All of this work will be undertaken with a strong commitment to science, law and transparency.

HIGHLIGHTS OF EPA'S REGULATORY PLAN

EPA's more than 40 years of protecting public health and the environment demonstrates our nation's commitment to reducing pollution that can threaten the air we breathe, the water we use and the communities we live in. This Regulatory Plan contains information on some of our most important upcoming regulatory actions. As always, our Semiannual Regulatory Agenda contains information on a broader spectrum of EPA's upcoming regulatory actions.

Guiding Priorities

The EPA's success depends on supporting innovation and creativity in both what we do and how we do it. To guide the agency's efforts, the Agency has established several guiding priorities. These priorities are enumerated in the list that follows, along with recent progress and future objectives for each.

Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality

The Agency will continue to deploy existing regulatory tools where appropriate and warranted. Using the Clean Air Act, EPA will continue to develop standards, as appropriate, for both mobile and stationary sources, to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and toxics.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants. As part of the President's Climate Action Plan, in July 2015, the EPA promulgated the Clean Power Plan final rules setting guidelines for states to follow in reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants, as well as finalizing emission standards for new plants. On February 9, 2016, the Supreme Court stayed implementation of these standards and guidelines pending judicial review. The Court's decision was not on the merits of the rules.

For the states that choose to continue to work to cut carbon pollution from power plants and seek the Agency's guidance and assistance, EPA will continue to provide tools and support, including issuing Model Trading Rules as a tool for states to use in developing plans that achieve carbon reductions. These Model Trading Rules were proposed in July 2015, and will be finalized in late 2016. The Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP), which was proposed in 2016, will be finalized in 2017.

Renewable Fuels. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to promulgate regulations that specify the annual volume requirements for renewable fuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Standards are to be set for four different categories of renewable fuels: cellulosic biofuel, biomass based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. In May of 2016, EPA issued a proposal to set the applicable volumes for all renewable fuel categories for 2017 and the BBD standard for 2018. EPA will finalize that rule in late 2016. EPA also intends to propose RFS volume requirements for 2018 and the 2019 BBD standard in May of 2017. Also in 2016, EPA proposed to make numerous changes to promote the production of renewable fuels and clarify certain requirements under the RFS program. When finalized in early 2017, that action will provide substantial additional flexibility for ethanol flex fuel producers that accommodate current market realities while continuing to ensure that flex fuel quality is consistent with controlling pollution when used in flexible fuel vehicles.

Implementing Air Quality Standards. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone were strengthened in 2015, and EPA is developing an implementation rule to help states implement those standards. This rule, which will also cover ozone classifications, will be proposed late in 2016 and finalized in 2017.

Emissions from Aircraft. In 2017, EPA plans to issue a proposed finding, under Clean Air Act section 231, to determine whether lead emissions from aircraft operating on leaded fuel cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.

Radiation Protection. In the fall of 2016, EPA will issue final rules to protect public health, safety and the environment from radiological hazards associated with uranium processing. The first of these rules, under Clean Air Act section 112, establishes standards or management practices to limit air emissions of radon from uranium byproduct material or tailings. The second rule, under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act, establishes groundwater restoration and monitoring requirements for uranium in-situ recovery, which is now the dominant form of uranium recovery in the United States.

Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters

Despite considerable progress, America's waters remain at risk. Water quality protection programs face complex challenges: an aging national water infrastructure, widespread nutrient pollution, stormwater runoff and threats to drinking water safety. These challenges require both traditional and innovative strategies.

Lead and Copper NPDWR Revisions (LCR). The Lead and Copper Rule, promulgated in 1991, has resulted in substantial reductions in lead in drinking water. This critically important rule, however, is now 25 years old and is in need of substantive revisions to strengthen the rule's protections for public health. EPA has conducted extensive engagement with state, tribal and local government representatives, stakeholder groups and the public to obtain input to inform revisions to the LCR. Most recently, EPA received comprehensive recommendations from the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) and other concerned stakeholders on potential steps to strengthen the LCR.

Credit Assistance for Water Infrastructure Projects. EPA plans to issue an interim final rule that establishes the guidelines for a new credit assistance program for water infrastructure projects and the process by which EPA will administer such credit assistance. The rule will implement a new program authorized under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA). WIFIA authorizes EPA to provide secured (direct) loans and loan guarantees to eligible water infrastructure projects. The interim final rule primarily clarifies statutory language and establishes approaches to specific procedural issues left to EPA's discretion. Once projects are selected by the EPA Administrator, individual credit agreements will be developed through negotiations between the project sponsors and EPA.

Federal Baseline Water Quality Standards for Indian Reservations. EPA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) requesting public comment on the establishment of baseline water quality standards under the Clean Water Act for waters on Indian reservations that currently do not have EPA-approved WQS in place to protect water quality. The ANPRM provides information on EPA's current thinking and is a way to get specific and clear guidance from the full range of tribal governments and stakeholders. EPA will consider comments received on this ANPRM prior to determining whether to develop a proposed rule on this topic. This ANPRM effort is one of several initiatives the EPA is undertaking to improve how we work with tribes to ensure that they have access to clean and safe waters.

Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development

EPA's regulatory program recognizes the progress in environmental protection and incorporates new technologies and approaches that allow us to provide for an environmentally sustainable future more efficiently and effectively.

CERCLA Section 108(b) - Hardrock Mining. Section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, establishes certain authorities concerning financial responsibility requirements. The Agency has identified classes of facilities within the hardrock mining industry as those for which financial responsibility requirements will be first developed. (EPA's 108(b) rules will address the degree and duration of risks associated with aspects of hazardous substance management at hardrock mining and mineral processing facilities.) EPA intends for these regulations to help ensure that businesses make financial arrangements to address risks from hazardous substances at their sites, and to encourage businesses to improve their management of hazardous substances.

Modernization of the Accidental Release Prevention Regulations under Clean Air Act. On August 1, 2013, President Obama signed Executive Order 13650, entitled Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security (EO 13650 or the EO). This Executive Order 13650 directs the federal government to carry out a number of tasks whose overall aim is to prevent chemical accidents. Among the tasks discussed, the Executive order directs agencies to consider possible changes to existing chemical safety regulations, such as the EPA's Risk Management Plan (RMP) regulation (40 CFR part 68).

Both EPA and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) had previously issued regulations, as required by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, in response to a number of catastrophic chemical accidents occurring worldwide that had resulted in public and worker fatalities and injuries, environmental damage, and other community impacts. OSHA published the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard (29 CFR part 1910.119) in 1992. EPA modeled the RMP regulation after OSHA's PSM standard and published the RMP rule in two stages: a list of regulated substances and threshold quantities in 1994; and the RMP final regulation, containing risk management requirements, in 1996. Both the OSHA PSM standard and the EPA RMP regulation aim to prevent, or minimize the consequences of, accidental chemical releases to workers and the community.

The EPA is considering modifications to the current RMP regulations in order to (1) reduce the likelihood and severity of accidental releases, (2) improve emergency response when those releases occur, and (3) enhance state and local emergency preparedness and response in an effort to mitigate the effects of accidents.

Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution

One of EPA's highest priorities is to make significant progress in assuring the safety of chemicals. Using sound science as a compass, EPA protects individuals, families, and the environment from potential risks of pesticides and other chemicals. In its implementation of these programs, EPA uses several different statutory authorities, including the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), as well as collaborative and voluntary activities. In FY 2017, the Agency will continue to satisfy its overall directives under these authorities and highlights the following actions in this Regulatory Plan:

Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act Implementation. Enacted on June 22, 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act amended TSCA with immediate effect. The Agency is working aggressively to carry out the requirements of the new law. Among other things, EPA is now required to evaluate existing chemicals purely on the basis of the health risks they pose - including risks to vulnerable groups like children and the elderly, and to workers who use chemicals daily as part of their jobs - and then take steps to eliminate any unreasonable risks that are found. Based on efforts initiated prior to the enactment of the new law, EPA plans to propose risk management actions under TSCA section 6 related to several specific uses of trichloroethylene (TCE), methylene chloride, and n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) to protect the human health and the environment from the risks presented by those chemicals.

In addition, EPA is now required to systematically prioritize and evaluate chemicals on a specific and enforceable schedule. Within a few years, EPA's chemicals program will have to assess at least 20 chemicals at a time, beginning another chemical review as soon as one is completed. The new law provides a consistent source of funding for EPA to carry out its new responsibilities. EPA will now be able to collect up to $25 million a year in user fees from chemical manufacturers and processers, supplemented by Congressional budgeting, to pay for these improvements. The Agency initiated stakeholder discussions in August 2016 and is developing regulations that will identify how EPA will carry out the various provisions of the new law.

Lead-Based Paint Program. EPA is developing a final rule that would implement several amendments to the EPA lead-based paint program that would improve efficiencies and save resources for those involved. EPA proposed changes in 2014 to the EPA lead-based paint program that would, among other things, amend the renovation, repair and painting rule by removing the requirement for hands-on refresher training for renovators so that they can take the refresher course online and without the need to travel to a training facility for the hands-on portion. EPA also proposed to amend the lead-based paint abatement program by removing the requirement for firms, training providers and individuals to apply for and be certified or accredited in each EPA-administered jurisdiction where they work (i.e., state, tribe or territory where EPA runs the abatement program). In addition, as directed by TSCA section 402(c)(3), EPA is developing a proposed rule to address renovation or remodeling activities that create lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 public buildings and commercial buildings. EPA previously issued a final rule to address lead-based paint hazards created by these activities in target housing and child-occupied facilities.

Reassessment of PCB Use Authorizations. When enacted in 1978, TSCA banned the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, and use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), except when uses would pose no unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment. EPA is reassessing certain ongoing, authorized uses of PCBs that were established by regulation in 1979, including the use, distribution in commerce, marking and storage for reuse of liquid PCBs in electric equipment, to determine whether those authorized uses still meet TSCA's "no unreasonable risk" standard. EPA plans to propose the revocation or revision of any PCBs use authorizations included in this reassessment that no longer meet the TSCA standard, with an initial emphasis on PCB-containing fluorescent ballasts in schools and daycares.

