Federal agencies closed out a four-day publishing week — the Federal Register did not publish on Labor Day — with a docket heavy on deregulatory proposals, statutory tax implementation, and one of the most consequential environmental rulemakings of the decade. Thursday’s issue alone carried 119 documents from 52 agencies, including 14 final rules and 10 proposed rules. Below, The Investigative Journal reviews the week’s most significant regulatory actions, with comment deadlines and primary-source links throughout. All items are drawn from the Federal Register issues of September 8 through September 11 and from agency releases; regulatory reviews in progress can be tracked on OIRA’s dashboard at Reginfo.gov.
EPA and Army Corps reopen comment on the “Waters of the United States” rewrite
The week’s marquee action came Tuesday, when the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on the definition of “waters of the United States” — the threshold question that determines which streams, wetlands, and ditches fall under federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The supplemental notice (RIN 2040-AG44) builds on the agencies’ November 20, 2025 proposal to conform the regulations to the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA, which the agencies say is intended to “provide greater regulatory certainty” for permitting.
According to the notice, the agencies received approximately 220,000 comments on the original proposal, with supporters calling it consistent with Sackett and opponents warning it would increase regulatory uncertainty and adversely affect water quality. The new document seeks comment on supplemental regulatory options for two definitions at the heart of post-Sackett jurisdiction — “relatively permanent” waters and the “continuous surface connection” test for adjacent wetlands — and would add a definition of “perennial.” Some commenters, the agencies note, argued that the proposed “continuous surface connection” definition would effectively rewrite the longstanding definition of wetlands without adequate notice.
The stakes are substantial for agriculture, homebuilding, and energy development, where jurisdictional determinations drive permitting costs. Comments are due October 9, 2026, under Docket ID EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322 at regulations.gov; background on the rulemaking is available on EPA’s WOTUS page, and the history of prior definitions appears in the Unified Agenda records at Reginfo.gov.
SEC moves to scrap the investment adviser “pay-to-play” rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission published a proposal Thursday to rescind Rule 206(4)-5, the 2010 “pay-to-play” rule that bars investment advisers from providing compensated advisory services to a government client for two years after the adviser or a covered associate contributes to certain elected officials or candidates. The Commission’s proposing release states that the rule has produced “significant unintended consequences,” including compliance programs that effectively restrict all political contributions by advisory employees, and describes the rule as creating a de facto strict liability standard.
“After more than 15 years of experience administering the ‘pay-to-play’ rule, it is clear that it is overly prescriptive and has produced a host of unintended consequences,” SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said in the agency’s announcement, adding that “matters involving political contributions are more properly governed by local ordinances, state laws, and federal election regulations — not by the SEC.” The Commission’s position is that existing Advisers Act protections — antifraud prohibitions, fiduciary duties, the compliance rule, and the code of ethics rule — are likely sufficient to police pay-to-play conduct.
The rescission would also amend the Advisers Act recordkeeping rule to strip corresponding provisions. Public-fund advisers and placement agents should note the comment deadline: November 9, 2026. The full proposing release is available from the SEC.
IRS finalizes the car-loan interest deduction rules
The Treasury Department and IRS published final regulations Tuesday implementing the deduction of up to $10,000 for qualified passenger vehicle loan interest — a signature consumer provision of section 70203 of Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted July 4, 2025. The final rules (RIN 1545-BR75) also implement new information-reporting requirements under section 6050AA of the tax code for businesses that receive $600 or more in interest on a specified passenger vehicle loan in a calendar year, along with penalties for failures to file the required returns or furnish payee statements.
The regulations take effect November 9, 2026, following a public hearing process under docket IRS-2026-0001. Lenders and dealers will bear the new reporting obligations; taxpayers claiming the deduction will look to the final rules for definitions of qualifying vehicles and loans. Filings indicate the rulemaking drew active industry engagement, including a public hearing on the proposed version earlier this year.
Executive order puts wolves, beef labeling, and ranch regulation on a 90-day clock
President Trump signed Executive Order 14425, “Supporting America’s Ranchers,” on September 4; it published Thursday. The order directs the Agriculture and Interior Departments, USTR, FDA, and SBA to deliver within 90 days a comprehensive report on regulations affecting ranchers, citing a national cattle herd at a 75-year low against beef demand the order says has grown almost 10 percent over the past decade.
Two directives carry direct rulemaking consequences. First, the Interior Secretary must determine within 90 days whether the gray wolf and Mexican wolf have met Endangered Species Act recovery criteria for delisting or downlisting — and begin the process if so — while preparing legislative recommendations and revised depredation-compensation standards. Second, USDA, in consultation with USTR, must review authorities that could support mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and “may issue or amend regulations” to require it. Mandatory beef COOL was repealed by Congress in 2015 after adverse WTO rulings, so any revival would carry trade implications worth watching.
In related dockets, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service extended by 90 days the comment period on its request for information on revising carcass beef grade standards — including whether to eliminate the skeletal maturity requirement for cattle verified under 30 months by dentition — with comments now due December 7, 2026. Separately, the Fish and Wildlife Service this week proposed removing the Gila chub from the endangered species list.
Census Bureau proposes rules on residence criteria — and limits on demographic questions
In a notable assertion of regulatory formality over a process historically governed by operational guidance, the Census Bureau proposed two new CFR parts Thursday governing the decennial census. The first would codify the “usual residence” criteria that determine where — and whether — each person is counted for apportionment. The second would establish standards and restrictions for demographic questions on the census short form.
