Action Initiation List – July 2012 Page 1 of 3

July 2012 Action Initiation List (as of 8/21/2012)

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 – July 2012 Page 2 of 3

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Revisions to Research, 

Demonstration and 

Development (RD&D) Subtitle 

D Research, Demonstration & 

Development Permit Rule

NPRM Craig Dufficy 

703-308-9037

Dufficy.Craig@epa.gov

EPA is considering modifying the Research, Demonstration and 

Development (RD&D) provisions for Resource Conservation 

and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D regulations, originally 

promulgated in 2004. One of the issues that has arisen is the 12 

year time limitation. States that have approved and issued RD&D 

permits indicate that this limitation discourages long-term research 

and shortens the investment period needed to recoup costs given 

that the lag time from design to operation can be as much as three 

years. The majority of state stakeholders believe that removing the 

time limit is appropriate. In addition to the 12 year limitation 

change, EPA is considering (1) developing a common definition of 

a bioreactor within EPA Offices; (2) promoting a long-term, low 

cost and sustainable method for Municipal Solid Waste 

Management and (3) encouraging energy recovery.

More than 

12 months 

Response to Reclassification 

Request from New York for the 

New York-Northern New 

Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT 

Ozone Nonattainment Area

Direct 

Final

Carla Oldham 

919-541-3347

Oldham.Carla@epa.gov

When the EPA promulgates a new or revised National Ambient Air 

Quality Standard (NAAQS), the EPA is required to designate all 

areas in the country as nonattainment, attainment, or 

unclassifiable, pursuant to section 107(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act. In 

rules signed on April 30, 2012 and May 31, 2012, the EPA 

promulgated the initial air quality designations for all areas in the 

United States for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. Areas designated as 

ozone nonattainment areas were also classified by operation of 

law at the time of designation according to the severity of the 

area’s air quality problem. Under CAA section 181(a)(4), within 90 

days after the original designation and classification, the EPA has 

the discretion to reclassify an area to a higher or lower 

classification if the area’s design value is within 5 percent of the 

design value range for the higher or lower classification. In 

addition, under section 181(b)(3), a state may request a voluntary 

reclassification to higher category at any time. On June 20, 2012, 

the State of New York submitted a request that the EPA adjust the 

classification for the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, 

NY-NJ-CT multi-state ozone nonattainment area from marginal to 

moderate, citing both of these reclassification provisions. This 

action will respond to New York’s reclassification request for that 

area.

12 months

or less
Action Initiation List – July 2012 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 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.