Brian Dubie is pre-certified, for Category III landing approaches. “I don’t have to call the FAA for a permit” He wants to handle environmental enforcement and permitting in a similar way.

Once again reaching deeply into his stock of pre-certified examples he addresses this question from the Free Press: When the interests of economic growth and environmental protection are in direct conflict, which carries more weight?

In my job as an airline captain I am regulated by the FAA. I am certified to make a “Category III approach” — meaning I can land my aircraft in zero visibility and zero ceiling (clouds). Because I am pre-certified by the FAA when I am making an approach on a dark and stormy night, I don’t have to call the FAA and ask for a permit to land the plane*[see Dubie made easy below]….

I look at many environmental permits the same way. First, there is no room for error. But there is room for simplification.

If we certified engineers and architects, contractors, materials and best practices — if we required regular recertification — and if the penalty for noncompliance is loss of certification, we could streamline and speed up the process and devote more resources to enforcement. That’s the right way to target our resources. It’s also a responsible way to grow our economy.

Target our resources and let pre-certified engineers, architects and contractors handle the new streamlined process. Kind of like the Mineral Management Service and their de-facto pre-certifying of the oil drilling industry. MMS followed wholesale a set of best practices adopted directly from the American Petroleum Institute.

Evidence that the oil and gas industry had captured MMS abounds: oil and gas company employees filled out official inspection forms in pencil for the MMS inspectors to trace over in pen; the industry cut and pasted Environmental Assessments from drilling projects in other parts of the world with no oversight from MMS (as evidenced by the inclusion of walruses — a cold water species which lives in Alaska — as a species of concern in the Gulf of Mexico); and MMS adopted wholesale a set of "best practices" for oil and gas drilling straight from the American Petroleum Institute, and then made these best practices only suggestions

* Dubie made easy: For those who do not have FAA Category III approach clearances and may be having trouble following Dubie’s reasoning:  People with drivers licenses don’t have to get a permit from the state each time they park their car. No room for error and always room to simplify?