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Regulatory Agendas and Regulatory Plans

Twice a year, a number of federal agencies combine efforts to publish a comprehensive report describing regulations currently under development or recently completed. These reports are bundled together and published as the Unified Agenda. Each agency's contribution is called a Semiannual Regulatory Agenda. Once a year, each agency releases a Regulatory Plan is released along with its Regulatory Agenda. Access EPA's Semiannual Regulatory Agendas and Regulatory Plans from this page.

Learn more about Semiannual Regulatory Agendas and Regulatory Plans

Download Our Agenda and Plan Books

For each Regulatory Agenda and Plan, we offer instructions for how to access them. Those publications from recent years are offered from government-wide web tools: RegInfo.gov and Regulations.gov. For previous years, we provide books that compile all of EPA's Agenda and Plan information into one resource. You will need the free Adobe Reader to view the books on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about Adobe Reader.

2011 Regulatory Agendas and Plan

  • Access EPA's Fall 2011 Regulatory Plan and Semiannual Regulatory Agenda in one of two ways:
    1. RegInfo.gov - You will be directed to a non-EPA web page. Select "Fall 2011 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions." When prompted, select "Environmental Protection Agency." (Read more about RegInfo.)
    2. Regulations.gov - You will be directed to a non-EPA web page. Select "Fall 2011" for the Publication Date and "Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" for the Agency. (Read more about Regulations.gov.)
  • Access EPA's Spring 2011 Semiannual Regulatory Agenda in one of two ways:
    1. RegInfo.gov - You will be directed to a non-EPA web page. Select "Spring 2011 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions." When prompted, select "Environmental Protection Agency." (Read more about RegInfo.) 
    2. Regulations.gov - You will be directed to a non-EPA web page. Select "Fall 2011" for the Publication Date and "Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" for the Agency. (Read more about Regulations.gov.)

2010 Regulatory Agendas and Plan

Child's drawing of a rainforest with a toucan, tiger, and tree frog among trees. Drawn for the

Regulatory Plan and Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Fall 2010 (373 pp, 3.2 MB)

The book's cover (shown above) was submitted to EPA's "Celebrating 40 Years of Earth Day" poster contest. Artwork by Alexi Spector, grade 10.

Child's drawing of the Earth with the charge to reduce, reuse, and recycle encircling it. Drawn in response to contest theme: 'How can you see the principles reduce, reuse, recycle in your life?' Artwork by William Ge, Grade 9.

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Spring 2010 (178 pp, 2.1 MB)

The book's cover (shown above) was the winner of an art contest for students in grades K-12. Children and grandchildren of EPA employees participated. The contest theme was "How can you see the principles 'reduce, reuse, recycle' in your life?"

2009 Regulatory Agendas and Plan

Child's drawing of various animals helping to build Earth. “From ants to zebras and everything in between, all life on Earth has an important job to do.”. Artwork by Emma Waterman, Grade 9.

Regulatory Plan and Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Fall 2009 (187 pp, 2.3 MB)

The book's cover (shown above) was the winner of an art contest for students in grades K-12. Children and grandchildren of EPA employees participated. The contest theme was “From ants to zebras and everything in between, all life on Earth has an important job to do.”

Cover of EPA's Spring 2009 Semiannual Regulatory Agenda. Drawing of various animals helping to plant a tree. This cover was the result of an art contest for children K -12 who are children or grandchildren of EPA employees. The theme was We are part of the Earth, and it is part of us.

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Spring 2009 (164 pp, 1.6 MB)

The book's cover (shown above) was the winner of an art contest for students in grades K-12. Children and grandchildren of EPA employees participated. The contest theme was "We are part of the Earth, and it is part of us."

2008 Regulatory Agendas and Plan

Cover of EPA's Fall 2008 Regulatory Plan and Semiannual Agenda. Picture of a hand holding a seedling. From this plant grows a clean environment with walkable cities, mountain vistas, clean air, and more. This cover was the result of an art contest for children K -12 who are children or grandchildren of EPA employees. The theme was Caring for the Earth begins with me

Regulatory Plan and Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Fall 2008 (180 pp, 2 MB)

The book's cover (shown above) was the winner of an art contest for students in grades K-12. Children and grandchildren of EPA employees participated. The contest theme was "Caring for the Earth begins with me."

