“I have no more information and no date to give you. They are in interagency review,” Jackson said when asked whether “early” meant within the first quarter — coming at the end of March — or not.

She spoke after testifying before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee about the agency’s fiscal 2013 budget plan.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has been reviewing the proposal since early November.

The White House faces heavy election-year pressure from Republicans and some conservative Democrats to scuttle the regulations, which EPA crafted under a settlement with states and environmental groups.