Region 3 Library Services

National Services
for the Public:

Region 3 Library Links:

Welcome to the Region 3 Library. The library's mission is to provide accurate, timely environmental information to EPA staff and the public.

“People ...are inherently capable of making proper judgments when they are properly informed."-- Thomas Jefferson

Contact Information

The public is welcome to visit the library. We are located at:
1650 Arch Street (entrance to EPA offices is on 17th St.)
Second Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Driving directions are available. However, since public parking is limited and expensive, public transportation is recommended. The EPA Region 3 Office is convenient to several methods of public transportation, including the SEPTA Regional Rails, PATCO, the Frankford El and a number of bus routes.

All visitors to the Region 3 office must show a picture ID such as a current driver's license.

We can be contacted at:
Phone: (215) 814-5254
Fax: (215) 814-5253
E-Mail: Library-Reg3@epa.gov

Mailing Address:
US Environmental Protection Agency
Region 3 Library
Second Floor (3PM52)
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Hours of Operation

The library is open to the public from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Borrowing Policy and Interlibrary Loans

Borrowing privileges are generally limited to EPA staff, other libraries, and local businesses / organizations with established borrowing arrangements.

To locate EPA library and repository materials, you can search the Online Library System (OLS), EPA Libraries’ online catalog. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail the library.

Information For Other Libraries: We freely share materials with other libraries via the OCLC Interlibrary Loan system. Our OCLC symbol is EJA and we are members of FEDL (Federal Libraries and Information Centers) and LVIS (Libraries Very Interested in Sharing). For libraries that do not have OCLC access, please contact the Librarian at (215) 814-5254 for alternate methods.

EPA Library Services for the Public

The EPA National Library Network provides a variety of public services:

National Environmental Publications Internet Site (NEPIS), part of the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)
Online Library System (OLS)
EPA Library Services and Repositories

About the Collection

The Region 3 Library includes a scientific/technical library, a law library, the Region 3 National Priority List (NPL) Public Docket and an Offsite Consequence Analysis (OCA) Reading Room.

Law Library
The Law Library adjacent to the scientific/technical Region 3 Library collection includes a collection of environmental law materials, current editions of all 50 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) titles, with back issues of titles 3,33, and 40, the complete Federal Register dating back to 1970 and a collection of Codes, Rules and Regulations for the States in Region 3. The collection also features the U.S. Code Annotated, U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News, the Federal Reporter, Federal Supplement, Atlantic Reporter, Southeastern Reporter, Federal Practice Digest and Atlantic Digest.
Region 3 National Priorities List (NPL) Public Docket
The EPA Region 3 NPL Public Docket contains documents that form the basis for EPA's evaluation and scoring of sites in the Middle Atlantic Region where known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants make the sites' cleanup a high priority. Sites on the NPL are eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the trust fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 (commonly known as Superfund), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986. Information on Region 3 Superfund sites is available from the Region 3 Hazardous Site Cleanup Division's website: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/. An explanation of how sites are listed on the NPL can be found at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/npl_hrs/nplon.htm.
OCA (Offsite Consequences Analysis) Reading Room
The RCEI is one of 50 OCA Reading Rooms across the country. The Reading Rooms provide, on a limited basis, risk management information for potential chemical accidents. Access to OCA information is governed by the Chemical Safety Information, Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act (Public Law 10640). Further details can be found at http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/rmp/readingroom.htm.
Environmental Science Center
The collection at the Environmental Science Center consists of analytical chemistry reference materials pertaining to the environment for the use of Environmental Science Center staff located at Ft. Meade, MD.