Modernize EPA! (CEI guidebook is out)

From MasterResource

By Robert Bradley Jr.

“Kudos to CEI for its unwavering dedication to principled scholarship in its long, oft-ignored fight against junk science and creeping Statism in energy and environmental issues. Their time has finally come to be on offense–and at the pinnacle of political power that they want to diminish.”

A reform movement has begun to revamp the politicized, off-track U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a scholarly think/do tank, has just released Modernizing the EPA: A Blueprint for Congress (website here) to raise the debate for intellectuals, the public, and lawmakers.

CEI’s blueprint just begins a long-term project on EPA reform. Why? As the press release explains:

The EPA arguably has the largest regulatory effect on the lives of everyday Americans compared to other federal agencies. According to the Office of Management and Budget, more than half of all federal regulatory costs can be attributed to the EPA. The agency’s regulations often concern matters of vast political and economic significance that go way beyond what Congress ever wanted the agency to address. 

Continuing:

“The EPA is supposed to protect the nation’s environment but instead uses this mission as a means to regulate major portions of the economy and affect how we live our lives,” CEI’s Director of the Center for Energy & Environment and Senior Fellow Daren Bakst  said. “This can be seen by its recent rules to help kill off gas-powered cars and to shift electricity generation from reliable sources (coal and natural gas) to unreliable sources (wind and solar).”

The major recommendations follow (verbatim):

• Requiring the agency to consider all relevant factors when deciding whether to regulate;
• Acknowledging the current environment’s state;
• Prohibiting agency action outside of what was authorized or intended by Congress;
• Respecting the rule of law, private property rights, and due process;
• Only making regulatory decisions based on transparent science that is open to challenge;
• Reasonably evaluating and assessing risk; and
• Respecting the role of states in protecting the environment.

Marlo Lewis, one the study authors, urges an end to EPA mission creep and overreach, with a new focus “on environmental protection” instead of “act[ing] like a central planner for the entire economy.”

The new study, in CEI’s words,

provides significant background and context on the long list of specific legislative recommendations that have been included. “Our goal in developing the book is to provide a strong foundation for making changes to the EPA, including legislative changes to the underlying statutes that it administers,” said Bakst. “The recommendations are intended to be specific and concrete and able to be turned into legislative solutions.”

The call to action needs a movement of fellow groups and individuals who want pure air and water, not Malthusian, Deep Ecology diversions.

While all-encompassing reforms to the EPA may take some time to accomplish, CEI, through Modernizing the EPA, will advocate for such necessary and important agency reforms. In accomplishing this objective, CEI recognizes the importance of working with like-minded organizations and individuals.  “We want to work with legislators, the public, think tanks, and quite simply anyone, to modernize this agency,” said Bakst. “The book is just the start of this important fight.”

Final Comment

As someone who has watched and admired CEI for many decades, it is gratifying to see the latest priority begin. Kudos to CEI for its unwavering dedication to principled scholarship in its long, oft-ignored fight against junk science and creeping Statism in energy and environmental issues. Their time has finally come to be on offense–and at the pinnacle of political power that they want to diminish.