RM

Responsibility Meter

Current-event accountability

DashboardNew
regulatoryAir Emissions RuleWashington, D.C., United Statesstable 81.3

EPA finalizes updated standards for large municipal waste combustors

EPA signed a final rule updating emissions standards and compliance requirements for large municipal waste combustors. The action determines the regulatory framework under which major trash-burning facilities continue operating and controlling hazardous emissions.

curated-2026launch-packepaair-pollutionwaste-combustorsrulemakingpublic-health

Published

3/5/2026

Current public event date

Source base

1 sources

Evidence records attached to this event

Actor field

3 ranked

2 primary / 1 structural

Incident links

1

Analyses connected to this incident

Editorial note

Curated from EPA's prepublication final rule on large municipal waste combustors.

Event harm

63.4

Overall event-level harm score

Top culpability

42.0

EPA leadership

Confidence

81.3

How stable the current public reading is

Top responsibility

66.2

Highest primary responsibility before event harm is applied

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Current harm

63.4

The live event-harm score on this post

Current confidence

81.3

How stable the current public reading is

Source base

1

Public sources currently attached to this event

Event harm

Harm context

The public harm score is grounded in who bears the harm, what protections are in play, and the broader social fallout.

Who is harmed

The people, communities, or institutions whose safety, rights, or daily conditions are changed by the event.

Rights or laws at risk

Public-health protections, environmental safeguards, and community safety standards are on the line.

Societal impact

The decision can quickly alter agency practice, compliance burdens, and the real-world risk carried by the people subject to it.

Overview

Highest ranked primary actor

Start with the strongest direct attribution before moving into the wider field and structural enablers.

EPA leadership

Rank #1 with the highest weighted culpability in the current public reading.

Culpability

42.0

Weighted contribution

Confidence

88.0

Attribution stability

Rank #1AuthorizeragencyUnited States

EPA leadership

Ranked in the public field as a authorizer with a current responsibility band of meaningful.

stable 88.0

Responsibility

66.2

Actor-level role score before event harm is applied.

Culpability

42.0

Final contribution after event harm weighting.

Confidence

88.0

Current stability of the attribution.

Evidence links

1

Attached source links for this actor.

Why this actor is ranked here

EPA leadership owns the decision to finalize the emissions framework, giving it the clearest authorizing role in how the rule shapes combustor operations.

1 evidence link

Chart views

Score breakdown

Switch between ranked culpability, top-actor dimension mix, contribution balance, and revision timeline.

Ranked actors

3

Actors represented in the ladder and contribution views.

Top actor

EPA leadership

Highest-ranked primary actor in the current public reading.

Revisions

13

Live revisions contributing to the timeline chart.

Active chart

Ladder

Current visualization mode.

Ranked field

Other primary actors

These actors sit in the direct chain of authorship, authorization, interpretation, planning, or execution.

Rank #2ExecutoragencyUnited States

EPA rulemaking staff

Ranked in the public field as a executor with a current responsibility band of meaningful.

stable 84.0

Responsibility

57.6

Actor-level role score before event harm is applied.

Culpability

36.5

Final contribution after event harm weighting.

Confidence

84.0

Current stability of the attribution.

Evidence links

1

Attached source links for this actor.

Why this actor is ranked here

EPA rulemaking staff carry the operational burden of writing, publishing, and administering the updated combustor standards.

1 evidence link

Structural layer

Systemic enablers

These actors do not sit at the direct command or execution layer, but they materially fund, normalize, or otherwise enable the event chain.

Rank #3BeneficiaryinstitutionSystemic enablerUnited States

Large municipal waste combustor sector

Shown in the structural layer as a beneficiary with a current responsibility band of peripheral.

supported 72.0

Responsibility

45.8

Actor-level role score before event harm is applied.

Culpability

29.0

Final contribution after event harm weighting.

Confidence

72.0

Current stability of the attribution.

Evidence links

1

Attached source links for this actor.

Why this actor is ranked here

Combustor operators are not the rule's authors, but they are the regulated sector whose operating framework is defined by the final EPA action.

1 evidence link