By Cindy Skrzycki
Tuesday, March 11, 2008; D02

Clarifying what "oil" is, updating mine standards for handling explosives, allowing more recycling of electroplating sludge. While these topics aren't exactly grist for David Letterman, you will find them in a "Top 10" list -- the rule changes U.S. small-business owners most want during the Bush administration's last year in office.

The list, issued Feb. 28 by the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration from industry nominations, marks the third time since 2001 that the Bush administration has asked for recommendations on which federal mandates to modify. As usual, public-interest groups attack the process as favoritism toward business and "catering to anti-regulatory lobbyists."

"This has allowed industry lobbying groups to prioritize the rules they want rolled back," Matthew Madia, a regulatory policy analyst with OMB Watch, a nonprofit group in Washington that monitors regulatory policy, said of the list. "It's a last-minute attempt to make sure their voice is heard."

Nonsense, says Thomas Sullivan, chief counsel for advocacy at the SBA, whose independent office winnowed the Top 10 from 82 suggestions submitted by business groups and individuals. He sees the effort not so much as a sprint to beat President Bush out of town next January as a way to tee up key issues for review by a new administration of either party.

"These nominations for review and reform will take several years to accomplish," Sullivan said. One seeks variances for water systems in small communities to meet rules on safe drinking water. Another asks the Federal Aviation Administration to reconsider airspace limitations imposed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that are hurting small airports.

The National Paint & Coatings Association in Washington wants the Environmental Protection Agency to spell out what "oil" is for rules governing oil spills, with an eye to excluding 10,000 small facilities that don't make petroleum-based oil products.

The Top 10 list might resonate with Sen. John McCain if he wins the White House in November. The presumptive Republican nominee incorporates a call for "less regulation" in his speeches.

A Democrat in the White House might be a different story.

Sally Katzen, who ran regulatory review at the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration, said a change of party means a change of regulatory plans.

"When a new administration comes in, it will typically have its own priorities -- informed during the transition period by its supporters and their preferences," Katzen said. "Certainly, when George W. Bush took the oath of office, anything in the works that had 'Clinton' on it was highly suspect and presumed to be wrong-headed."

The Bush White House first asked business groups in 2001 for rules to change. Susan Dudley, current head of the OMB office, said the 2004 solicitation received 189 nominations. Of those, 76 were selected as "priorities" for the agencies and close to 60 have been modified.

There is enough time left for agencies to address at least some of the nominations if they act quickly.

The EPA proposed last March to exclude some types of recyclable metals and solvents from its rules on hazardous solid waste by changing the definition. Waste considered hazardous is subject to more stringent and costly methods of treatment and disposal.

The Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association in Washington and Gary Mason, chief executive of iSi Environmental Services, a Wichita consulting firm, asked that the same change be included in the Top 10 list to stress its importance.

IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries, with about 2,500 members, said changing the definition would encourage more recycling of the electroplating waste metal sludge that is a byproduct of making printed electronic circuit boards, which are found in almost every electronic product. The EPA expects to finish the rule in July.

Fern Abrams, director of government relations and environmental policy for Bannockburn, Ill.-based IPC, said the group represents small businesses as well as the largest manufacturers. The smaller members would benefit most because their cost of regulatory compliance is usually higher.

Environmentalists claim that narrowing the definition of hazardous waste will allow more toxic substances to enter land and water supplies.

Thea Lee, policy director for the AFL-CIO federation of unions in Washington, said the nomination process doesn't account for worker safety -- as in a proposal to change a rule covering mine explosives -- or the environment.

The SBA's Sullivan said the top picks were based on whether they offered alternative approaches to settling a regulatory controversy while still offering protection.

"It's the responsible way to approach it," he said. "A ton [of nominators] were upset about rules or entire departments."

One businessman whose complaint didn't make the cut appreciated a chance to vent. Ray Burgess, president of Mattress Makers in Tacoma, Wash., doesn't like a Consumer Product Safety Commission rule issued in March 2006 to prevent mattress fires.

"This rule is a devastating blow to small mattress factories," Burgess said. "It is an assault on common sense."

Sullivan said no matter who is in the White House, these rules will remain priorities for his constituency. Not everyone agrees.

"My hope is it just goes in the circular file," said Robert Shull, deputy director for regulatory policy at Public Citizen, a public-interest group in Washington.

Cindy Skrzycki is a regulatory columnist for Bloomberg News. She can be reached atcskrzycki@bloomberg.net.