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The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) submits the following comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) notice of proposed consent decree under the Clean Air Act published on August 20, 2013.  In this notice, EPA invites public comment on a proposed consent decree that would require rulemaking under sections 112(d)(6) (technology review) and 112(f)(2) (residual risk review) to revise the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for petroleum refineries.  Advocacy is concerned that the timeline for rulemaking required by this consent decree does not provide sufficient time for EPA to fully comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), including, if necessary, the requirement to re-initiate a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel in support of the proposed rulemaking, if EPA is unable to certify that the rulemaking would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
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On September 12, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its proposed Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica (Silica) rule in the Federal Register.  OSHA’s proposed rule would amend OSHA’s existing standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica by reducing the permissible exposure limit to 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic meter of air (50 mg/m3), calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average.  The proposed rule also includes ancillary provisions for employee protection, such as preferred methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping.  OSHA is proposing two separate regulatory texts — one for general industry and maritime, and the other for construction.

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On August 19, 2013, the Office of Advocacy filed a notice of ex parte meeting with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) detailing an August 13^th meeting attended by Assistant Chief Counsel Jamie Saloom and FCC staff regarding the FCC’s proposed rules implementing sections 204 and 105 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).  In the meeting, Advocacy forwarded the concerns of small multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs) regarding the potential for the proposal to place a disproportionate impact on small MVPDs.  Advocacy recommended that the FCC adopt regulatory alternatives, including a delayed compliance schedule for small MVPDs and an exemption for MVPDs with fewer than 20,000 subscribers.  Additionally, Advocacy recommended that the FCC provide further analysis of the economic impact of the proposal on small MVPDs in its final rule.  For further information please contact Jamie Saloom at 202/205-6890.

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The Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) offers the following comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in response to the above-referenced proposed rule issued on July 24, 2013. The SEC issued the proposed rule with the intent of enhancing its ability to evaluate and enforce market practices associated with general solicitation and general advertising.  Small business owners, entrepreneurs who have participated in small business startups, and investors in small business have all been in contact with Advocacy to discuss the proposed rule.  Based upon this input from small business representatives, Advocacy is concerned that the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) contained in the proposed rule lacks essential information required under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).   For this reason, Advocacy recommends that the SEC republish for public comment a Supplemental IRFA before proceeding with this rulemaking.

On September 6, 2013, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) announced the dates for a series of roundtables the agency will hold, with the assistance of the Small Business Administration, across the U.S.  The USITC is seeking information for a report that will identify trade-related barriers that U.S. SMEs perceive as disproportionately (compared to large firms) affecting their exports to the European Union (EU).  Upcoming roundtables are scheduled for Chicago (9/13), Philadelphia (9/23), Raleigh (9/16), Los Angeles (9/23), Atlanta (9/17), New York (9/24), Denver (9/17), Irvine (9/24), Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (9/18), Sacramento 9/25(), Albuquerque (9/18), Boston (9/26), Houston (9/20), Providence (9/27), Salt Lake City (9/20), and  Fresno (9/27).  Public hearings will be held in San Jose, CA on September 26 and Washington, D.C. on October 8.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement proposes to amend and update the regulations by differentiating the requirements for operating dry tree (surface production) and subsea tree production systems on the Outer Continental Shelf and making the regulations easier to read and understand. Comments are due by October 21, 2013.

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Advocacy is concerned that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has certified that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities without providing a factual basis for the certification as is required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act.  Advocacy is also concerned about the methodologies and assumptions underlying CMS’ economic analysis and possible alternative approaches.  For these reasons set out below, Advocacy believes that CMS should improve its small entity impact analysis as it drafts the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis to be contained in the final rule.    

The Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service propose to amend certain regulations regarding incidental take statements.  The changes will address the use of surrogates (e.g. habitat, ecological conditions, or similarly affected species, to express the amount or extent of anticipated

On September 3, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice announcing that it is initiating the process to consider amending the energy conservation standards for commercial packaged boilers. After concluding review of the available information and public comments, DOE will publish either a notice of the determination that standards do not need to be amended, or a notice of proposed rulemaking including new proposed standards. DOE has prepared a Framework Document that details the analytical approach and scope of coverage for the rulemaking, and identifies several issues about which DOE is particularly interested in receiving comments. DOE will accept written comments, data, and information regarding the Framework Document until October 18, 2013.