Pruitt ' s Reform Plan Details Major Reorganization and Workforce Reshaping

In conjunction with the fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget request, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a “reform plan” along with its strategic plan. The plan is in response to a Presidential executive order asking for a major reorganization of the federal government and includes eleven projects to streamline EPA operations to ensure faster contracting and permitting and fewer requests for industry information. Administrator Scott Pruitt stated in an internal email, “Together the Strategic Plan and Reform Plan set a roadmap for EPA to better achieve our mission of protecting human health and the environment, while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our processes and operations.” Stan Meiburg, a former acting deputy EPA administrator under Obama, indicated that some elements of the plan have merit in principle, such as the use of lean techniques, streamlined procurements, and stronger partnerships with state regulators, but warned that faster permitting should not be “a code word for permitting that neglects essential environmental obligation.” A set of “organizational efficiencies”, released along with EPA’s reform plan, noted that “Both small reorganizations and larger ones will result, along with informal internal realignments.” Some of these reorganizations started or were proposed in FY 2018; such as consolidating the EPA staff that processes Freedom of Information ...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news