About IPD

The basic thrust of an IPD is to make data relevant to regulatory proceedings available to the public on a continuous basis and also to provide the public with the capability to comment on regulatory actions on a continuous basis. In essence, in a wired society the generation of information on a regulatory issue does not cease at the end of a public comment period. The time limited notice and comment period in the Administrative Procedure Act is obsolete; notice and comment is now a 24/7 endeavor.

In addition, regulatory actions of individual regulatory agencies often converge, are continuously modified as a result of judicial decisions and often lack transparency in their implementation. The regulatory actions of NOAA and MMS to zone oceans for varying levels of economic and preservation activity is the subject of this Interactive Public Docket.

This Forum is managed by the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE), a regulatory watchdog founded and managed by former regulatory officials of the regulatory review office (OIRA) of the White House Office of Management and Budget. CRE manages a number of websites dedicated to increasing the transparency of the regulatory process, including TheOMB.US, a website focused on OMB’s role in centralized regulatory review beginning with the Johnson Administration and updated constantly to reflect the actions of the current Administration.

CRE personnel through years of government service have made notable contributions  to the formation and operation of OIRA.  In order that OIRA remain a viable and effective institution it must have access to timely information as it discharges its role of “regulating the regulators”.