The week in regulations, the final shutdown edition: Manifest mailing and broken trash incinerators

The federal shutdown is over. Since the Federal Register has a few days’ lag time for publishing agency documents, it will likely take until this week for activity to resume its usual pace. There may also be a temporary flood of catch-up documents published over the next few weeks. President Trump pardoned roughly 80 people who tried to overturn the 2020 election. The US Mint made its last penny on Wednesday. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from underground injection to listed entities.

 On to the data:

• Agencies issued 13 final regulations last week, after 16 the previous week.
• That’s the equivalent of a new regulation every 12 hours and 55 minutes.
• With 2,060 final regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 2,385 final regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 3,248 final regulations in 2024, 3,018 in 2023, and 3,168 in 2022.
• Agencies issued seven proposed regulations in the Federal Register last week, after six the previous week.
• With 1,267 proposed regulations so far in 2025, agencies are on pace to issue 1,453 proposed regulations this year.
• For comparison, there were 1,769 proposed regulations in 2024, 2,102 proposed regulations in 2023, and 2,044 in 2022.
• Agencies published 47 notices last week, after 37 notices the previous week.
• With 15,787 notices so far in 2024, agencies are on pace to issue 18,104 notices this year.
• For comparison, there were 25,506 notices in 2024, 22,902 in 2023, and 28,973 in 2022.
• Last week, 338 new pages were added to the Federal Register, after 1,728 pages the previous week.
• The average Federal Register issue in 2025 contains 237 pages.
• With 51,080 pages so far, the 2025 Federal Register is on pace for 58,578 pages.
• For comparison, the 2024 Federal Register has an all-time record 107,261 pages. The 2023 edition has 90,402 pages, and the 2022 Federal Register has 80,756 pages.
• Rules with $200 million or more of economic effects in at least one year qualify as major under Section 3(f)(1). This replaced the former economically significant tag for $100 million-plus regulations.
• However, the $100 million economically significant tag is now revived under a Trump Executive Order, and the $200 million 3(f)(1) tag is going away. Rules from both categories have appeared this year.
• There are 10 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations so far in 2025, with none in the last week.
• This is on pace for 11 3(f)(1) or economically significant regulations in 2025.
• For comparison, there were 20 3(f)(1) significant regulations in 2024, 28 3(f)(1) and/or economically significant regulations in 2023, and 43 economically significant rules in 2022. Note that these are not apples-to-apples comparisons, since 3(f)(1) and economically significant rules have different thresholds.
• This year’s section 3(f)(1) and economically significant regulations have estimated costs ranging from net savings of $3.53 billion to net costs of $784.85 million.
• For context, the cost tally for 2024’s 3(f)(1) significant regulations is net savings of $16.42 billion to 26.45 billion. 2023’s 3(f)(1) and/or economically significant regulations estimated costs range from $62.60 billion to 90.48 billion. Cost estimates for 2022’s economically significant rules range from $45.28 billion to $78.05 billion. The exact numbers depend on discount rates and other assumptions.
• There were six new final regulations last week meeting the broader definition of “significant,” after two the previous week.
• So far this year, there are 120 new regulations meeting the broader definition of “significant.” This is on pace for 138 significant regulations in 2025.
• For comparison, there were 339 such regulations in 2024, 290 in 2023, and 255 in 2022.
• So far in 2025, 520 new regulations affect small businesses, on pace for 596. Twenty-four of them are significant, on pace for 28. Earlier transparency problems at FederalRegister.gov affecting this and other statistics have been fixed as of October 3, 2025. Our thanks to the people responsible.
• For comparison, in 2024 there were 770 regulations affecting small businesses, 76 of them significant. In 2023 there were 789 regulations affecting small businesses, 79 of them significant.

All of last week’s new final regulations:

• Ozone standards in Utah.
• The Postal Service is retiring the manifest mailing system.
• Blue tilefish quota.
• The Industry and Security Bureau revised its Entity List.
• One year suspension of expansion of end-user control for affiliates of certain listed entities.
• The FAA issued two rules for takeoffs.
• The EPA extended the compliance date for methylene chloride compliance.
• The EPA extended the postponement of effectiveness for certain portions of trichloroethylene regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
• EPA rules for the Texas Underground Injection Control program.
• The Federal Reserve implemented changes from its last meeting for extending credit to its member banks and for bank reserve requirements.
• Boeing airworthiness requirements from the FAA.
  

And all of last week’s proposed regulations:

• The EPA is withdrawing proposed revised emission standards for broken trash incinerators.
• The EPA is listing acceptable substitutes for refrigerant and air conditioning fire suppression.
• The EPA is revising PFAS reporting requirements.
• The CFPB is proposing two revisions to Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
• Ozone standards for San Joaquin Valley, California.
• The EPA is reconsidering parts of its hydrofluorocarbon phasedown.

For more data, see Ten Thousand Commandments and follow @10KC and @RegoftheDay on Twitter. See also CEI’s Agenda for Congress.