Other Approaches to Air Quality Management - Negotiated Rulemaking

The regulatory approach is extremely time-consuming and expensive. Regulations can take years to develop and are often difficult to modify or fine-tune. One method to reduce the time and expense associated with regulatory development is through the negotiated rulemaking process. Negotiated rulemaking is a process which brings together representatives of various interest groups and a federal agency to negotiate the text of a proposed rule. The regulatory negotiation process allows the interested, affected parties more direct input into the drafting of the regulation, thus ensuring that the rule is more sensitive to the needs and limitations of both the parties and the agency. Rules drafted by negotiation have been found to be more pragmatic and more easily implemented at an earlier date, thus providing the public with the benefits of the rule while minimizing the negative impact of a poorly conceived or drafted regulation.

In the negotiated rulemaking process federal, tribal, state, and local governments will need to engage legislators, stakeholders, and the public in a broad dialogue on the importance of air quality issues, resulting in well-informed decisions and public support for sufficient resources to carry out important programs to protect air quality creating an improving intergovernmental air management partnership.