Written testimony of U.S. Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio for a House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation hearing titled “Maritime Transportation Regulations: Impacts on Safety, Security, Jobs and the Environment, Part 1”

2167 Rayburn House Office Building

Introduction

Good morning Chairman Hunter, Ranking Member Garamendi, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. It is my pleasure to be here today to discuss the Coast Guard’s regulatory program.

The Coast Guard’s regulatory process focuses on managing maritime risk through the establishment of proficiency and safety standards to protect life, property and the maritime and coastal environment, while facilitating the efficient flow of commerce and the safe recreational use of our Nation’s waterways. To meet these objectives, the Coast Guard continues to build upon our Regulatory Development Program, which includes investing in the workforce, improving process transparency, streamlining processes, soliciting public input, and carefully scrutinizing all regulatory actions to ensure they are achieving desired outcomes.

Coast Guard Regulatory Program

Since implementation of the Regulatory Development Program, the Coast Guard has seen significant improvements in publishing new rules and managing its rulemaking backlog. Figure 1 shows the rules that have gone into effect and published following Congress’ addition of resources in Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 and the Coast Guard’s initiation of major reforms (numbers throughout this report are as of August 28, 2013). These published rules include all Final Rules (FR), Interim Rules (IR), Direct Final Rules (DFR), and Technical Amendments. As shown, the Coast Guard published 16 Effective Rules in FY 2012, and 11 to date in FY 2013 (dark blue in the graph), with another five projected by the end of the fiscal year (light blue). One of the Effective Rules published in 2012 was statutorily mandated. Two Effective Rules published to date in 2013 are statutorily mandated and we project an additional two statutorily mandated Effective Rules will be published in 2013. Additionally, the Coast Guard publishes approximately 20 Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs), Advance NPRMs, and Supplemental NPRMs per year.

We currently have 68 projects in our rulemaking backlog, as noted in Figure 2, and progress continues on all active regulatory projects.

With a significant focus on older rulemakings, the average rule development time has been reduced from 6.2 years at the end of FY 2009 to just over four years in FY 2013. This trend is shown in Figure 3. The Coast Guard anticipates further reductions by prioritizing the completion of older rulemaking projects. We recognize the value of soliciting industry and public comments in our rulemaking projects and clear cost-benefit analysis, which takes time but results in rules that do not impose unwarranted costs and can more rapidly achieve the required safety, security, and/or environmental stewardship outcomes.

The Coast Guard is also working with DHS to implement the requirements of Executive Order 13563 (“Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review” January 18, 2011). Furthermore, the Coast Guard assisted in the development of the DHS-wide plan for the retrospective review of existing DHS regulations, and identified the four rules shown in Table 1 for detailed study. Each of these retrospective reviews consume rulemaking resources at approximately the same level as a large, significant rulemaking project. These reviews have been completed and integrated into updates to those regulations as appropriate.

Noteworthy Publications

Table 2 shows the notable publications in FY 2012 and thus far in FY 2013.

The rules noted in Table 2 are priority rulemaking actions including: Congressional mandates (e.g., Double Hull Tanker Escorts, which was required by the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act), rules required for compliance with international conventions (e.g., STCW), and discretionary rulemakings to improve vessel and mariner safety or establish updated equipment standards (e.g., Carbon Dioxide Fire Suppression Systems). A current list of active regulatory projects, for which information is publicly available, is maintained at www.reginfo.gov, and at www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Prevention-Policy-CG-5P/Commercial-Regulations-standards-CG-5PS/Office-of-Standards-Evaluation-and-Development/Projects/, which contains links to the Unified Agenda, dockets, and other information sources.

Progress on Statutory Mandates

Of the 68 rules under development, 29 are derived from, or incorporate, statutory mandates. This includes 18 projects either added or modified by the 2010 and 2012 Coast Guard Authorization Acts. All 29 of these statutorily mandated projects are underway, with eight at either an Interim Rule or Final Rule stage or close to finalization/effective action. Table 3 lists 13 rules published in the Spring 2013 Regulatory Agenda that have an associated statutory mandate.

Conclusion

The Coast Guard continues to improve its regulatory program. Through streamlining internal processes, balancing input from maritime stakeholders, careful analysis of alternatives and thorough evaluation of the cost and benefit of each rule, we are focused on ensuring every regulatory action achieves the desired safety, security, and environmental protection outcomes without imposing unnecessary costs on U.S.-flag vessel operators competing in a global industry.

Thank you for your continued support and the opportunity to testify before you today. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.