Policy & Guidance
The EPA has primary responsibility for enforcing many of the environmental statutes and regulations of the United States. As such, the Agency is granted explicit enforcement authority in environmental statutes. Sometimes, however, that authority needs to be further refined or explained. In such cases, EPA may develop and implement policies and write guidance. In addition, EPA sometimes issues policy or guidance to encourage compliance with environmental requirements.
Policy documents represent EPA's official interpretation or view of specific issues. Guidance documents are published to further clarify regulations and to assist in implementation of environmental regulations.
Significant Guidance Documents:
EPA maintains a list of significant guidance documents as called for by the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices (PDF) (23 pp, 158K, About PDF ).
Browse the Significant Guidance list:
Other Policy & Guidance Websites:
You may find more detailed policy and guidance links under topics or sectors.
Air
- OAR Policy and Guidance: Provides access to rules, policy, and guidance documents produced by the USEPA Office of Air and Radiation (OAR)
- Radiation Information for Technical Users and the Regulated Community
Find more on EPA’s Air website .
Compliance & Enforcement
- Policy and Guidance Documents: The Enforcement and Compliance Document and Information Center (ECDIC): documents providing regulatory, case settlement, and other policy-related information supporting the Agency's enforcement and compliance activities
Find more on EPA’s Compliance & Enforcement website .
Emergencies
- Emergency Management Policy and Guidance: policy, guidance, and compliance assistance documents related for preventing oil spills, chemical accidents, and other emergencies, and implement planning and response requirements.
Find more on EPA's Emergency Management website .
Pesticides and Toxic Substances
- Pesticides: Science and Policy: Policy and Guidance: Science policy issues key to the implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)
Find pesticides and chemical substances information on EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention website .
Waste
- RCRA Guidance, Policy and Resources: guidance documents, policy statements, training modules, and more for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Find more on EPA's Waste website .
Water
- Office of Water Policy and Guidance: policy and guidance information for drinking water, NPDES, water quality standards, Clean Water Act Section 404, and fish advisory technical guidance.