Action Initiation List – January 2012 Page 1 of 6

January 2012 Action Initiation List (as of 3/07/2012)

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 – January 2012 Page 2 of 6

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Hydraulic Fracturing 

Chemicals; Chemical 

Information Reporting under 

TSCA section 8(a) and Health 

and Safety Data Reporting 

under TSCA section 8(d)

ANPRM Chenise Farquharson

202-564-7768

Farquharson.Chenise@epa.gov

Through this action, EPA plans to develop an Advance Notice 

of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) and initiate a stakeholder 

process to provide input on the design and scope of the Toxic 

Substances Control Act (TSCA) reporting requirements that 

would be included in a proposed rule. EPA anticipates that 

states, industry, public interest groups and members of the 

public will be participants in the stakeholder process. The 

stakeholder process will bring stakeholders together to discuss 

the information needs and help EPA to ensure reporting 

burdens and costs are minimized, ensuring information already 

available is considered in order to avoid duplication of efforts.

12 months 

or less

National Emission Standards 

for Hazardous Air Pollutant 

Emissions: Manufacture of 

Amino/Phenolic Resins, Acrylic 

and Modacrylic Fibers 

Production, and Polycarbonate 

Production Risk and 

Technology Review

NPRM Nick Parsons

919-541-5372

Parsons.Nick@epa.gov

In this action EPA will perform risk and technology reviews for 

the following three National Emission Standards for Hazardous 

Air Pollutants (NESHAP): Manufacture of Amino/Phenolic 

Resins; Acrylic and Modacrylic Fibers Production; and 

Polycarbonate Production. These reviews are under a deadline 

consent decree for proposal in October 2012 and promulgation 

in October 2013. Clean Air Act (CAA) sections 112(f)(2) and 

112(d)(6) require EPA to conduct these reviews. Under the 

"technology review" provision of CAA section 112, EPA is 

required to review maximum achievable control technology 

(MACT) standards and to revise them "as necessary (taking 

into account developments in practices, processes and control 

technologies)" no less frequently than every 8 years. Under the 

"residual risk" provision of CAA section 112, EPA must evaluate 

the MACT standards within 8 years after promulgation and 

promulgate standards if required to provide an ample margin of 

safety to protect public health or prevent an adverse 

environmental effect. EPA will also remove startup, shutdown, 

and malfunction exemptions for these source categories, as 

required by recent court decisions.

12 months 

or less
Action Initiation List – January 2012 Page 3 of 6

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Renewable Fuel Standards 

(RFS) Volume Standards for 

2013

NPRM David Korotney

734-214-4507

Korotney.David@epa.gov

In response to the Energy Independence and Security Act 

(EISA), which amended the Clean Air Act Section 211(o), EPA 

finalized the RFS2 program regulations. The new provisions 

also require EPA to promulgate regulations that specify the 

annual statutory volume requirements for renewable fuels, 

including cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced 

biofuel, and total renewable fuel that must be used in 

transportation fuel annually. In the case of the cellulosic biofuel 

standard, the Act specifically requires that the standard be set 

based on the volume projected to be available during the 

following year. If the volumes are lower than those specified 

under the Act, then EPA may also lower the advanced biofuel 

and total renewable fuel standards each year accordingly. 

