Meetings planned on improved public access to federal rulemaking
WASHINGTON, DC, July 28, 2004 (U.S. Newswire) -- To expand public involvement in the regulatory process, the EPA will hold a "Forum on Public Access to Federal Rulemaking Through the Internet" in August 2004.
The agency is the managing partner for E-Rulemaking, an E-Government Initiative to foster greater participation in federal rulemaking by the public and regulated entities with a better, easier way to read and comment on rules electronically. EPA will hold four public meetings seeking input on this cross-agency initiative established under the President's Management Agenda. The first component, "Regulations.gov," was launched in January 2003, consolidating government rules open for public comment (from over 160 agencies) into a single, user friendly website. When a rulemaking is announced in the Federal Register, a docket is also created to hold related documents, such as reports and public comments. The second component now being developed is E-Dockets, a government-wide centralized docket management system. E-Dockets will allow the public to access and search all publicly available regulatory material. During these meetings, EPA will ask for feedback on the usability, features, and capabilities of the existing Regulations.gov and the planned E-Dockets.
The public meetings are scheduled for:
- Aug. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at EPA Region 9 Offices, San Francisco, Calif.
- Aug. 3, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at EPA Region 5 Offices, Chicago, Ill.
- Aug. 9, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
- Aug. 12, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.
To use Regulations.gov, visit: http://www.regulations.gov. For further information on the meetings, contact Kristin Tensuan at [email protected].
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EPA adds Corporate Level Recognition to Performance Track
For the first time, EPA is recognizing corporations for environmental leadership under the National Environmental Performance Track program. The new designation will recognize companies that have shown their commitment to Performance Track through multiple facility memberships and have demonstrated environmental excellence such as reducing water, energy and solid waste use. The benefits of joining may include linking the Performance Track Web site to each company's environmental Web site and recognition of their environmental efforts. To qualify, at least five of the company's facilities must be Performance Track members, and 25% of the company's operations must be Performance Track members and/or members of similar performance- based state programs. Selected companies designated as Performance Track Corporate Leaders will commit to improve their environmental performance and that of their suppliers and/or customers, and increase their level of membership in the current program to at least 50% of their U.S. operations within five years of designation. Companies that meet these criteria will be asked to nominate themselves by Aug. 13, 2004. From this list of companies, EPA intends to ask up to three that appear to be the strongest candidates to apply, with applications due by Oct. 29, 2004. EPA will then designate the initial Performance Track Corporate Leaders and notify them of their selection in the fall. For more on Performance Track, visit: www.epa.gov/performancetrack
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