WASHINGTON-In a move that he says will promote regulatory transparency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler has issued a memorandum instructing the agency's assistant administrators to harmonize how EPA's rule-making process considers costs and benefits. "Many EPA statutes contemplate the consideration of benefits and costs as part of regulatory decision making. However, benefits and costs historically have been treated differently, depending on the media office and the underlying authority," Wheeler states. "This has resulted in various concepts of benefits, costs and other factors that may be considered. This memorandum will initiate an effort to rectify these inconsistencies through statute-specific actions."
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