Actions Initiated by Month

From this page, you can learn about the rules and related actions we initiate each month. For priority rulemakings, we make monthly updates on the Regulatory Development and Retrospective Review Tracker (Reg DaRRT).  Links to Reg DaRRT are provided in the tables provided below, where appropriate.

• June 2012 Action Initiation List (AIL)
• May 2012 AIL
• What is an AIL?
• How Do I Access Past AILs?
• How Do I Know When a New List Has Been Posted?
• What Does Each Column in an AIL Mean?

June 2012 Action Initiation List

Download the June 2012 AIL (PDF) (4 pp, 49K, About PDF).

Top of page

May 2012 Action Initiation List

Download the May 2012 AIL (PDF) (5 pp, 54K, About PDF).

Top of page

Abstracts for the June 2012 AIL

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Secondary Lead Smelters; Amendments

These amendments will fix an error that occurred when the Secondary Lead Smelting Residual Risk and Technology Review (RTR) was added to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR). The final rule regulatory text for the RTR reproduced the entire subpart rather than only including amendatory text and used the same section numbers as the original National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). This was done to aid the public in locating and understanding the entire subpart in one location since many changes were made to the original rule.

As a result, the entire subpart was replaced in the eCFR, removing the old sections and replacing them with the new versions. The compliance date for existing sources to meet the requirements of the RTR is January 6, 2014. The Agency intended for those sources to continue complying with the requirements included in the original NESHAP until the compliance date for the RTR amendments arrives. The eCFR no longer contains those requirements due to the inadvertent replacement of the entire subpart.

These amendments will add a paragraph to the regulatory text that clarifies sources must continue complying with the requirements that were in effect prior to the RTR amendments until the compliance date for the RTR amendments arrives. - Back

Technical Corrections for the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule

This action will propose amending specific provisions in the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule to correct technical and editorial errors that have been identified since promulgation. This action would also clarify or propose amendments to certain provisions that have been the subject of questions from reporting entities. It is anticipated that this document will include over 200 changes to the current rule, including, but not limited to, additional information to clarify compliance obligations, correct data reporting elements so they more closely conform to the information used to perform emission calculations, and make other corrections and amendments. Specific subparts to be amended may include A, C, H, P, X, Z, AA, HH, MM, NN, PP, RR, TT, UU, and others.Back

Notice of Proposed Revisions to Stormwater Regulations to Clarify that an NPDES Permit is not Required for Stormwater Discharges from Logging Roads

The EPA intends to propose revisions to its Phase I stormwater regulations (40 CFR 122.26) to clarify that stormwater discharges from logging roads do not constitute stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity and that a National Pollutant Discharges Elimination System (NPDES) permit is not required for these stormwater discharges. EPA is taking this action in response to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) v. Brown, which addressed the question of whether discharges from certain logging roads require National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. The Agency intends to clarify that a permit is not required for these discharges. Back

Greenhouse Gas Reporting - Change to Calculation Methodologies for Subpart I

This action proposes amending the calculation and monitoring methodologies for subpart I, Electronics Manufacturing, of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Proposed changes include revising certain calculation methods, amending data reporting requirements, and clarifying terms and definitions. This action also proposes confidentiality determinations for the reporting of the data elements that would be added to subpart I as a result of the proposed rule amendments. This notice also proposes amendments to subpart A, General Provisions, to reflect proposed changes to the reporting requirements in subpart I.

EPA is proposing these amendments to (1) modify calculation methods and data requirements to better reflect new industry data and current practice; (2) provide additional calculation methods to allow individual facilities to choose the method best suited for their operations; (3) provide flexibility in implementation to balance the burden associated with existing requirements; and (4) address sensitive business information concerns raised by industrial stakeholders. Back

Top of page

Abstracts for the May 2012 AIL

Uniform Standard for Flares

This action was originally part of the Uniform Standards described in regulatory action RIN 2060-AR00 but will now be proposed as a separate action. Organic chemical production industries and the petroleum refining industry have similar emission sources that are often required to be controlled to similar levels by the same type of control devices and work practice standards. The air pollution control regulatory requirements for these sources have evolved and improved as different New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) have been developed over the years. This has resulted in requirements that are different and in many cases insufficient especially with respect to ensuring continuous compliance. EPA has developed “standardized” regulatory requirements in the past but they are specific to Part 60, 61, and 63 rules respectively and are out of date. This action will continue the development and consolidation of a state-of-the-art uniform standard that will then become applicable when it is referenced in future regulatory actions, such as new and revised Control Technique Guidelines documents, NSPS technology reviews, and MACT Risk and Technology reviews for these industries.

