This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

10526 

Vol. 76, No. 38 

Friday, February 25, 2011 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

2 CFR Chapter XIV 

25 CFR Chapters I, II, III and V, VI, VII 

30 CFR Chapters II, IV, VII, and XII 

36 CFR Chapter I 

41 CFR Chapter 114 

43 CFR Subtitle A and Chapters I and 

II 

48 CFR Chapter 14 

50 CFR Chapters I and IV 

[Docket Number: DOI–2011–0001] 

Reducing Regulatory Burden; 

Retrospective Review Under E.O. 

13563 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. 

ACTION: Request for information. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Interior (DOI) is preparing a preliminary 

plan to review its existing significant 

regulations in response to the 

President’s Executive Order 13563 on 

improving regulation and regulatory 

review. The purpose of this regulatory 

review is to help DOI manage the 

Nation’s public lands and national 

treasures, honor our tribal trust 

obligations, protect the environment 

and endangered species, distribute and 

monitor water resources, and help 

America become energy independent in 

ways that are more effective and less 

burdensome. DOI is asking for ideas and 

information from the public in 

preparing the plan and identifying 

opportunities to improve any of its 

significant regulations by modifying, 

streamlining, expanding, or repealing 

them. 

DATES: You must submit any comments 

on or before March 28, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: All comments must include 

‘‘Comments on improving DOI’s 

regulations—Docket Number DOI– 

2011–0001’’. You must submit 

comments by any (but only one) of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, find Docket 

DOI–2011–0001, and follow the 

instructions for submitting your 

comments electronically. 

• Mail: Regulatory Review, Office of 

the Executive Secretariat and Regulatory 

Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 

C Street, NW., Mail Stop 7328, 

Washington, DC 20240. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: 

Regulatory Review, Office of the 

Executive Secretariat and Regulatory 

Affairs, Department of the Interior, 

Room 7311, 1849 C Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20240. 

• E-mail: RegsReview@ios.doi.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Lawyer, Office of the Secretary, 

202–208–3181, 

Mark_Lawyer@ios.doi.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: President 

Obama issued Executive Order 13563, 

‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review,’’ on January 18, 2011. He stated 

that our ‘‘regulatory system must protect 

public health, welfare, safety, and our 

environment while promoting economic 

growth, innovation, competitiveness, 

and job creation’’ and it must ‘‘use the 

best, most innovative, and least 

burdensome tools to achieve regulatory 

ends.’’ The Executive Order directed 

agencies to develop and submit a 

preliminary plan within 120 days that 

will explain how they will review 

existing significant regulations and 

identify regulations that can be made 

more effective or less burdensome in 

achieving regulatory objectives. 

Request for Information 

This request to the public for 

information is DOI’s first step in 

complying with the President’s directive 

to develop a plan that will make the 

Department’s regulations more effective 

and less burdensome. DOI is asking you 

to suggest how the Department can 

develop regulations to protect the 

environment, honor our trust 

obligations, manage public lands, 

protect endangered species, distribute 

and monitor water resources, and 

promote clean energy independence in 

ways that will work best for the 

American people. Knowledge about the 

full effects of regulations on people and 

the economy is widely dispersed in 

society. DOI recognizes that members of 

the public are likely to have useful 

information and perspectives about how 

it could streamline or improve its 

regulations. This request for information 

from the public will help the 

Department obtain information that will 

inform its decisions as the Department 

develops a plan to review its existing 

regulations. 

Questions for the Public 

DOI intends the questions below to 

elicit useful information as the 

Department develops a preliminary plan 

to review its significant regulations. 

These questions are not intended to be 

exhaustive. You may raise other issues 

or make suggestions unrelated to these 

questions that you believe would help 

the Department develop better 

regulations. Comments will be most 

helpful if they provide examples and a 

detailed explanation of how the 

suggestion will support DOI’s mission 

in a way that is more efficient and less 

burdensome. DOI specifically asks you 

to provide comments related to the 

questions that follow to help the 

Department prepare a preliminary plan 

to review its significant regulations. 

(1) How can DOI best review its 

existing rules in a way that will identify 

rules that should be changed, 

streamlined, consolidated, or removed? 

DOI encourages those submitting 

comments to include a proposed 

process under which review could be 

regularly undertaken. 

(2) How can DOI reduce burdens and 

maintain flexibility and choice for the 

public in a way that will promote its 

mission? 

(3) Does DOI have rules or guidance 

that are duplicative or that have 

conflicting requirements among its 

bureaus or with other agencies? If so, 

please specifically identify the rules or 

guidance and suggest ways DOI can 

streamline, consolidate, or make these 

regulations work better. Please suggest 

specific language that would make these 

rules or guidance more efficient and less 

burdensome where possible. 

(4) Are there rules or reporting 

requirements that could be improved to 

accomplish their regulatory objectives 

better? If so, please specifically identify 

the rule or reporting requirement and 

suggest alternative language where 

possible. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 38 / Friday, February 25, 2011 / Proposed Rules 10527 

(5) How can DOI best assure that its 

regulations are guided by objective 

scientific evidence? 

(6) Are there better ways to encourage 

public participation and an open 

exchange of views when DOI engages in 

rulemaking? 