The Bureau’s stated rationale is constitutional fidelity: the count of the “whole number of persons in each State,” the proposal says, “factors in an element of allegiance but otherwise should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics, such as race.” How those standards would reshape the 2030 questionnaire — and the demographic data products that flow from it — will be the central question for commenters. Comments are due October 13, 2026.
DHS issues immigration rule for children born to foreign government employees
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published an interim final rule Wednesday amending DHS regulations to permit children born in the United States to “foreign government employees” who are not U.S. citizens to register for lawful permanent residence, with corresponding changes to Forms I-485 and G-325R. The rule took effect September 4, 2026, and applies to children born on or after that date; records indicate children born earlier will be treated under the regulations in place at their birth.
Because DHS issued the change as an interim final rule, it is already operative while public comment remains open through October 5, 2026 — a procedural posture that itself often draws comment on administrative-law grounds.
FCC opens spectrum for satellite-to-phone connections, targets robocall database
The Federal Communications Commission published a notice of proposed rulemaking Tuesday that would permit certain unlicensed devices to communicate with satellites on a non-interference basis — an effort to expand direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity. The Commission says the proposal builds on recent market growth and industry investment in D2D technology, and seeks comment on satellite allocations in specific unlicensed bands, operation of equipment within spacecraft, and a framework that preserves incumbent operations. Comments are due November 9, 2026, with reply comments due December 7, 2026.
The FCC also published a proposed rule Wednesday aimed at improving the effectiveness of the Robocall Mitigation Database under its call-authentication rules — the latest step in the agency’s long-running enforcement campaign against unlawful robocalls. Deadlines for that docket are set out in the notice.
NHTSA finalizes child-seat amendments, delays side-impact compliance to December
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a final rule amending the child restraint system standards. Responding to manufacturer petitions, the rule exempts school bus child restraints from the side-impact standard (FMVSS No. 213a) subject to labeling requirements, and delays that standard’s compliance date from June 30, 2025 to December 5, 2026. It also drops the CRABI-12MO twelve-month-old dummy from forward-facing testing and adjusts positioning procedures.
The rule is effective October 9, 2026. For parents and fleet operators, the practical takeaway per the rule text: school-bus-specific restraints get a tailored regime, and the industry-wide side-impact compliance deadline now lands in December.
CFTC updates swap-clearing mandate for benchmark transitions
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission published a final rule amending its interest rate swap clearing requirement to reflect the discontinuation of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate (CDOR) and Mexico’s TIIE benchmark, replacing them with the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA) and the TIIE Funding Rate (F-TIIE) in the set of swaps that must be cleared through a registered or exempt derivatives clearing organization.
The amendments — part of the global migration away from interbank offered rates toward nearly risk-free reference rates — take effect October 8, 2026.
State watch: Colorado’s AI rules head toward a revised draft
At the state level, Colorado’s attorney general is moving from statute to regulation on artificial intelligence. According to the Colorado Department of Law’s rulemaking page, the office filed proposed Automated Decision-Making Technology and Conversational AI Service rules on August 11 to implement SB 26-189 and HB 26-1263 — the state’s rewritten AI Act and its Chatbot Safety Act, both operative January 1, 2027. A revised draft is expected by September 23, and formal comments remain open through October 26, 2026.
The national implications are difficult to overstate: with no comprehensive federal AI statute enacted, Colorado’s rules would set the first detailed state compliance template for automated decision systems and consumer chatbots — even as Executive Order 14365 has directed a Justice Department litigation task force and an evaluation of state AI laws as part of a push toward a national policy framework. Companies deploying AI to Colorado consumers face a concrete planning date regardless of how that federal-state tension resolves.
On TIJ’s beats: Iran sanctions tighten, China trade docket churns
Several of this week’s smaller entries land squarely on this publication’s accountability beats. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a final rule indefinitely staying three general licenses and one licensing policy under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations — covering payments for Iranian airspace overflights, aircraft-safety licensing, and bunkering and emergency repairs — plus General License J-1 on civil aircraft temporary sojourn, all effective September 8. OFAC cites Iran’s “continued disruptions to global energy markets, attacks on partners and allies in the Middle East, reconstitution of its conventional and nuclear weapons programs,” and support for terrorist proxies. OFAC also published updates to identifying information on its Specially Designated Nationals list Friday.
On the China trade docket, the week brought an International Trade Commission notice in the L-lysine from China proceeding, Commerce’s preliminary results in the antidumping review of walk-behind lawn mowers from the People’s Republic of China, and an ITC filing concerning certain foreign-fabricated semiconductor devices under Section 337. In the defense-industrial lane, the White House published an adjustment to Defense Production Act delegations Friday, and USDA’s APHIS opened a request for information on modernizing veterinary biologics regulations, with comments due October 13.
Comment deadlines at a glance
- October 5: USCIS interim final rule on registration of permanent residence (children of foreign government employees)
- October 9: EPA/Army Corps WOTUS supplemental proposal (Docket EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322)
- October 13: Census Bureau residence criteria and demographic questions proposal; APHIS veterinary biologics RFI
- October 26: Colorado ADMT and Chatbot Safety proposed rules
- November 9: SEC pay-to-play rescission; FCC direct-to-device NPRM (replies December 7)
- December 7: USDA carcass beef grade standards RFI
The Investigative Journal compiled this roundup from the Federal Register, Reginfo.gov, and agency releases linked above. Where agency estimates of economic impact were not stated in the documents reviewed, none are reported. Agencies and affected parties may submit responses or corrections to the Journal.
Featured image: aerial view of the National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. Photo: U.S. National Archives via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).