### A ction Initiation List

– December 201 1 Page 1 of 3 

## December 2011 Ac tion Initiation List (as of 1/1 2 /201 2 )

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 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.re gulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=UnifiedAgenda&agency=EPA&pubperiod=200710)

### A ction Initiation List

– December 201 1 Page 2 of 3 Action Title Stage Contact Abstract Projected
Publication
Date

National Volatile Organic Compound
Emission Standards for Aerosol Coatings

– Addition of Dimethyl Carbonate, Benzotrifluoride, and Hexamethyldisiloxane to Table of Reactivity
Factors Direct
Final Kaye Whitfield
919

- 541

- 2509 Whitfield.Kaye@epa.gov On March 24, 2008, EPA published national emission standards for aerosol spray paints under s ection 183(e) of the C lean Air Act (CAA) (73 FR 15604, which are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR part 59, subpa rt E (sections 59.500

– 59.516)). This rule established national reactivity based emission standards for the
aerosol co atings category (aerosol spray paints) under the CAA . A provision in the rule allows regulated entities to petition the Agency to add compounds and corresponding reactivity factors to a Table of Reactivity Factors. In response to previous petitions, EPA pr eviously added several compounds and reactivity factors on June 23, 2009 (74 FR 29595). This proposed action adds three additional compounds: dimethyl carbonate, benzotrifluoride and hexamethyldisiloxane, and their associated reactivity factors, based on p etitions received from regulated entities. 12 months
or less

Protection of Stratospheric Ozone:
The 2013 Critical Use Exemption from the Phaseout of Methyl
Bromide NPRM Jeremy Arling
202

- 343

- 9055 Arling.Jeremy@epa.gov Methyl bromide was phased out under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 2005, except for limited exemptions. This action would authorize uses for the 2013 critical use exemption from the phaseout of methyl bromide, and would author ize the amount of methyl bromide that may be produced, imported, or supplied from inventory for those uses in 2012. Absent this rulemaking, production and import of methyl
bromide for critical uses would be zero for 2013. EPA takes this action
under the au thority of the CAA to reflect a consensus Decision taken by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol at the 23nd Meeting of the
Parties. 12 months
or less

Implementation of the 2008 NAAQS for
Ozone: Nonattainment
Area Classifications Approach, Attainment
Deadlines and
Revocation of the 1997
Ozone Standards for Transportation Conformity Purposes NPRM Karl Pepple
919

- 541

- 2683 Pepple.Karl@epa.gov This NPRM will propose rules for implementing the 2008 8

- hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This proposal will address the classification system, the attainment deadlines for areas designated nonattainment, the methodology to address areas receiving voluntary reclassifications for the 1997 ozone NAAQS, and revocation
of the 1997 ozone N AAQS for transportation conformity purposes. 12 months
or less

### A ction Initiation List

– December 201 1 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 mo nth (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 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 A ction

• 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" an d 2) "more than 12 months." These options give you some idea of how quickly we expect to complete an action.