Cover of EPA's Spring 2008 Regulatory Agenda. Picture of a futuristic city block that includes high-rise buildings, light rail, a bus, recylcing containers, and an interactive map of a subway system. This cover was the result of an art contest for children K-12 who are children or grandchildren of EPA employees. The theme was Our world is changing fast - show us what it should look like in twenty years!

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Spring 2008 (159 pp, 2.97 MB)

The book's cover (shown above) was the winner of an art contest for students in grades K-12. Children and grandchildren of EPA employees participated. The contest theme was “Our world is changing fast - show us what it should look like in twenty years!”

2007 Regulatory Agendas and Plan

Cover of EPA's Fall 2007 Regulatory Plan and Agenda. Picture of a squirrel eating from a overturned trash can. This cover was the result of an art contest for children K-12 who are children or grandchildren of EPA employees. The theme was Whatever You Do, Wherever You Go, Think before You Throw!

Regulatory Plan and Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Fall 2007 (399 pp, 3.1 MB)

This book's cover was the winner of an art contest for students in grades K-12. Children and grandchildren of EPA employees participated. The contest theme was “Whatever You Do, Wherever You Go, Think before You Throw!”

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Spring 2007 - Correction

Cover of EPA's Spring 2007 Regulatory Agenda. Pictures of seeds, farmland, and a flower adorn the cover along with the EPA seal and the title.

Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Spring 2007 (159 pp, 3 MB)

2006 Regulatory Agenda and Plan

Cover of EPA's Fall 06 Regulatory Plan and Agenda. Children's drawing of kids playing in a forest. Artwork by William Ge, 8th Grade.

Regulatory Plan and Semiannual Regulatory Agenda: Fall 2006 (191 pp, 2.65 MB)

This book's cover was the winner of an art contest for students in grades K-12. Children and grandchildren of EPA employees participated.

Background

Many federal agencies publish Regulatory Plans and Regulatory Agendas in accordance with Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735). EPA's Regulatory Plan describes the most important regulations that we reasonably expect to issue in proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year. These are the regulatory actions that embody the core of our regulatory priorities. EPA's Semiannual Regulatory Agenda describes a broader universe of regulatory activities under development or review; the Plan is a subset of the Agenda. Included in the Agenda are regulations and certain major policy documents. However, there is no legal significance to the omission of an item from the Agenda, and we generally do not include minor amendments or actions such as changes of address, delegations of authority to states under the Clean Air Act, and pesticide tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (A full explanation of actions that are excluded is in each Agenda's preamble.)

Our Semiannual Regulatory Agenda is published twice a year. The fall version includes the Regulatory Plan and generally is released sometime between October through December. The spring version generally is published sometime in April or May. Many other federal agencies produce Agendas and Plans, just like we do. The General Services Administration's Regulatory Information Service Center (RISC) compiles all of them into a Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.

You can access EPA's Agenda and Plan in three ways:

  1. Access an electronic version at RegInfo.gov - This is probably the easiest place for you to search for a specific rule. Choose "Environmental Protection Agency" from the drop-down menu provided, and then select a specific regulation to view its details. RegInfo is a federal government-wide website managed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and RISC. RegInfo provides government-wide information about Unified Agendas, OMB's review of federal regulations, and more.
  2. Access an electronic version at Regulations.gov - Select "Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)" from the alphabetical list of all agencies. On this site, you can open a PDF compilation of all of EPA's Agenda entries. Regulations.gov is a federal government-wide website that enables citizens to search, view and comment on regulations issued by the U.S. government.
  3. Download EPA's Agendas and Plans from 2006 through 2010, in book form, from this page (see above).

One final way to access EPA's Agendas and Plans is through the Federal Register (FR). But please keep in mind that federal agencies are publishing less of their Agendas and Plans in the FR. Starting with Fall 2007, only statutorily required information -- and not the full agenda -- has been printed in the FR. RegInfo.gov and Regulations.gov are on-line replacements for the full FR publication.

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