os. or other Presidential directives that have been subsequently rescinded or substantially modified. 

Interior’s Implementation of Regulatory Reform

Interior has established a Regulatory Reform Task Force, which is guiding implementation of regulatory reform to alleviate unnecessary burdens placed on the American people.  A description of activities conducted to date was published in the Federal Register, and is available here.

How You Can Help

Interior is seeking public input on how it can best meet the above goals and, specifically, where redundancies and inefficient processes can be eliminated, while ensuring that Interior continues to fulfill our legal obligations, resource stewardship, and Tribal trust responsibilities and minimizes the risk of lengthy and costly appeals and litigation.

  • You can help by providing input and assistance in identifying regulations for repeal, replacement, or modification that:
  • Eliminate jobs, or inhibit job creation;
  • Are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective;
  • Impose costs that exceed benefits;
  • Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with regulatory reform initiatives and policies;
  • Rely, in part or in whole, on data or methods that are not publicly available or insufficiently transparent to meet the standard for reproducibility; or
  • Derive from or implement E.Os. or other Presidential directives that have been subsequently rescinded or substantially modified

If you have an idea to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people as Interior fulfills its mission, please provide your input either by:

Periodically, Interior will review the written input to determine whether additional regulations should be targeted for review and considered for suspension, revision, or rescission.

Relevant Documents

Executive Orders on Regulatory Reform

  • E.O. 13777, Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, 82 Fed. Reg. 12285 (March 1, 2017)
  • E.O. 13771, Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs 82 Fed. Reg. 9339 (February 3, 2017)
  • E.O. 13783, Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, 82 Fed. Reg. 16093 (March 31, 2017)

Secretary’s Orders of Secretary Zinke

  • S.O. 3346, Revocation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director’s Order No. 219 (Use of Nontoxic Ammunition and Fishing Tackle)
  • S.O. 3347, Conservation Stewardship and Outdoor Recreation
  • S.O. 3348, Concerning the Federal Coal Moratorium
  • S.O. 3349, American Energy Independence
  • S.O. 3350, America-First Energy Strategy
  • S.O. 3351, Strengthening the Department of the Interior’s Energy Portfolio
  • S.O. 3352, National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska
  • S.O. 3353, Great Sage-Grouse Conservation and Cooperation with Western States
  • S.O. 3354, Supporting and Improving the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program and Federal Solid Mineral Leasing Program

Other Regulatory Review and Reform Resources

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