After two years of difficult deliberations, a broad-based group of environmental, business and government leaders headed by former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William Ruckelshaus last week issued a far-reaching set of recommendations on ways to reform the nation's environmental policy system.
The project was begun in early 1996 in response to the furor that erupted during the 104th Congress over GOP-led efforts to rewrite or repeal various environmental regulations. In remarks to reporters last Thursday, Ruckelshaus emphasized the need for bipartisan support of environmental policy reforms and stressed that any changes will likely be incremental.
Among the specific suggestions in the "Enterprise for the Environment" (E4E) report:
- Make greater use of economic incentives, emissions trading schemes and information disclosure;
- Strengthen state-federal partnerships and redirect the EPA's oversight toward outcomes instead of procedural steps;
- Form additional government-business and business-business partnerships to promote environmental solutions;
- Improve monitoring and data gathering; and
- Improve compliance assistance programs for small business.
The group considered but could not reach consensus on the desirability of new legislation to implement the changes because some members were concerned that Congress would take reform in a different direction. For various reasons, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Friends of the Earth refused to sign the report, as did the Exxon Corp.
Nonetheless, Ruckelshaus emphasized the value of the collaborative process, noting that, "If we continue down the present road of blame and recrimination, we are guaranteed unnecessary costs to all parties, the continued disillusionment of our citizens, and less environmental protection than we could achieve otherwise."
To avoid the fate of similar reports that ended up sitting on a shelf, Ruckelshaus said the group would begin a round of meetings with key players in Washington and across the country to encourage adoption of the recommendations. He said he had already spoken to House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., who was "very receptive" to the idea of setting up a meeting where members of Congress could learn more about the report.
Tom Looby of the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment said the Environmental Council of the States had incorporated several of the suggestions into its upcoming framework agreement with EPA on environmental policy reform.
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