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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will explore new methods for considering the costs and benefits of regulatory actions, including the consideration of co-benefits to justify a regulation.
While Congress has prescribed ways for the EPA to consider the cost and benefit of regulations depending on the statute pursuant to which a rule is issued, the EPA said it has applied those requirements inconsistently. This has created "a risk of uncertainty and confusion for states, local communities, and industry," the EPA said.
Therefore, the agency has issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to consider "ways to codify common-sense, best practices for cost-benefit analysis in rulemaking."
"Many have complained that the previous administration inflated the benefits and underestimated the costs of its regulations through questionable cost-benefit analysis," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement issued June 7. "This action is the next step toward providing clarity and real-world accuracy with respect to the impact of the agency's decisions on the economy and the...