Cal/EPA Statewide Regulatory Reform Meetings and
Governor Wilson's Executive Order W-127-95

An overwhelming number of individuals, businesses, and local governments participated in the California Environmental Protection Agency's (Cal/EPA) Statewide Regulatory Improvement Meetings held October 30 through November 3, 1995. More than 120 speakers presented multiple comments and suggestions for improvement to California's regulatory environment. Nearly 100 additional written responses were also received and captured in a matrix that includes more than 500 individual comments.

Based upon the higher than anticipated level of response, and the need for additional time to produce a useful summary of comments, our initial goal of having the comments publicly available December 1st will not be achieved until mid-December. We apologize for any inconvenience, but the goal of meeting the Governor's Executive Order W-127-95 December 8th deadline must take precedence. Processing information gathered at our statewide meetings is a critical part of our response to the Governor's Executive Order.

A 40-page matrix of more than 500 individual comments was reviewed by a team of top mangers from the Boards, Offices, and Departments. The comments were compiled and sorted into common themes through the use of a smaller matrix. Issues affecting only one   company or individual will be addressed by the primary Boards, Offices, Departments involved. Comments which suggest reform requiring legislative change have been identified for further review. Written comments received after the November 3rd deadline have been referred to the lead Board/Office/Department identified in the letter for a direct response. A number of speakers addressed issues not the direct responsibility of Cal/EPA, and therefore those comments have been forwarded to the appropriate state agencies.

Finally, these common theme issues were segmented into categories of "status," which include, active reform in-progress, innovative issues, and resolved issues. Team leaders have been identified to construct issue papers under the following categories that are due February 1st:

• Compliance/Enforcement
• Permitting
• Site Mitigation
• Management (Policy)/Training
• Consistency
• Standards

Cal/EPA was pleased to learn that of the more than 500 individual comments, more than 400 were identified under the status of "Active Reform in Progress." We look forward to summarizing the comments for you and completing our commitment to change the process of California's regulatory program to provide burden relief to the regulated community.

Thank you for your interest in Cal/EPA's regulatory reform efforts and the Governor's Executive Order. Please check this space after December 15 for the final issue summaries.