Chapter 2: A Guide to Materials Available on the Internet Pertaining to the Regulatory Process

Regulatory Process Links

Oil Pollution Control and Prevention Links

Regulatory Process Links

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) maintains a website that includes a searchable version of the Code of Federal Regulations at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/about.html. While the published version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is updated annually, the website contains an electronic version that is continuously updated. This "e-CFR" can be found at http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=%Findex.tpl. NARA's website also explains the activities of the Office of the Federal Register (http://www.nara.gov/fedreg). The site also features a downloadable tutorial on "The Federal Register: What It Is and How to Use It" (http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/tutorial/index.html).

EPA maintains rulemaking dockets that store material considered by the agency during the rulemaking process, including studies relied on by the agency, proposed rules, and comments received from the regulated community, government entities and the public. Some of the agency's rulemaking dockets make substantial materials accessible to the public online. Information about EPA's dockets, electronic dockets and information centers is available at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) maintains a website that provides information about regulations currently under review by its Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg) and links to its annual reports on the costs and benefits of federal regulation and to directives governing agency compliance with regulatory review procedures.

State officials frequently lobby EPA on regulatory matters. The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) is a national organization composed of state environmental officials that is active on regulatory issues that raise federalism concerns. It maintains a website located at http://www.sso.org/ecos. Links to webpages that are maintained by state agencies actively working on energy, environment, and natural resources issues can be found at http://www.nascio.org/links/index.cfm.

The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy maintains a website that provides information concerning efforts to make the regulatory process more sensitive to the concerns of small entities. It includes news and publications on regulatory policy developments (http://sba.gov/advo/news.html), a summary of the office's activities http://www.sba.gov/advo/about.html, and a virtual "law library" of information on laws governing the regulatory process (http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/law_lib.html). It also tracks agency compliance with the provisions of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996. The website includes links to downloadable copies of the office's annual reports on implementation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/flex) and it provides data on the Environmental Protection Agency's use of small business advocacy review panels for various regulatory decisions (http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/is_epapanels.html).

The American Bar Association's Section on Administrative Law maintains an Administrative Procedure Database that includes downloadable copies of the 1941 and 1947 Attorney General's Reports on the Administrative Procedure Act and the recommendations of the Administrative Conference of the United States. These materials are located at: http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/admin/os_digi_text.html.

A variety of organizations are actively involved in debates over regulatory policy issues. The American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution have formed a Joint Center for Regulatory Studies that regularly issues reports on regulatory affairs. These studies, which generally are critical of regulatory initiatives are available through the Joint Center's website located at http://www.aei.brookings.org. A nonprofit that is more sympathetic to regulatory initiatives is OMB Watch, an organization that serves as a watchdog over the regulatory review activities of OIRA. OMB Watch maintains a website that provides news and reports about regulatory developments (http://www.ombwatch.org/regs) and information summarizing the various laws and procedural requirements that govern the regulatory process (http://www.ombwatch.org/regs/system/index.html).

Oil Pollution Control and Prevention Links

The U.S.. Environmental Protection Agency's regulations implementing the Oil Pollution Act are codified at 40 C.F.R. Part 112. They are available online through the National Archives and Records Administration's website, which includes a searchable version of the Code of Federal Regulations (http://www.gpo.gov/nara/about-cfr.html) and an electronic version of the CFR ("e-CFR") updated continuously, which can be found at http://www.access.gpo.gov/ecfr.

EPA's Oil Spill Program has a webpage at http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/index.htm with links to relevant statutes and regulations (http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/lawsregs.htm) and an explanation of EPA's spill prevention efforts (http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/opprover.htm). The US National Response Team (NRT), which is responsible for federal emergency responses to oil spills, has a webpage at http://www.nrt.org. It describes NRT's activities and lessons learned from multi-agency response exercises, and it has links to information about the latest spills. EPA has its own software, the Oil Spill Exercise Generator, which can construct oil spill exercises and response drills and assist in evaluating responses to them. It is available free on CD-ROM. Information on how to order it can be found at http://www.epa.gov/seahome/oilspill.html.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promulgated regulations on assessment of natural resource damages. NOAA's guidance document for such assessments can be located at http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/about/index.html. The Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is responsible for implementing the Oil Pollution Act as it applies to onshore oil pipelines. OPS's website includes a newsletter and downloadable copies of background memoranda and policy documents at http://ops.dot.gov/opa.htm.

When it adopted regulations requiring double hulls on oil tankers operating in US, waters, Congress asked the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences to study the effects of this requirement. Copies of the NRC's report "Double-Hull Tanker Legislation: An Assessment of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990" is available on-line at http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/tanker.

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council provides continuing information about the impact of the massive oil spill in Prince William Sound in March, 1989. Its website, located at http://www.oilspill.state.ak.us, provides links to information on the restoration plan, how money received from the oil spill settlement is being used, and the impact of the spill on people, beaches, and habitat.

The Great Lakes Spill Protection Initiative, a collaborative effort by oil companies and representatives from federal and state agencies involved in the Great Lakes Commission, operates a Freshwater Spills Information Clearinghouse (FSIC) The FSIC provides information on planning for, and responding to, oil spills in freshwater areas. Its website is located at http://www.freshwaterspills.net.