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FAA Will Revoke A Privatization Regulatory Policy That Led Directly To Deadly Crashes

Plane Crashes Are Just The Most Visible Disasters Of Deregulation & Privatization

SRRA is not the only law that regulates significant risks to public health and the environment, e.g. the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (TCPA) regulates chemical safety practices that could kill orders of magnitude more people than a plane crash.

Given what we know of the corporate incentive structure and financial implications of regulation of health and safety risks – as exposed so brutally by the Boeing example – I strongly urge you to follow the lead of the FAA and “re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks” of the SRRA and other environmental laws, regulations, and DEP programs that effectively or formally rely on similar delegations and privatization. ~~~ Letter to NJ Senators (below)

I’m embarrassed to admit that I missed a recent major policy announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the Boeing disaster.

Back in January, the FAA finally admitted that the source of the problem was an FAA policy that delegated regulatory authority for plane safety to Boeing.

I’ve been a harsh critic of such “delegations” for decades, as a form of deregulation and privatization that put corporate profits ahead of public healthy, safety and the environment. Most recently, see:

• Planes, Banks, And Trains Crash For The Same Reasons

The FAA statement was issued on January 12, 2024:

• FAA Increasing Oversight of Boeing Production and Manufacturing

Here is the key text:

• Assessment of safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight, and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.

“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. “The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk.

The FAA is not the only regulatory agency that has delegated regulatory authority to corporations.

Here in NJ, the Legislature has effectively delegated exactly that kind of health and safety authority to private contractors who cleanup up toxic waste sites.

The DEP also has effectively delegated, privatized and/or deregulated the protection of public health and the environment in air and water pollution and chemical safety programs.

More subtly, the corporations have “captured” DEP regulators and have far too much influence on DEP regulatory policy and permit decisions.

While the FAA has finally recognized and acknowledged the source of the problem and pledged to “re-examine” safety regulations and implement reforms, there has been no such independent investigation or realization here in NJ regarding very similar flaws in the environmental regulatory framework and DEP.

So I reached out and sent a warning to our Senate environmental leaders, Smith, Greenstein, and McKeon, see:

Dear Senators:

I am just now listening to a BBC report on Boeing.

Although I suspected it to be the case, I was unaware of a prior policy decision by the FAA to delegate regulatory oversight authority to Boeing. The FAA announced reconsideration of that delegation policy in a January 12, 2024 statement:

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-increasing-oversight-boeing-production-and-manufacturing

“It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. “The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk. The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing’s inspections and its quality system.”

As you know, the Legislature similarly delegated regulatory authority to Licensed Site Remediation Professionals in the 2007 Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA).

The health and safety risks regulated by the FAA involve immediate deadly accidents.

But the health, safety and environmental risks regulated under the SRRA are far more subtle and may take decades to occur.

As far as I know, there has been no independent 3rd party audit of the performance of the SRRA and LSRP’s and DEP.

SRRA is not the only law that regulates significant risks to public health and the environment, e.g. the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (TCPA) regulates chemical safety practices that could kill orders of magnitude more people than a plane crash.

Given what we know of the corporate incentive structure and financial implications of regulation of health and safety risks – as exposed so brutally by the Boeing example – I strongly urge you to follow the lead of the FAA and “re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks” of the SRRA and other environmental laws, regulations, and DEP programs that effectively or formally rely on similar delegations and privatization.

Bill Wolfe

See also:

Planes, Banks, And Trains Crash For The Same Reasons

http://www.wolfenotes.com/2023/04/banks-and-trains-crash-for-the-same-reasons/