Action Initiation List – October 2012 Page 1 of 3

October 2012 Action Initiation List (as of 12/13/2012)

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 – October 2012 Page 2 of 3

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Reconsideration of the 

Polyvinyl Chloride and 

Copolymers National 

Emission Standards for 

Hazardous Air Pollutants

NPRM Andrea Siefers 

919-541-1185

Siefers.Andrea@epa.gov

This action is in response to four petitions for reconsideration 

that were received for the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) National 

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants rulemaking 

that was finalized in April 2012. The petitions identify notice and 

comment issues as well as several technical consistency issues 

with the rule. The April 2012 final rule was issued in response to 

a 2008 settlement agreement with Sierra Club, Mossville 

Environmental Action Now, and Louisiana Environmental Action 

Network to replace the vacated PVC Maximum Achievable 

Control Technology (MACT) rule. This settlement did not 

include reconsideration of the existing 2007 PVC area source 

Generally Available Control Technology (GACT) rule. However, 

we decided to voluntarily review and revise the 2007 area 

source rule in conjunction with developing the major source 

MACT standard. Both industry and environmental petitioners 

have petitioned for reconsideration of the GACT analysis due to 

notice and comment.

12 months or 

less

Effluent Limitations 

Guidelines and Standards 

for the Construction and 

Development Point Source 

Category 

NPRM Jesse Pritts 

202-566-1038

Pritts.Jesse@epa.gov

This action will address revisions to the effluent guidelines and 

standards for the construction and development (C&D) point 

source category 40 CFR 450. The C&D rule was issued on 

December 1, 2009 and became effective on 

February 1, 2010. This action would revise several of the nonnumeric portions of the rule in response to litigation

12 months or 

less 
Action Initiation List – October 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.