GW Law Library: Library Guides: Food, Agriculture &amp; Environmental Law: Regulations &amp; Policy/Guidance

Federal Register (Fed. Reg.)

Federal Register
The Federal Register (Fed. Reg.) is the official publication for notifying the public of proposed regulations, temporary and final regulations, notices of federal agencies, presidential executive orders and other presidential documents, and other documents required to be published by law. It is published Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration.

Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)

Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
The Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), revised once a year, is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by federal executive departments and agencies. It contains all federal regulations currently in force and is organized into 50 numbered titles that represent broad areas of federal regulation.
e-CFR
"The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It is not an official legal edition of the CFR."
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The e-CFR is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office. The material in the e-CFR is updated on a daily basis, although not in real-time. You can find how current the material is at the top of all e-CFR web pages. Generally, the e-CFR is current within two business days. While every effort is made to ensure that the material on the eCFR is accurate, those relying on it for legal research should verify their results against the most current official edition of the C.F.R.

Title 7 of the C.F.R. contains agriculture regulations.
Title 42 of the C.F.R. contains environmental regulations.
33 C.F.R. Parts 320-338 generally deal with regulations pursuant to the Clean Water Act (CWA).

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Laws and Regulations that Apply to Your Agricultural Operation by Farm Activity
Laws and Regulations that Apply to Your Agricultural Operation by Statute
Regulatory Information by Sector: Agriculture Sectors: Crop (NAICS 111) and Animal (NAICS 112)
(The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.)

Regulatory History

Regulations.gov
Portal for federal rulemaking dockets. A docket is a collection of documents relating to a regulation and made available by an agency for public viewing.
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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 2002 to date. However, data by agency can vary depending on when the agency became a participating member of Regulations.gov.

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.
EPA Docket Center
Prior to 2003, EPA docket materials can be found through EPA's Docket Center.
Reginfo.gov
Provides current agency regulatory actions and information; Includes the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions which includes information on the development of a regulation as well as anticipated future action.
Federal Register (Fed. Reg.)
Summaries of comments submitted by public relating to a regulation may be found in the "preamble/supplementary" sections of proposed and final regulations.

Policy/Guidance

Policy documents represent an agency's official interpretation or view of specific issues. Guidance documents are published to further clarify regulations and to assist in the implementation of regulations. These materials include interpretive memoranda, policy statements, manuals, bulletins, and advisories.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA):

Directives by Categories
An on-line repository of all USDA Departmental Regulations, Notices, Manuals, and Secretary Memoranda.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

EPA Enforcement Policy, Guidance & Publications
EPA Compliance: Resources and Guidance Documents
EPA Guidance Documents
Regulatory Information By Sector: Agriculture Sectors: Crop (NAICS 111) and Animal (NAICS 112)

Interpreting Citations

Federal Register (Fed. Reg.) citation example:

National Organic Program (NOP); Strengthening Organic Enforcement, 88 Fed. Reg. 3548 (Jan. 19, 2023)

88 = Volume of the Federal Register
Fed. Reg. = Bluebook abbreviation for the Federal Register
3548 = Page number
Jan. 19, 2023 = Date of Federal Register issue

Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) citation example:

National Organic Program, 7 C.F.R. Part 205 (2023)

7 = Title 7, Agriculture, volume of the C.F.R.
C.F.R. = Bluebook abbreviation for the Code of Federal Regulations
Part 205 = Part number of the C.F.R.
(2022) = Year of the C.F.R. volume

Related Guides

Federal Regulations
(GW Law Library)
Bluebook and Citation Resources
(GW Law Library)

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Food, Agriculture & Environmental Law

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