Two years after Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally proposed rules that will give the law life and allow the agency to enforce standards to thwart foodborne illnesses. The new safeguards will allow the FDA to do more than just react after people get sick; it will require producers to develop plans to actively preventcontaminated food from getting to grocery store shelves.

Great news! Thanks to the hard work of consumer, environmental, labor, and other public interest groups (including the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards) and engaged citizens like you, lawmakers put the brakes on the Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act (S. 3468). The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has decided to hold a hearing on the bill to gather more public input before moving forward.

This week, Regulations.gov released new enhancements to the site as part of a continuing redesign and improvement effort. There are more changes to come, but the latest features make rulemaking dockets easier to navigate and understand.

Last week, a federal court held the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the nation's largest public utility, responsible for a massive 2008 coal ash spill near Kingston, TN, that released 5.4 million cubic yards of sludge into the surrounding community. Coal ash can contain arsenic, lead, chromium, and other toxic substances, which many Kingston area residents say contaminated their properties. The decision could provide compensation for many harmed by the spill, but better public protections to prevent these types of spills are still needed.