The uniform standard part 65 Subpart M for closed vent systems and control devices, developed in a previous action, will be amended in this action to include flare requirements. All technical support documents previously developed under RIN 2060-AR00 to identify methodologies to improve flare performance will undergo an external ad hoc peer review. Feedback from the peer review will then be considered in the development of the standard. The flare uniform standard will also include requirements for work practices and equipment standards and for monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting. In addition, EPA will develop tools for the proper application of this uniform standard during rule development, including anticipated costs and pollutant emission reductions.Back

Petroleum Refinery Sector Amendment for Flares

This action was originally part of the Petroleum Refining Sector Rulemaking described in RIN 2060-AQ75 but will now be a separate action. In this action we plan to conduct a review of flare efficiency for the refinery sector. We plan to amend the Refinery Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) 40 CFR part 63, subpart CC (Refinery MACT 1) and 40 CFR part 63, subpart UUU (Refinery MACT 2) and the Refinery New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) subpart Ja to the extent necessary to establish flare efficiency requirements. The flare uniform standards are being developed in a separate action and will specify work practices, equipment standards, and monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for flares. This action may reference the Flare Uniform Standards, also under development, in lieu of directly incorporating flare efficiency requirement into the Refinery MACT standards or NSPS. Back

Air Quality: Revision to Definition of Volatile Organic Compounds – Exclusion of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene

This action would add 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (also known as HFO-1234yf) to the list of compounds excluded from the definition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the basis that this compound makes a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone formation. Through this action, the EPA is revising the Agency’s definition of VOC for purposes of preparing state implementation plans (SIPs) to attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone under Title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA). An action (RIN 2060-AQ38) for trans-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (also known as HFO-1234ze), previously proposed along with 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene, is currently being finalized separately after it was decided to place the two compounds in two separate actions. Back

Kraft Pulp Mills New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)

Section 111(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) directs EPA to review and, if appropriate, revise the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) at least every 8 years after promulgation. This is a review of Subpart BB, Standards of Performance for Kraft Pulp Mills Section 60.280 - 60.285 which was last promulgated in 1978. The subpart is applicable to the following sources in kraft pulp mills that were installed after 1978: digester systems, brown stock washers, evaporator systems, recovery furnaces, smelt dissolving tanks, lime kilns, and condensate stripper systems. The pollutants regulated in this subpart include total reduced sulfur (TRS) compounds and particulate matter (PM). This action is subject to a citizen suit under section 304(a)(2) of the CAA brought against the EPA under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5. U.S.C. 701-06. This complaint seeks to compel the Administrator to fulfill her mandatory duty to review the NSPS for new and modified kraft pulp mills. Back

Revision to Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide Monitoring Requirements

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) monitoring requirements were revised in February 2010 as part of the revision to the NO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The revised requirements included network design elements that required monitors for characterizing concentrations near major roads, across area-wide extents, and in areas with vulnerable and susceptible populations. The required deadline for the establishment of the revised NO2 network was January 1, 2013. The Annual Monitoring Network Plans addressing these revisions are due July 1, 2012, for approval by the Administrator. The EPA is proposing revisions to the deadline for the near-road element of the network which establishes a phased approach that is more practical for states to implement and for EPA to fund. These changes will establish a series of deadlines that collectively implement the near-road network between January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2017, more closely matching the schedule for anticipated EPA grant funding as well as monitoring agency capacity for implementing the new sites. No changes are being proposed for the deadline affecting the area-wide and vulnerable and susceptible network elements. Additionally, no changes are being proposed to the population thresholds for monitoring finalized in the 2010 rule.

The EPA is also proposing to change the Annual Monitoring Network Plan approval authority from Administrator to Regional Administrator, as was originally intended, which is consistent with the approval authority for other networks characterizing ozone and fine particles, for example. Back

Top of page

What is an AIL?

Generally, AILs include those actions that 1) will appear in our upcoming Semiannual Regulatory Agenda and 2) have been approved for commencement by EPA's Regulatory Policy Officer. In rare instances, an action will not appear on an AIL before it appears in an Agenda.