Your assignment is to find a recent regulation/rule and answer a series of questions. The directions are below.
The assignment is worth 30 points total. If you provide all the information listed below under “Report on Agency,” you should receive the full number of points. Remember, do not copy – use your own words.
Please submit as a rich text file attachment per the instructions for written assignments.
Find an Agency Regulation or Rule
1. Go to http://www.regulations.gov/
2. Click on
Many different regulations will appear on the page
4. Choose one rule/regulation.
5. Click VIEW THIS DOCUMENT, in HTML Format or in PDF Format
The following is an example of what the regulation page will look like. (Note: I clicked on HTML Format)
[Federal Register: April 20, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 75)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 20495-20508]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ap05-20]
=======================================================================
———————————————————————–
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[RO4-OAR-2005-GA-0002; RO4-OAR-2005-GA-0003; FRL-7901-4]
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation
of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes; Georgia, Redesignation of
Atlanta 1-Hour Severe Ozone Nonattainment Area to Attainment for Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
———————————————————————–
SUMMARY: On February 1, 2005, the State of Georgia, through the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division (EPD), submitted; a request to
redesignate the 1-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard
(NAAQS) nonattainment area of Atlanta, Georgia, to attainment; and a
request for EPA approval of a Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision containing a 10-year maintenance plan for the 13-county
Atlanta area, including new motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for
the year 2015. In addition, Georgia has requested that EPA make a
determination that certain Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) SIP submittal
requirements related to attainment demonstrations and reasonable
further progress are not applicable requirements for the purposes of
this redesignation request because the Atlanta area has attained the 1-
hour ozone NAAQS based on ambient air monitoring data for the 3-
[[Page 20496]]
year period including the years 2002, 2003, and 2004.
EPA is proposing to determine that the Atlanta area has attained
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. This proposal is based on three years of
complete, quality-assured ambient air quality monitoring data for 2002
through 2004 ozone seasons. On the basis of this proposal, EPA is also
proposing to determine that certain attainment demonstration and
reasonable further progress requirements along with other related
requirements of part D of Title I of the CAA are not applicable to the
Atlanta area.
EPA is also proposing approval of both the 1-hour ozone
redesignation request and the 10-year maintenance plan SIP revision,
including the new 2015 MVEBs. EPA’s proposed approval of the 1-hour
ozone redesignation request is based on its determination that the
Atlanta area has met the five criteria for redesignation to attainment
specified in the CAA, including a demonstration that the Atlanta area
has attained the 1-hour ozone NAAQS. EPA is proposing approval of the
10-year maintenance plan SIP revision, including the new 2015 MVEBs,
because EPA has determined that the plan complies with the requirements
of Section 175A of the Act.
Finally, in this proposed rulemaking, EPA is providing information
on the status of its transportation conformity adequacy determination
for new motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEB) for the year 2015 that
are contained Georgia’s the 10-year 1-hour ozone maintenance plan SIP
submittal for the Atlanta area.
6. Gather information on the regulation/rule to use in a report on the agency.
Write down the following information about the regulation. (The words are color coded so you can find where the information can be found using the example).
The name of the agency
Whether it is a rule or regulation
The title of rule or regulation
A general summarization of the rule or regulation. (This should be only one or two sentences.
For example, a general summary for the above rule would be: “The EPA is applying the Clean Air Act to ensure Atlanta is meeting air quality standards including ozone and automobile emissions.”)
Report on the Agency
Answer the following questions:
1. Using the textbook, describe the various types of agencies: Cabinet/Executive Department, Government Corporations, Regulatory Agencies and Independent Executive Agencies.
Identify what type of agency you are reporting on: Cabinet/Executive Department, Government Corporation, Regulatory Agency or Independent Executive Agency. I suggest going to http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/Executive.shtml if you do not know what type of agency you are writing about. (5 points)
2. The date the agency was established. (1 point)
3. The agency’s mission. (1 point)
4. Using the textbook, explain how heads of agencies get their jobs. State the name of your agency’s administrator or head and date of appointment. (4 points)
5. How many employees. (1 point)
6. Using the information from the textbook, are most of the employees civil servants or appointed? How do civil servants get their jobs? (2 points)
7. What are some of the different job categories? (ie: computer specialists, engineers, scientists)
(2 points)
8. What does the agency do. (3 points)
9. Using the textbook, write about how agencies act as policymakers. Why does Congress give the bureaucracy the power to write rules and regulations which implement laws? (4 points)
10. The date and the title of the regulation or rule and the general summary. (3 points)
You can find this information for 2 – 7 on the agency’s website. I suggest going to a search engine like http://www.google.com/ and putting the name of the agency in parenthesis in the search box (example: “environmental protection agency”)
