Happy New Year! Feds list 141 new regulations in only three days

It’s a new year and you know what that means — new regulations. The Obama administration has wasted no time in writing them. The website Regulations.gov lists 141 regulations that have been posted by federal agencies in the last three days alone. Of these regulations, 119 are “rulemaking,” meaning they establish a new rule. Twenty-three are “non-rulemaking,” meaning the regulations does not establish a new rule. The largest group of regulations have to do with energy and environmental issues, many of them issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. One new EPA regulation is an amendment to a rule on hazardous emissions from lead smelters. The EPA has come under fire from lawmakers for cracking down on emissions from coal plants and other carbon-heavy fuels and materials. The agency is also working on 134 major and minor regulations that will take effect in the coming years. Another new regulation from the Energy Department that has been listed since the new year  establishes “test procedures for residential furnace fans.” The Energy Department under new leadership from Secretary Ernest Moniz has been less of a lightning rod for controversy, but the department has still been active in pushing for more regulations...more