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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released a somewhat delayed Fall 2022 Semi-Annual Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (“Agenda”).
The Agenda includes information addressing:
- EPA regulations in the semi-annual Agenda that are under development, completed, or canceled since the last agenda
- EPA review of regulations with small business impacts under Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act
EPA’s introduction to the document states that it offers:
A window into how the Administration plans to continue delivering on the President’s agenda to advance economic prosperity and equity, tackle the climate crisis, advance public health, and much more to improve the lives of the American people. Agencies will also be continuing their work to implement landmark new legislation passed in 2022.
EPA (and all federal agencies) twice a year produce in combination a comprehensive report describing regulatory actions currently under development or recently completed. In particular, the Agenda identifies each regulatory action that the federal agency (such as EPA) expects to work on through the next 12 months.
Agency entries are typically associated with one of five rule making stages. Two key rule making stages include:
- Proposed Rule Making Stage (indicating that the agency plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or to close an existing comment period)
- Final rule Stage (indicating that the agency plans to issue a Final Rule)
Each Agenda entry typically provides a variety of information.
Congress, interest groups, regulatory entities, environmental organizations, and the general public rely on the Agenda to understand which rules EPA plans to issue in the upcoming year. Nevertheless, the Agenda does not create a legal obligation to adhere to schedules in the publication or limit their regulatory activities to those items that are encompassed by it.
A copy of the Agenda can be downloaded here.
