U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says that removing burdensome environmental permit regulations is high on his list of ways to improve the U.S. manufacturing climate. Ross plans to present the list to President Trump in May.
“The Commerce Department in March invited companies to submit comments on the type and number of permits required to build, expand or operate a factory, the most onerous part of the permitting process and ways that regulatory compliance could be simplified,” says Reuters. “It also asked for opinions on the federal, state and local agencies with the best permitting practices.”
According to Ross, EPA permit requirements were a key complaint, with many companies saying that the regulations make it extremely onerous just to fulfill simple tasks, like installing on-site bathroom facilities at oil-and gas-extraction sites.
“Well, if you can imagine that if they [EPA] torture you with getting a permit for a porta potty, how about a permit to actually drill a well? That whole mindset has got to change,” he said.
Ross explained in an interview that “some of the federal regulations could be eliminated or modified through executive actions, and some through directives to agencies to reinterpret statutes and rules,” says Reuters.