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EN 423: Environmental Engineering Senior Design

A collection of resources for use in EN Senior Design projects.

Federal Science Research

Find some key federal science research, including regulations, reports, data, and articles, through these government websites.

Portal to federally funded science research

Federal water research

Biomedical literature database

Where to find articles about the physical effects of lead in drinking water.

Regulations & Legal Documents

EPA Regulations

The Environmental Protection Agency is the government body tasked with enforcing the laws passed about chemicals, substances, and other materials that affect the environment. The Substance Registry Services (SRS) database collects all of that information, including links to the relevant laws and statutes, in one place.

What regulations guide your work? When you need to find the legal information that applies to your project, you can either go right to the federal agency or use a Library database.

Nexis Uni includes legal opinions and state and federal regulations, and the Government Publishing Office provides open access to the current Code of Federal Regulations, which govern the U.S.

Database

Government Docs

Not sure which agency regulates a particular topic? Start with USA.gov:

Or start with the regulations and search for the topic.

Cite these documents in APA:

Regulations

A regulation is a general statement issued by an agency, board, or commission that has the force and effect of law. Congress often grants agencies the authority to issue regulations. Sometimes Congress requires agencies to issue a regulation; sometimes Congress grants agencies the discretion to do so. Many laws passed by Congress give Federal agencies some flexibility in deciding how best to implement those laws. Federal regulations specify the details and requirements necessary to implement and to enforce legislation enacted by Congress.

From Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs FAQ (reginfo.gov; see link below)

The Rulemaking Process:

  1. Agency determined that regulation is needed
  2. Agency publishes notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)
  3. Public comments on NPRM (part of the official record)
  4. Regulations in the making are published as a proposed rule (PR) in the Federal Register
  5. PR is open to public comments
  6. PR are assigned a docket number (a unique identifier)
  7. Rule is prepared and reviewed by OMB
  8. Rule is published in Federal Register
  9. Rule is codified in Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

(With thanks to Debbie Rabina, drabina@pratt.edu)