Action Initiation List – May 2012 Page 1 of 5

May 2012 Action Initiation List (as of 7/20/2012)

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 – May 2012 Page 2 of 5

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Uniform Standard for 

Flares

NPRM Brenda Shine

919-541-3608

Shine.Brenda@epa.gov

This action was originally part of the Uniform Standards described in regulatory 

action RIN 2060-AR00 but will now be proposed as a separate action. Organic 

chemical production industries and the petroleum refining industry have similar 

emission sources that are often required to be controlled to similar levels by the 

same type of control devices and work practice standards. The air pollution control 

regulatory requirements for these sources have evolved and improved as different 

New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Maximum Achievable Control 

Technology (MACT) have been developed over the years. This has resulted in 

requirements that are different and in many cases insufficient especially with 

respect to ensuring continuous compliance. EPA has developed “standardized” 

regulatory requirements in the past but they are specific to Part 60, 61, and 63 

rules respectively and are out of date. This action will continue the development 

and consolidation of a state-of-the-art uniform standard that will then become 

applicable when it is referenced in future regulatory actions, such as new and 

revised Control Technique Guidelines documents, NSPS technology reviews, and 

MACT Risk and Technology reviews for these industries. 

The uniform standard part 65 Subpart M for closed vent systems and control 

devices, developed in a previous action, will be amended in this action to include 

flare requirements. All technical support documents previously developed under 

RIN 2060-AR00 to identify methodologies to improve flare performance will 

undergo an external ad hoc peer review. Feedback from the peer review will then 

be considered in the development of the standard. The flare uniform standard will 

also include requirements for work practices and equipment standards and for 

monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting. In addition, EPA will develop tools for the 

proper application of this uniform standard during rule development, including 

anticipated costs and pollutant emission reductions.

12 months 

or less

Petroleum Refinery 

Sector Amendment 

for Flares

NPRM Brenda Shine

919-541-3608

Shine.Brenda@epa.gov

This action was originally part of the Petroleum Refining Sector Rulemaking 

described in RIN 2060-AQ75 but will now be a separate action. In this action we 

plan to conduct a review of flare efficiency for the refinery sector. We plan to 

amend the Refinery Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) 40 CFR 

part 63, subpart CC (Refinery MACT 1) and 40 CFR part 63, subpart UUU 

(Refinery MACT 2) and the Refinery New Source Performance Standards (NSPS)

subpart Ja to the extent necessary to establish flare efficiency requirements. The 

flare uniform standards are being developed in a separate action and will specify 

work practices, equipment standards, and monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting 

requirements for flares. This action may reference the Flare Uniform Standards, 

also under development, in lieu of directly incorporating flare efficiency requirement 

into the Refinery MACT standards or NSPS.

12 months 

or less
Action Initiation List – May 2012 Page 3 of 5

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Air Quality: Revision 

to Definition of 

Volatile Organic 

Compounds –

Exclusion of 2,3,3,3-

tetrafluoropropene

Final Dave Sanders

919-541-3356

Sanders.Dave@epa.gov

This action would add 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (also known as HFO-1234yf) to 

the list of compounds excluded from the definition of volatile organic compounds 

(VOCs) on the basis that this compound makes a negligible contribution to 

tropospheric ozone formation. Through this action, the EPA is revising the 

Agency’s definition of VOC for purposes of preparing state implementation plans 

(SIPs) to attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone 

under Title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA). An action (RIN 2060-AQ38) for trans1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene (also known as HFO-1234ze), previously proposed 

along with 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene, is currently being finalized separately after 

it was decided to place the two compounds in two separate actions.

12 

months or 

less 

Kraft Pulp Mills New 

Source Performance 

Standards (NSPS)

NPRM Kelley Spence

919-541-3158

Spence.Kelley@epa.gov

Section 111(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) directs EPA to review and, if 

appropriate, revise the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) at least every 

8 years after promulgation. This is a review of Subpart BB, Standards of 

Performance for Kraft Pulp Mills Section 60.280 - 60.285 which was last 

promulgated in 1978. The subpart is applicable to the following sources in kraft 

pulp mills that were installed after 1978: digester systems, brown stock washers, 

evaporator systems, recovery furnaces, smelt dissolving tanks, lime kilns, and 

condensate stripper systems. The pollutants regulated in this subpart include total 

reduced sulfur (TRS) compounds and particulate matter (PM). This action is 

subject to a citizen suit under section 304(a)(2) of the CAA brought against the 

EPA under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5. U.S.C. 701-06. This complaint 

seeks to compel the Administrator to fulfill her mandatory duty to review the NSPS 

for new and modified kraft pulp mills.

 12 

months or 

less

 
Action Initiation List – May 2012 Page 4 of 5

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Revision to Ambient 

Nitrogen Dioxide 

Monitoring 

Requirements

NPRM Nealson Watkins 

919-541-5522

Watkins.Nealson@epa.gov

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) monitoring requirements were revised in February 

2010 as part of the revision to the NO2 National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards. The revised requirements included network design elements that 

required monitors for characterizing concentrations near major roads, across 

area-wide extents, and in areas with vulnerable and susceptible populations. 

The required deadline for the establishment of the revised NO2 network was 

January 1, 2013. The Annual Monitoring Network Plans addressing these 

revisions are due July 1, 2012, for approval by the Administrator. The EPA is 

proposing revisions to the deadline for the near-road element of the network 

which establishes a phased approach that is more practical for states to 

implement and for EPA to fund. These changes will establish a series of 

deadlines that collectively implement the near-road network between January

1, 2014 and January 1, 2017, more closely matching the schedule for 

anticipated EPA grant funding as well as monitoring agency capacity for 

implementing the new sites. No changes are being proposed for the deadline 

affecting the area-wide and vulnerable and susceptible network elements. 

Additionally, no changes are being proposed to the population thresholds for 

monitoring finalized in the 2010 rule.

The EPA is also proposing to change the Annual Monitoring Network Plan 

approval authority from Administrator to Regional Administrator, as was 

originally intended, which is consistent with the approval authority for other 

networks characterizing ozone and fine particles, for example.

 12 

months or 

less
Action Initiation List – May 2012 Page 5 of 5

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.