Part 40 CFR

part 40 cfr, otherwise known as 40 CFR is a section of the Code of Federal Regulations that addresses protection of the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations are found in part 40 cfr or 40 CFR. EPA employs over 17,000 people across the US, including its headquarters offices in Washington, DC, 10 regional offices, and more than a dozen labs. EPA’s staff are highly educated and technically trained; a little more than half are engineers, scientists, and policy analysts. In addition, a large number of employees are public affairs, financial, legal, information management and computer specialists.

Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people. EPA leads the nation’s environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts. The mission of Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and to safeguard the environment -- air, water and land -- upon which life depends.

EPA’s purpose is to ensure that:

• Americans are protected from significant risks to the environment and human health where they live, learn and work;
• all national efforts to reduce environmental risk are based on the best available scientific information;
• the federal laws protecting human health and the environment are enforced effectively and fairly through regulations found in part 40 cfr or 40 CFR;
• environmental protection is an integral consideration in U.S. policy considerations regarding natural resources, human health, economic growth, agriculture, industry, energy, transportation and international trade, and these factors are always considered in establishing environmental policy;
• all segments of society -- communities, individuals, businesses, and state, local and tribal governments -- have full access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in controlling and managing human health and environmental risks;
• environmental protection and improvement contributes to making our communities and ecosystems diverse, sustainable and economically productive; and
• the US plays a leadership role in working with other nations to protect the global environment.

Whenever Congress writes or amends an environmental law, EPA implements it by writing regulations found in part 40 cfr or 40 CFR. Often, EPA sets national standards that states and tribes enforce through their own regulations. If the states or tribes fail to meet the national standards, EPA can help them. EPA also enforces its own regulations found in part 40 cfr or 40 CFR, and help companies understand the requirements.

At laboratories located throughout the nation, EPA identifies and tries to solve environmental problems. To learn even more, EPA shares information with other countries, private sector organizations, academic institutions, and other agencies.

A large number of laws serve as EPA’s foundation for protecting the environment and public health. However, because most laws do not have enough detail to be put into practice right away, Congress has authorized EPA to write regulations found in part 40 cfr or 40 CFR that explain the critical details necessary to properly implement those environmental laws. In addition, a number of Presidential Executive Orders (EOs) play a central role in EPA’s activities.