### Action Initiation List

– May 2013 Page 1 of 3 

## May 201 3 Ac tion Initiation List (as of 7 /

31 /201 3 )

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 ea ch

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.ep a.gov/rulemaking/.

If one of the rules on this AIL is in RegDaRRT, a link to the rule's profile i s 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 Re gulatory 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.regu lations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=UnifiedAgenda&agency=EPA&pubperiod=200710)

### Action Initiation List

– May 2013 Page 2 of 3 Action Title Stage Contact Abstract Projected

Publication

Date Air Quality: Revision to

Definition of Volatile

Or ganic Compounds

- Exclusion of

Benzotrifluoride NPRM

Direct Final Dave Sanders

919

- 541

- 3356 Sanders.Dave@epa.gov This direct final with parallel proposal wo uld revise EPA's definition of voltile organic compounds (VOC) for purposes of preparing state implementation plans ( SIPs ) to attain the National Ambient Air Quality

Standards for ozone

. The action would add benzotrifluoride to the list of compounds excluded from the definition of VOC on the basis that this compound makes a negligible contribution to tropospheric ozone

formation. VOC exemption petition submitted by Kowa American Corp. (Prior: OCC) on 7/29/12. 12 months

or less

Clarification of

R equirements for Method

303 C ertification T raining Direct Final Kim Garnett

919

- 541

- 1158 Garnett.Kim@epa.gov The EPA is proposing changes to Method 303 to better define the requirements associated with conducting Method 303 certification courses. Method 303 is an air pollution test method used to

determine the visi ble emissions from coke ovens. This action adds

additional l anguage that clarifies the criteria used by the EPA to determine the competency of training providers, but does not change the requirements f or conducting the test method. These changes will help entities interested in conducting training classes to better understand the requirements necessary to be approved to conduct these training courses. 12 months

or less

### Action Initiation List

– May 2013 Page 3 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 15 days after the close of the month (e.g.,
the April 2011 AIL will post sometime around May 15th).



# What Does Each Column in the AIL Mean?

Title: Self

- explanatory.



## Stage: The stage of an action describes where we ar e in the rule writing process, from the very beginning when a rule (or other act ion) 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 anno unces 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 assig ned 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 purpo se.



## 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 t he "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.