Further, the Act requires the Administrator to promulgate rules 

establishing the applicable volumes of biomass-based diesel for 

2013 and beyond and to do so no later than 14 months before 

the year for which such applicable volume will apply. Therefore, 

this action will also propose and finalize, at minimum, the 2014 

biomass based diesel (BBD) volume along with all the 2013 

standards. This regulatory action will establish, as required, the 

annual statutory volume requirements for the RFS2 fuel 

categories (cellulosic, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, 

and renewable fuel) that apply to all gasoline and diesel 

produced or imported in 2013 and set, at minimum, the 2014 

BBD requirement. Entities potentially affected by this final rule 

are those involved with the production, distribution, and sale of 

transportation fuels, including gasoline and diesel fuel or 

renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

12 months 

or less
Action Initiation List – January 2012 Page 4 of 6

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Program Amendments and 

Addition of New Fuel Pathways 

to the Renewable Fuel 

Standard (RFS) Program

NPRM Sharyn Lie

Lie.Sharyn@epa.gov

202-564-1092

The RFS2 program was required by the Energy Independence 

and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), which amended the 

Clean Air Act (CAA). The final regulations for RFS2 were 

published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2010 (75 FR 

14670). EPA has previously published clarifications and 

modifications, technical amendments, and new pathways, to the 

final RFS2 regulations. This proposed regulation would provide 

additional clarifications, modifications, and technical 

amendments to RFS2 and will clarify, modify and technically 

amend other fuels programs in 40 CFR Part 80. This action will 

assist regulated parties with complying with requirements by 

clarifying those requirements. 

This action will also propose amendments to Table 1 to § 

80.1426 of the RFS2 regulations to include additional fuel 

pathways and assign each pathway a D-Code. It allows 

producers or importers of fuel produced under these pathways 

to generate Renewable Identification Numbers under the 

program, providing that the fuel meets the other requirements 

for renewable fuel. This action outlines EPA’s lifecycle 

greenhouse gas evaluation, specified in Clean Air Act section 

211(o), as amended by EISA for several new pathways. This 

action adds these pathways to the table of approved fuel 

pathways.

12 months 

or less

Revisions to the Concentrated 

Animal Feeding Operations 

Rule

Direct 

Final

Louis Eby

202-564-6599

Eby.Louis@epa.gov

On November 20, 2008, EPA published a final rule (73 FR 

70418) to revise its regulations to address when the operator of 

a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) has a duty 

apply for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 

(NPDES) Permit. On March 15, 2011, the United States Court 

of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in National 

Pork Producers Council v. EPA that vacated portions of the 

2008 rule. This action will remove from the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) all provisions vacated by the Court.

12 

months or 

less
Action Initiation List – January 2012 Page 5 of 6

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Regulation to Modify Definition 

of Heating Oil in Renewable 

Fuel Standard Program

NPRM, 

Direct 

Final

Paul Argyropoulos

202-564-1123

Argyropoulos.Paul@epa.gov

This rule will qualify a fuel oil that is used to heat residential, 

business, commercial, industrial, or military buildings. This 

would not include fuel oils used to generate process heat, 

power, or other functions. The fuel oil would be used to 

generate heat to warm buildings or other facilities where people 

live, work, recreate, or conduct other activities. This amends the 

existing definition of heating oil in 40 CFR section 80.1401 to 

include these fuel oils. This is in addition to the fuel oils 

currently included in the definition of heating oil, and does not 

modify or limit the fuel included in the current definition. This 

rule also applies specific recordkeeping requirements to verify 

the fuel is used in approved applications.

12 months or 

less

Mandatory Reporting of 

Greenhouse Gases Rule: 

Proposed Confidentiality 

Determinations for Subpart I 

and Proposed Amendments to 

Subpart I Best Available 

Monitoring Provisions 

NPRM Alexis McKittrick

202-343-9153

McKittrick.Alexis@epa.gov

This action re-proposes the Confidential Business Information 

(CBI) determinations for Subpart I, Electronics Manufacturing, 

in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. A proposed 

determination regarding whether the data reporting elements 

would be made available to the public or be entitled to 

confidential treatment was originally proposed in July 2010 (75 

FR 39094, July 7, 2010). These proposed determinations were 

based on a proposed Subpart I rule that had not yet been 

finalized. Because Subpart I has now been finalized as well as 

been subsequently amended, and because the data reporting 

elements have changed significantly since proposal, EPA is reproposing the confidentiality determinations for this source 

category. This action also proposes to remove the requirement

to re-calculate emissions using Subpart I methodologies for 

years in which Best Available Monitoring Methods (BAMM) 

were used. Part 98 currently requires facilities to recalculate 

emissions for past years using Subpart I methodologies, once 

BAMM has expired.

12 months 

or less
Action Initiation List – January 2012 Page 6 of 6

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.