Summary

EnviroSource.com links you to nearly all of the existing U.S. federal environmental laws and regulations. Links are provided for all of the laws (U.S. Code format), the most important regulations including Title 29, Title 33, Title 40, Title 49, and Title 50, the Federal Register and much more. Canadian federal laws and regulations are also covered.

Generally the only U.S. federal regulatory information not available through EnviroSource.com are old Federal Register preambles (which generally can be obtained through regulatory contacts and often are not important after a number of years - since the regulations become clearly understood and there are usually many guidance documents written to help clarify them).

The following is a summary of what is provided by the EnviroSource.com category Federal/National - Laws and Regulations:

1. Laws/Statues/Codes/Acts
2. Rules/Regulations
3. The U.S. Federal Register and Canadian Gazettes
4. U.S. Executive Orders
5. Legislative Information
6. U.S. Courts/Judicial
7. Commercial Vendors of Regulatory Information
8. Directories that provide overviews, summaries, proposed rules and supporting documentation)
9. Indexes such as the Canadian Environmental Statutes and Regulations Index and the Canadian Environmental Laws and Regulations Index

Note: Listings in this category have limited searchability by technical words.

Staying Up-to-Date on Laws

Federal law changes are relatively infrequent. EnviroSource.com links you to the most up-to-date version of the U.S. Code when you use the source titled "Federal Laws (United States Code) - Cornell Law School Site". This source allows you to conduct a simple check to see if there are any new laws which have passed since the code was lasted compiled - ensuring you are completely up-to-date (see the Cornell listing abstract for the update procedure).

Using and Staying Up-to-Date on Regulations

When using EnviroSource.com you generally have two options for finding regulations:

1. go directly to agency (EPA, OSHA, DOT, etc.) online postings of their own regulations (which often provide overviews and a lot of valuable information, and sometimes the most up-to-date version of a regulation - even before obtained by commercial vendors or GPO), or

2. use the listing titled "Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - GPO Official Site"

Since agency online postings of their own regulations are not daily and the CFR is updated only once a year in hardcopy format and online at the GPO site, the Federal Register should be used to stay current (the online Federal Register - GPO Official Site is updated daily). The following two steps should be used:

1. look at the date of when the regulations were posted online, then

2. go to the Federal Register and search the regulations of interest (e.g. 40 CFR Part 265) from the date they were posted online at the other site to the current date

By using this procedure you will be up-to-date to the day, and you will be positioned to review preambles for new regulations which have been promulgated - this is when preambles are the most useful.

Alternatively you can use a List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA) subscription to check which CFR sections have been revised by the FR (the LSA is a monthly publication available in hardcopy format from through the category Books/CD-ROMs at a discount from GPO's price).

EnviroSource.com also provides you with regulatory contacts for information on how up-to-date and comprehensive individual agency postings are, and contacts for obtaining hardcopy regulations.

Laws Roadmap

EnviroSource.com provides reference to both laws in Public Law format and in USC format (the final resting place). When put into the USC format, Public Laws can sometimes go into many diverse sections of the USC (e.g. SARA). When this happens USC tables can be used to identify the locations. However, usually Public Laws are found in a well defined area of the USC. For this reason and since the USC is the official source for laws, most of the environmental laws in the category Federal/National - Laws and Regulations are references to the USC (approximately 40 primary laws are referenced directly - directories can be used to find additional laws).

The reference titled "Shepard's Acts And Cases By Popular Name" provides a cross reference between popular names (e.g. Clean Water Act) and the actual legal citation (e.g. Public Law Number or USC Section).

Regulations Roadmap

The following CFR Titles are especially relevant to the environmental profession:

Title 40 - Protection of the Environment (EPA requirements)
Title 42 - Public Health
Title 33 - Navigation & Navigable Waters (Coast Guard and Corps of Engineers requirements)
Title 21 - Foods and Drugs
Title 49 - Transportation (DOT requirements)
Title 29 - Labor (OSHA requirements)
Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries

Additionally, the following CFR Titles may be relevant to environmental research:

Title 7 - Agriculture
Title 10 - Energy
Title 14 - Aeronautics & Space
Title 25 - Indians
Title 36 - Parks, Forest, and Public Property
Title 46 - Shipping
Title 48 - Federal Acquisitions

The primary CFR Title for the environmental profession is Title 40. The following provides a more detailed breakdown of the Title 40 Chapters and Parts:

Chapter I - EPA (Parts 1-799)

-Subchapter A, General (Parts 1-29)
-Subchpater B, Grants and Other Federal Assistance (Parts 30-47)
-Subchapter C, Air Programs (Parts 50-95)
-Subchapter D, Water Programs (Parts 104-149)
-Subchapter E, Pesticide Programs (Parts 152-186)
-Subchapter F, Radiation Protection Programs (Parts 190-195)
-Subchapter G, Noise Abatement Programs (Parts 201-211)
-Subchapter H, Ocean Dumping (Parts 220-238)
-Subchapter I, Solid Wastes (Parts 240-282)
-Subchapter J, Superfund, Emergency Planning, and Community Right-To-Know Programs (Parts 300-374)
-Subchapter N, Effluent Guidelines and Standards (Parts 401-471)
-Subchapter O, Sewage Sludge (Parts 501-503)
-Subchapter Q, Energy Policy (Parts 600-610)
-Subchapter R, Toxic Substances Control Act (Parts 700-799)

Chapter V, Part 1500 et seq - Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)