Action Initiation List – January 2011 

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January 2011 Action Initiation List (as of 2/10/2011)

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 Rulemaking Gateway 

(www.epa.gov/rulemaking/). 

If one of the rules on this AIL is in the Rulemaking Gateway, a link to the rule's profile is included in the table below. For all rules –

those that are in the Gateway 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)

To assist you in tracking actions’ progress, the RINs in the table below are also displayed in the Semiannual Regulatory Agenda and 

the Rulemaking Gateway.
Action Initiation List – January 2011 

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RIN Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

2050-AG67 Addition of Vapor 

Intrusion 

Component to the 

Hazard Ranking 

System (HRS)

NPRM Terry Jeng

703-603-8852

Jeng.Terry@epa.gov

Follow this rule on the 

Rulemaking Gateway

The Hazard Ranking System (HRS), required by the 

Superfund statute, is the primary mechanism used by EPA to 

assess the relative threat associated with actual or potential 

releases of hazardous substances. As a matter of Agency 

policy, those sites that score 28.50 or greater under the HRS 

are eligible for inclusion on the National Priorities List (NPL). 

The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining 

which sites warrant further investigation. A score of 28.50 does 

not represent a specified level of risk but is a cutoff point that 

serves as a screening-level indicator of the highest priority 

releases or threatened releases. The HRS includes four 

scoring pathways - ground water, surface water, air and soil 

exposure. 

Additional pathways have been identified as posing significant 

threats to human health and the environment that should be 

considered when evaluating sites for the NPL. One such 

pathway is vapor intrusion. Vapor intrusion occurs when 

contaminants enter into indoor spaces, generally residences, 

from environmental sources such as contaminated ground 

water or contaminated soil. Over the past decade EPA and 

state environmental programs have learned significantly more 

information regarding the risk that this pathway poses to 

human health. Historically, EPA’s Superfund program has 

responded to vapor intrusion contamination by two 

mechanisms: (1) through its emergency response program at 

sites not on the NPL, or (2) through sites placed on the NPL 

because of other pathway-related risks. 

In a May 2010 report, the Government Accountability Office 

(GAO) concluded that if vapor intrusion sites are not assessed 

and, if needed, listed on the NPL, some seriously 

contaminated hazardous waste sites with unacceptable human 

exposure may not otherwise be cleaned up. Thus, EPA is 

proposing to add a new HRS pathway so that sites with vapor 

intrusion contamination can be evaluated for inclusion on the 

NPL.

More than 

12 months
Action Initiation List – January 2011 

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RIN Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

2060-AQ75 Petroleum 

Refinery Sector 

Risk and 

Technology 

Review and New 

Source 

Performance 

Standards 

(NPSP)

NPRM Brenda Shine

919-541-3608

Shine.Brenda@epa.gov

Follow this rule on the 

Rulemaking Gateway.

EPA is required to evaluate the risk remaining at facilities 8 

years after they are required to comply with Maximum 

Achievable Control Technology (MACT) air-toxic emission 

standards according to Section 112 (f)(2) of the Clean Air Act 

(CAA). EPA is also required to review and revise the MACT 

standards if needed every 8 years with regard to practices, 

processes and control technologies according to Section

112(d)(6) of the CAA.

In this action we propose to conduct risk and technology 

reviews for both Petroleum Refinery MACT 1 and 2 source 

categories. Our efforts will focus on gathering comprehensive 

information on petroleum refineries that will allow us to

complete these reviews. Additionally, we are also in the 

process of addressing issues related to the reconsideration of 

Petroleum Refinery New Source Performance Standards 

(NSPS) Subpart Ja. We intend to use information obtained 

through the comprehensive information collection process to 

address NSPS Ja reconsideration issues.

12 months or 

less
Action Initiation List – January 2011 

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RIN Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

2060-AQ76 2012 Renewable 

Fuel Volume 

Standards as 

Required by 

Energy 

Independence 

and Security Act

NPRM David Korotney

734-214-4507

Korotney.David@epa.gov

In response to the Energy Independence and Security Act 

(EISA), EPA finalized the RFS2 program regulations. 

However, under EISA, the Environmental Protection Agency is 

required 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 in 

each year. In the case of the cellulosic biofuel standard, EISA 

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 EISA, 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 first 

year for which such applicable volume will apply. Therefore, 

this action will also propose and finalize at minimum, the 2013

biomass based diesel (BBD) volume along with all the 2012 

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 year 2012 and set, at minimum, 

the 2013 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 2011 

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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 2008 AIL will post sometime around May 15th).

What Does Each Column in the AIL Mean?

RIN: RIN stands for "Regulation Identifier Number." A RIN is assigned by the Regulatory Information Service Center, a component of the U.S. General Services 

Administration, to identify each regulatory action listed in our Semiannual Regulatory Agenda and Annual Regulatory Plans. Also, RINs are included in the headings 

of our rules when they are published in the Federal Register to make it easier for you to track our actions. An example of an EPA RIN is 2050-AG37. It is composed 

of two parts. The first part (i.e., 2050) identifies which office within EPA is in charge of the action. In this case, it is the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 

Response. The second part (e.g., AG37) is an alpha-numeric code automatically generated as rules are assigned a RIN. 

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 Rulemaking Gateway 

(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.