(7) Is there a rule or guidance that is 

working well that DOI could use as a 

model for improving other regulations 

or guidance? If so, please specifically 

identify the rule or guidance and 

explain the aspects of the rule or 

guidance that work well and why you 

think it works well. 

(8) How can DOI better scale its 

regulations to lessen the burdens 

imposed on small entities within the 

existing statutory requirements? Please 

identify any regulations that, under the 

applicable laws, could exempt small 

entities or provide more flexible or less 

burdensome requirements. 

(9) Are DOI regulations and guidance 

written in language that is clear and 

easy to understand? Please identify 

specific regulations and guidance that 

are good candidates for a plain language 

re-write. 

(10) What are some suggestions that 

DOI can use to assure that its 

regulations promote its mission in ways 

that are most efficient and least 

burdensome? 

DOI will consider public input as we 

develop a plan to periodically review 

the Department’s significant rules. The 

Department has created a Web site at 

http//www.doi.gov/open/regsreview to 

facilitate participation by the public. 

This website provides links to the 

Department’s regulations and a link to 

an e-mail in-box at 

RegsReview@ios.doi.gov that interested 

parties may use to suggest, both during 

the comment period and on an ongoing 

basis, improvements to DOI’s 

regulations. 

The Department is issuing this request 

solely to seek useful information as it 

develops a plan to review its existing 

significant regulations. While responses 

to this request do not bind DOI to any 

further actions related to the response, 

all submissions will be made available 

to the public on http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Before including your address, or 

other personal identifying information 

in your comment, you should be aware 

that your entire comment—including 

your personal identifying information— 

may be made publicly available at any 

time. While you can ask us in your 

comment to withhold your personal 

identifying information from the public 

review, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. 

Authority: E.O. 13653, 76 FR 3821, Jan. 21, 

2011; E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735, Oct. 4, 1993. 

Dated: February 18, 2011. 

David J. Hayes, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4241 Filed 2–24–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 205 

[Document Number AMS–NOP–11–0005; 

NOP–11–01] 

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Section 610 

Review of National Organic Program 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Review and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This document announces the 

Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) 

plans to review the National Organic 

Program (NOP) regulations (7 CFR part 

205). This review will be conducted 

under criteria contained in section 610 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 

as amended. The RFA provisions 

require that all Federal agencies review 

existing regulations that have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities to 

determine whether the associated 

impact can be minimized. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by April 26, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may 

submit written comments on this review 

using the following addresses: 

• Mail: Toni Strother, Agricultural 

Marketing Specialist, National Organic 

Program, USDA–AMS–NOP, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 2646– 

So., Ag Stop 0268, Washington, DC 

20250. 

• Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Written comments responding to this 

review should reference the document 

number (AMS–NOP–11–0005; NOP–11– 

01). It is our intention to have all 

comments concerning this review, 

including names and addresses when 

provided, whether submitted by mail or 

Internet available for viewing on the 

Regulations.gov (http:// 

www.regulations.gov) Internet site. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

notice of review will also be available 

for viewing in person at USDA, AMS, 

National Organic Program, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 2646– 

South Building, Washington, DC, from 9 

a.m., to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 

p.m., Monday through Friday (except 

official Federal holidays). Persons 

wanting to visit the USDA South 

Building to view comments received in 

response to this notice are requested to 

make an appointment in advance by 

calling (202) 720–3252. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melissa Bailey, PhD, Director, Standards 

Division, National Organic Program, 

USDA–AMS–NOP, 1400 Independence 

Ave., SW., Room 2646–So., Ag Stop 

0268, Washington, DC 20250–0268; 

telephone: (202) 720–3252; facsimile 

(202) 205–7808; or electronic mail: 

Melissa.Bailey@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NOP 

is authorized by the Organic Foods 

Production Act (OFPA) of 1990, as 

amended (7 U.S.C. 6501–6522). The 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

administers the NOP. Under the NOP, 

the AMS oversees national standards for 

the production, handling, and labeling 

of organically produced agricultural 

products. Final regulations 

implementing the National Organic 

Program (NOP) were published 

December 21, 2000 (65 FR 80548), and 

became effective on October 21, 2002. 

On March 24, 2006, AMS published 

in the Federal Register (71 FR 14827), 

its schedule to review certain 

regulations, including the NOP 

regulations, under criteria contained in 

section 610 of the RFA (5 U.S.C. 601– 

612). Because many AMS regulations 

impact small entities, AMS decided, as 

a matter of policy, to periodically 

review regulations, irrespective of 

whether specific regulations meet the 

threshold requirement for mandatory 

review established by the RFA. As a 

result, the Agency is now conducting 

this review of the NOP regulations. 

The purpose of the review is to 

determine whether the NOP regulations 

should be continued without change, 

amended, or rescinded, consistent with 

the objectives of applicable statutes, to 

minimize the impacts on small entities. 

In conducting this review, the AMS will 

consider the following factors: (1) The 

continued need for the regulations; (2) 

the nature of complaints or comments 

received from the public concerning the 

regulations; (3) the complexity of the 

regulations; (4) the extent to which the 

regulations overlap, duplicate, or 

conflict with other Federal rules, and, to 

the extent feasible, with State and local 

regulations; and (5) the length of time 

since the regulations have been 

evaluated or the degree to which 

technology, economic conditions, or 


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