Officials from the EPA's Office of Solid Waste met with business representativeslast week to detail the agency's paperwork reduction efforts. But business representatives, including some from Exxon Mobil Corp.and Boeing Co., said eliminating paper documents might not cut their workloadmuch if other requirements remain unchanged. In preparing chemical storagetank inspection reports, for example, writing the report is the easy part,an Exxon Mobil official said. If companies must still notify the EPA 30days before an inspection, keep detailed records of the inspection and thenfile a report on the inspection findings, putting the report in electronicform rather than on paper won't make much difference, he said. Hale said the Office of Solid Waste, which is one of the EPA's largest divisions,also plans to eliminate about 100 of the 334 reports, notifications, certificationsand plans it requires companies to file.
Companies also worry about electronic security.