⚖️New Civil Penalties for Oil and Gas Operations Effective 2025
This final rule adjusts the maximum daily civil monetary penalty amount contained in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) regulations for violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The civil penalty inflation adjustment, using a 1.02598 multiplier, accounts for 1 year of inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from October 2023 to October 2024.
Learn More⛽Approval of Minnesota’s Underground Storage Tank Program Revisions
Pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, as amended (commonly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the State of Minnesota's Underground Storage Tank (UST) program submitted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. This action also codifies EPA's approval of Minnesota's state program and incorporates by reference those provisions of Minnesota's statutes and regulations that EPA has determined meet the requirements for approval. The provisions will be subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement authorities under RCRA Subtitle I and other applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.
Learn More🏥Extension of Expiration Dates for Disability Listings by SSA
We are extending the expiration dates of the following body systems in the Listing of Impairments (listings) in our regulations: Low Birth Weight and Failure to Thrive, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Special Senses and Speech, Respiratory Disorders, Cardiovascular System, Genitourinary Disorders, Hematological Disorders, Endocrine Disorders, Congenital Disorders That Affect Multiple Body Systems, Neurological Disorders, Mental Disorders, Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic Diseases), and Immune System Disorders. We are making no other revisions to these body systems in this final rule. This extension ensures that we will continue to have the criteria we need to evaluate impairments in the affected body systems at step three of the sequential evaluation processes for initial claims and continuing disability reviews.
Learn More♻️California's Hazardous Waste Program Revisions and Business Compliance
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to authorize changes California has made to its hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended. The Agency has reviewed California's application for authorization of these changes and determined that the changes satisfy all requirements.
Learn More⛽Maryland Underground Storage Tank Program Revisions Approved by EPA
Pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, as amended (commonly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the State of Maryland's Underground Storage Tank (UST) program submitted by Maryland (Maryland or State). This action also codifies EPA's approval of Maryland's state program and incorporates by reference (IBR) those provisions of Maryland's regulations and statutes that EPA has determined meet the requirements for approval. The provisions will be subject to EPA's inspection and enforcement authorities under sections 9005 and 9006 of RCRA Subtitle I and other applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.
Learn More❄️Update on Energy Conservation Test Procedures for Air Conditioners
The U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") is finalizing a one- year delay of certain product-specific enforcement provisions related to the controls verification procedure established in a recently published final rule amending the test procedures for central air conditioners and heat pumps.
Learn More⚡Energy Conservation Regulation
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is publishing this final rule to rescind and amend the certification provisions, labeling requirements, and enforcement provisions for specific types of consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment addressed in its final rule published in the Federal Register on October 9, 2024. DOE is undertaking this action because the October 9, 2024 final rule was the subject of a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate and subsequently signed by the President on May 9, 2025, after which it became law. Because the October 9, 2024 final rule has no force or effect, DOE has a nondiscretionary duty to remove the associated provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and through this final rule, DOE is taking the necessary action to effect such rescission.
Learn More💼Abolishment of Hennepin, MN NAF Wage Area
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to abolish the Hennepin, Minnesota, nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area and define most of its counties to the nearest NAF FWS wage areas. Those counties without NAF FWS employment would no longer be defined to a NAF wage area. These changes are necessary because NAF FWS employment in the survey area has been declining, and the local activities no longer have the capability to conduct local wage surveys. This rule also makes correcting amendments related to four prior final rules revising other NAF FWS wage areas.
Learn More📋New Merit-Based Hiring Regulations Impact Federal Employment Practices
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing this final rule to implement changes authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 governing the selection of candidates from competitive lists of eligibles. These changes are meant to encourage the use of rigorous, merit-based candidate rankings when hiring in the competitive and excepted service. They also provide expanded flexibility to agencies in the selection of candidates under delegated examining procedures. These changes also affect how agencies select candidates for excepted service appointments.
Learn More⚖️USMCA Correcting Amendments
On January 17, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register amending the CBP regulations to add implementing regulations for the preferential tariff treatment and related customs provisions of the Agreement Between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) related to general definitions, drawback and duty- deferral programs, textile and apparel goods, and automotive goods, among others. Errant amendatory instructions resulted in the inadvertent omission of two conforming amendments and the removal of two paragraphs that were unrelated to the USMCA amendments. This action corrects those errors.
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