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Laws, Regulations, and Dockets
Main Features
- Major Environmental Laws – one-click access to EPA and other federal agencies’ environmental statutes and laws.
- How EPA writes regulation – introduction to the law creation process.
- Federal Docket Management System (FDMS)
This site provides summary and full-text access to the laws and regulations that mandate and control EPA programs.
Description
In the Introduction section, users find a detailed description of the Congressional legislative process with valuable links to Thomas 
(the Library of Congress catalogue for all legislative information), the United States Code Database and the Federal Register.
The Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) at www.regulations.gov allows users to access docket materials. A docket serves as the repository for the collection of documents and other information related to a particular Agency action or activity. It generally consists of the documents specifically referenced in the Federal Register, any public comments received, and other information used by decision-makers, or otherwise related to the Agency action or activity.
Documents can be searched and downloaded, and public comments can be easily submitted online. Dockets can be searched by docket ID number, name of the regulating Agency, document type, and/or keyword. There are also “Quick Links” to All Documents Open for Public Comment, All Documents Published Today Open for Public Comment, Regulations Open for Public Comment by Topic, and All Documents for Which the Comment Period Closes Today.
The Major Environmental Laws link contains summaries and full texts of more than a dozen environmental laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), The Clean Water Act of 1977 (CWA), and The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). Environmental laws that fall under the jurisdiction of other federal agencies are also included [e.g. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), and Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA)].
Current Legislation in Congress provides links to the Web sites of the U.S. House of Representatives Committees and U.S. Senate Committees, which contain detailed information on current items on their agendas. Both sites can be searched by specific committee, subcommittee, topic, and hearing date.
Additional links to the U.S. Code, EPA Regulations and Proposed Rules, and the Code of Federal Regulationsare also provided separately at the end of the Laws, Regulations, and Dockets page.