Strengthening Pesticide Applicator Safety. As part of EPA's effort to enhance the pesticide worker safety program, the Agency is also developing final revisions to the existing regulation concerning the certification of applicators of restricted-use pesticides. This rulemaking is intended to ensure that the federal certification standards adequately protect applicators, the public and the environment from potential risks associated with use of restricted use pesticides. The rule changes are intended to improve the competency of certified applicators of restricted use pesticides, increase protection for noncertified applicators of restricted use pesticides operating under the direct supervision of a certified applicator through enhanced pesticide safety training and standards for supervision of noncertified applicators, and establish a minimum age requirement for such noncertified applicators. Also, in keeping with EPA's commitment to work more closely with tribal governments to strengthen environmental protection in Indian Country, certain rule changes are intended to provide more practical options for establishing certification programs in Indian Country.

Evaluating Pesticide Risks to Bees and Other Pollinators. As part of the efforts outlined in the "National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators," EPA is working to update its pesticide data requirements to provide the Agency with data needed to determine the potential exposure and effects of pesticides on bees and other important non-target insect pollinators. Pollinator insects are ecologically and economically important. Recognizing heightened concerns for honey bees due to pollinator declines and that the science has now evolved to where additional toxicity and exposure protocols are available, EPA issued interim study guidance for bees in 2011. EPA developed finalized guidance in 2014 on the conduct of exposure and effect studies used to characterize the potential risk of pesticides to bees. The development and implementation of updates data requirements is intended to provide the information the Agency needs to evaluate whether a proposed or existing use of a pesticide may have an unreasonable adverse effect on these important insects and support pesticide registration decisions under FIFRA.

Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring Compliance

Today's pollution challenges require a modern approach to compliance, taking advantage of new tools and approaches while strengthening vigorous enforcement of environmental laws. Next Generation Compliance is EPA's integrated strategy to do that, designed to bring together the best thinking from inside and outside EPA.

EPA's Next Generation Compliance consists of five interconnected components, each designed to improve the effectiveness of our compliance program:

• Design regulations and permits that are easier to implement, with a goal of improved compliance and environmental outcomes.
• Use and promote advanced emissions/pollutant detection technology so that regulated entities, the government, and the public can more easily see pollutant discharges, environmental conditions, and noncompliance.
• Shift toward electronic reporting to help make environmental reporting more accurate, complete, and efficient while helping EPA and co-regulators better manage information, improve effectiveness and transparency.
• Expand transparency by making information more accessible to the public.
• Develop and use innovative enforcement approaches (e.g., data analytics and targeting) to achieve more widespread compliance.

Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations

Pursuant to section 6 of Executive Order 13563 "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" (Jan. 18, 2011), the following EPA actions have been identified as associated with retrospective review and analysis in the Agency's final plan for retrospective review of regulations, or one of its subsequent updates. Some of the entries on this list may not appear in The Regulatory Plan but appear in EPA's semiannual regulatory agenda. These rulemakings can also be found on Regulations.gov. EPA's final agency plan can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/regdarrt/retrospective/.

2016: Aggregation of Benefits and Costs from Monetized Rules Reported in the Regulatory Plan

1. National net benefits for Health and Environmental Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings (40 CFR 192) Revisions were not computed because most categories of benefits, including health and ecosystem benefits, were not monetized.

2. The Economic Impact Analysis for the NESHAP Subpart W Standard does not monetize benefits such as the value of reduced cancer risk, so net benefits were not computed.

3. The Economic Analysis for the Certification of Pesticide Applicators did not estimate annual costs using a 7% discount rate. Using a 7% discount rate is expected to have little effect on annualized costs as most of the costs recur annually.

4. Aggregate Net Benefits are estimated by summing the column of net benefits reported for each discount rate.

Burden Reduction

As described above, EPA continues to review its existing regulations in an effort to achieve its mission in the most efficient means possible. To this end, the Agency is committed to identifying areas in its regulatory program where significant savings or quantifiable reductions in paperwork burdens might be achieved, as outlined in Executive Orders 13563 and 13610, while protecting public health and our environment.

Rules Expected to Affect Small Entities

By better coordinating small business activities, EPA aims to improve its technical assistance and outreach efforts, minimize burdens to small businesses in its regulations, and simplify small businesses' participation in its voluntary programs. Actions that may affect small entities can be tracked on EPA's Regulatory Development and Retrospective Review Tracker (http://www.epa.gov/regdarrt/) at any time. This Plan includes the following rules that may be of particular interest to small entities:

International Regulatory Cooperation Activities

EPA has considered international regulatory cooperation activities as described in Executive Order 13609 and has identified the following international activity that is anticipated to lead to a significant regulation in the following year: