Environmental Regulations and Laws

Laws
Public Laws passed by the U.S. Congress and codified in the U.S. Code.

The Federal Register

The Federal Register is published each business day and includes proposed rules, final rules, meeting notices, public hearing notices and the semi-annual regulatory agenda.

Federal Register - Environmental Documents
Full text of all Federal Register documents issued by EPA, and of selected documents issued by other Departments and Agencies divided into twelve topical categories for easy access (eg. air, water, pesticides, toxics, waste).

Dockets - Dockets contain information and supporting documentation related to the rulemaking process. Public comments received on rules and proposed rules are maintained in the appropriate Docket. Find information on electronic submission of public comments and data, documents, and the availability of public comments on the Internet.

Federal Register database
The Government Printing Office (GPO) maintains the official electronic database that covers Federal Register documents beginning in January 1994.

The Unified Agenda

All agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas describing regulatory actions they are developing or have recently completed. These agendas are published in the Federal Register, usually during April and October each year, as part of the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.

Search the Unified Agenda This site offers instructions and tips on how to search for Unified Agenda information and upcoming actions.

Code of Federal Regulations

The final regulations published in the Federal Register are collected in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The CFR is divided into 50 titles which represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. EPA regulations can be found in Title 40, Protection of the Environment. Each volume of the CFR is revised once each calendar year. Title 40 is issued every July 1.

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) database available from the Government Printing Office (GPO).

CFR Title 40 : Protection of Environment Full text of CFR Title 40 retrievable by chapters, subchapters, and parts in portable document format (pdf).

The United States Code

The United States Code (USC) is the official record of all federal laws. The US Code is prepared and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives.

The United States Code (USC) database available from the Government Printing Office (GPO).
This database contains the laws of the United States in effect as of January 1996. For more recent enactments one must turn to the uncompiled statues or Public Laws in the form passed by Congress.

Thomas - Legislative Information on the Internet
available from the Library of Congress is a resource providing access to current legislation, uncompiled Public Laws, the Congressional Record, committee information, and information about the legislative process.

Major Environmental and Administrative Laws