The executive office should review all regulatory programs to determine if the state should continue to administer them or return the responsibility to the federal government. Most state environmental regulatory programs, such as water, air and hazardous waste, result from federal laws that states have the option of administering. States administer federal regulatory programs when they believe they can do a better job than the federal government. However, the cost versus benefit of some state-operated environmental regulatory programs is questionable. The following environmental regulatory programs should be considered for elimination or return to the federal government:[*]
[*] Some in the regulatory community may be concerned that return of environmental programs to the federal government could lead to difficulty, since they would be required to deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This concern may be valid for some programs, such as air permitting, but it should not be for either wetland regulation or contaminated property cleanup. The EPA has limited jurisdiction in both programs and less restrictive requirements than does the state.