Action Initiation List – May 2014 Page 1 of 3

May 2014 Action Initiation List (as of 6/30/2014)

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 2014 Page 2 of 3

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Revisions to Test 

Methods, Performance 

Specifications and 

Testing Regulations

NPRM Lula Melton

919-541-2910

Melton.Lula@epa.gov

This action would make needed corrections and updates to source testing 

methods, performance specifications, and testing regulations in 40 CFR 

Parts 51, 60, 61, and 63. For example, Method 2 inadvertently references 

an incorrect section; the correct section would be cited. The method 

detection limit would be revised in Method 26. In Performance 

Specification-2, the difference between span and range would be clarified 

to ensure that the span is chosen to be approximately two times the 

emission limit. The proposed rule would include numerous other changes. 

A similar action is developed every few years to keep rules up-to-date and 

to ensure that compliance testing and monitoring are done correctly.

12 months 

or less

Greenhouse Gas 

Reporting Program: 

Addition of Global 

Warming Potentials

NPRM Lisa Grogan-McCulloch 

202-343-9743 

Grogan-Mcculloch.Lisa@epa.gov

 

This action would add chemical-specific and default global warming 

potentials (GWPs) for a number of fluorinated greenhouse gases (GHGs) 

and fluorinated heat transfer fluids (HTFs) to the general provisions of the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. Currently, these fluorinated GHGs and 

HTFs are not assigned GWPs under the Rule. The proposed changes 

would increase the completeness and accuracy of the CO2-equivalent 

emissions calculated and reported by suppliers and emitters of fluorinated 

GHGs and HTFs.

12 months 

or less
Action Initiation List – May 2014 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 20 days after the close of the month (e.g., 

the April 2014 AIL will post sometime around May 20th).

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.