Photo and Summary
Remarks by Vice President at Presentation of
Second Plain Language Award
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, August 5, 1998
Contact: (202) 456-7035
VICE PRESIDENT GORE PRESENTS SECOND PLAIN LANGUAGE AWARD
Two Bureau of Land Management Employees Awarded
For Re-Writing Geothermal Power Regulation
Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore presented his second "No
Gobbledygook Award" today to two Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
employees
for rewriting a federal regulation on geothermal power.
Today's award builds on the President's Executive Memorandum that
directed all executive departments and agencies to make government
documents clearer and more straightforward. BLM's Chris Fontecchio, a
Regulatory Analyst, and Richard Hoops, National Geothermal Program
Coordinator, rewrote, reorganized, and streamlined a regulation on
leasing
and developing federal land to produce geothermal power.
"This isn't just about good writing," the Vice President said.
"It's
about good government and good government service. Plain language helps
create understanding, and understanding helps create trust. And trust
--
especially trust in the promise of self-government -- is essential to
solving the common problems we face."
On June 1, the Vice President announced that President Clinton
signed
an Executive Memorandum directing agencies to: (1) write any new
document
that tells the public how to get a benefit or comply with a requirement
in
plain language by October 1, 1998; (2) write all new government
regulations
in plain language by January 1, 1999; and (3) revise all existing
letters
and notices into plain language by 2002.
The samples below illustrate the new 4-sentence rewrite of an old
page-long regulation.
New Regulation:
Sec. 3271.10 What do I need to start preparing a site and building and
testing a utilization facility on Federal land leased for geothermal
resources?
If you want to use federal land to produce geothermal power, you
have
to get a site license and construction permit before you even start
preparing the site. Send a plan to the BLM that shows what you want to
do
and write up a proposed site license agreement that you think is fair
and
reasonable. BLM will review it and decide whether or not to give you a
permit and license to proceed with work on the site. Until and unless
they
do, don't even think about it.
Old regulation:
Sec. 3264.2-1 Application for utilization permit.
(a) A permit to construct and operate an individual production well
facility of not more than 10-megawatt net capacity or heat energy
equivalent, including all related on-lease facilities, must be obtained
from the authorized officer prior to commencing surface disturbing
activities related to the construction and operation of each such
facility.
The application for a permit in this respect shall be filed in
triplicate
with the authorized officer and must state the location of the principal
facility and all related sites by distance in meters and direction from
the
nearest section or tract lines, as shown on the official plat of survey
or
protracted surveys, and the elevation of the ground level at these
sites.
The application must be accompanied by a proposed plan of utilization,
as
required by Sec. 3262.4-1 of this title. All individual well production
facilities must be constructed and operated in accordance with the
requirements of the regulations in this group and any other applicable
regulations.
(b) A permit to construct and operate a research and demonstration
facility (involving one or more wells) of not more than 20-megawatt net
capacity or heat energy equivalent, including all related on-lease
facilities, must be obtained from the authorized officer prior to
commencing any surface disturbing activities related to the construction
or
operations of each such facility. The application for a permit in this
respect shall be filed in triplicate with the authorized officer and
must
state the location of the principal facility and all related sites by
distance in meters and direction from the nearest section or tract
lines,
as shown on the official plat of survey or protracted surveys, and the
elevation of the ground level at these sites. The application must be
accompanied by a proposed plan of utilization, as required by Sec.
3262.4-1
of this title. Any permit issued for a research and demonstration
facility
shall be for an initial term of not more than 5 years from the date that
the facility becomes operational. All research and demonstration
facilities
must be constructed and operated in accordance with the requirements of
the
regulations in this part, 43 CFR Group 3200, and other applicable
regulations. The continued beneficial use of a research and
demonstration
facility beyond the initial term provided by any such permit, or the
conversion of the facility to a plant facility at that time or at any
time
during the initial permit period, will require that a license be
obtained
from the responsible officer of the surface managing agency pursuant to
the
regulations in this group.
(c) A permit to construct and operate any plant facility, other than
as
provided in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, including all related
on-lease facilities, must be obtained from the authorized officer prior
to
commencing any surface disturbing activities related to the construction
or
operation of each such facility. If the proposed plant facility is to
have
an output of greater than 20-megawatt net capacity, or heat energy
equivalent, the facility operator must also obtain a license or such
other
permit as may be required pursuant to the regulations in this group. The
application for a permit in this respect shall be filed in triplicate
with
the authorized officer and must state the location of the principal
facility and all related sites by distance in meters and direction from
the
nearest section or tract lines, as shown on the official plat of survey
or
protracted surveys, and the elevation of the ground level at these
sites.
The application must be accompanied by a proposed plan of utilization,
as
required by Sec. 3262.4-1 of this title. All plant facilities must be
constructed and operated in accordance with the requirements of the
regulations in this group and any other applicable regulations.
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