U.S. Environmental Law

Documents include written opinions by a member of the public, organization or industry to a government agency about a rulemaking or other action. Coverage is 2003 to date.

Tip: Use the "Docket ID number" (unique identifier established for a docket) to locate documents related to a rulemaking. Docket IDs are listed in the preambles to proposed and final rules found in the "Federal Register."

The format of the docket ID identifies the government agency, program office, and year associated with the docket.

Example: EPA-HQ-SFUND-2008-0001 would show that the docket is maintained by EPA, at the Headquarters Office, Superfund program, and was started in 2008.

Each document is also given a unique ID number when it is placed in a docket. The docket folder may contain: one or more Federal Register documents (proposed & final rules and notices); materials specifically referenced in those documents; public comments; applications, petitions or adjudication documents; and other documents used by decision makers.

Documents not included: confidential business information, copyright-protected materials, over-sized items, large data sets or databases, information whose disclosure is restricted by statute, public laws, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and state, local, and tribal regulations.