September 2014 Action Initiation List (as of 10/14/2014)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The following actions were initiated by EPA this month. Explanations of which EPA actions are included on this list and of each 

element of the table can be found at the end of this document. 

The two most recent Action Initiation Lists (AILs) can always be found at: http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/search/ail.html. But, they 

will not provide updates on the actions listed herein. Updates on priority rulemakings are available from EPA's Regulatory 

Development and Retrospective Review Tracker (RegDaRRT) on www.epa.gov/rulemaking/. 

If one of the rules on this AIL is in RegDaRRT, a link to the rule's profile is included in the table below. For all rules – those that 

are in RegDaRRT and those that are not – you may obtain updates twice a year in EPA’s Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, which 

is accessible from these Web sites:

• EPA’s Laws, Regulations, Guidance and Dockets (http://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/search/regagenda.html)

• RegInfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain)

• Regulations.gov 

(http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=UnifiedAgenda&agency=EPA&pubperiod=200710) 

Action Initiation List – September 2014 Page 1 of 3
Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Mercury and Air Toxics 

Standards (MATS) 

Electronic Reporting 

Interim Rule Change

NPRM, 

Direct Final

Colin Boswell 

919-541-2034

Boswell.Colin@epa.gov

This direct final rule change will allow sources to comply with the Mercury 

and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) reporting requirements while the EPA 

revises the Emissions Collection Monitoring Plan System (ECMPS) to 

accept all reporting that is required in the MATS rule. This action will set up 

an interim reporting system for sources to comply with until a second 

rulemaking is finalized requiring the reporting through the ECMPS. 

12 months 

or less

Mercury and Air Toxics 

Standards (MATS) 

Technical Corrections to 

Final Rule

NPRM Bill Maxwell 

919-541-5430

Maxwell.Bill@epa.gov

 

This rulemaking will correct errors noted in the final rule, clarify sections 

that have been shown to be confusing to stakeholders, and complete

actions promised but not finalized in the Response to Comments 

document.

12 months 

or less 

Participation by 

Disadvantaged Business 

Enterprises in 

Procurement Under 

Environmental Protection 

Agency Financial 

Assistance Agreements

NPRM Teree Henderson 

202-566-2222

Henderson.Teree@epa.gov

This action is meant to ensure nondiscrimination in the award of contracts 

under EPA financial assistance agreements, to harmonize EPA's 

disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program objectives with the U.S. 

Supreme Court's decision in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, to help 

remove barriers to the participation of DBEs in the award of contracts under 

EPA financial assistance agreements; and to provide appropriate flexibility 

to recipients of EPA financial assistance in establishing and providing 

contracting opportunities for DBEs.

12 months 

or less 

Modernization of the 

Accidental Release 

Prevention Regulations 

under Clean Air Act

NPRM Jim Belke 

202 564-8023

Belke.Jim@epa.gov

In response to Executive Order 13650, the EPA is considering potential 

revisions to its Risk Management Program regulations and related 

programs. This notice may propose changes to the list of regulated 

substances and threshold quantities, addition of new accident prevention or 

emergency response program elements and/or changes to existing 

elements, and/or other changes to the existing regulatory provisions.

More than 

12 months 

Action Initiation List – September 2014 Page 2 of 3
What EPA Actions Appear on the AILs? 

Generally, AILs include those actions that 1) will appear in 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 the Agenda. 

Also, keep in mind that AILs will not post immediately. You can access a given month's list roughly 20 days after the close of the month (e.g., 

the April 2014 AIL will post sometime around May 20th).

What Does Each Column in the AIL Mean?

Title: Self-explanatory.

Stage: The stage of an action describes where we are in the rule writing process, from the very beginning when a rule (or other action) is 

just an idea to the end when it is published as a final rule (or other action) in the Federal Register. For example, the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (NPRM) stage announces a proposed rule or proposed modification to an existing rule. In the AILs, the following acronyms are 

used:

• ANPRM - Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• NPRM - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

• Supplemental - Supplemental NPRM 

• Direct Final - Direct Final Action

• Interim Final – Interim Final Action

• Final – Final Action

• Section 610 Review – Agency Review under Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act

Contact: Provides the name, phone, and email address for the EPA staff person assigned to this rule. Additionally, if a rule is in EPA's 

RegDaRRT (www.epa.gov/rulemaking/), then a link to the rule's profile will be provided in this column.

Abstract: A brief summary of the action and its purpose. 

Projected Publication Date: Since many variables affect how long it takes to write a rule or other action, it is difficult to predict a firm 

publication date when we have just started working on an action. Therefore, we insert one of two options in the "Projected Publication Date" 

column: 1) "12 months or less" and 2) "more than 12 months." These options give you some idea of how quickly we expect to complete an 

action. 

Action Initiation List – September 2014 Page 3 of 3