Action Initiation List – June 2012 Page 1 of 4

June 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 – June 2012 Page 2 of 4

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

National Emission Standards 

for Hazardous Air Pollutants for 

Secondary Lead Smelters; 

Amendments

NPRM,

Direct Final

Nathan Topham 

919-541-0483

Topham.Nathan@epa.gov

These amendments will fix an error that occurred when the 

Secondary Lead Smelting Residual Risk and Technology Review 

(RTR) was added to the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations 

(e-CFR). The final rule regulatory text for the RTR reproduced the 

entire subpart rather than only including amendatory text and used 

the same section numbers as the original National Emission 

Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). This was done 

to aid the public in locating and understanding the entire subpart in 

one location since many changes were made to the original rule.

As a result, the entire subpart was replaced in the eCFR, removing 

the old sections and replacing them with the new versions. The 

compliance date for existing sources to meet the requirements of 

the RTR is January 6, 2014. The Agency intended for those 

sources to continue complying with the requirements included in 

the original NESHAP until the compliance date for the RTR 

amendments arrives. The eCFR no longer contains those 

requirements due to the inadvertent replacement of the entire 

subpart. 

These amendments will add a paragraph to the regulatory text that 

clarifies sources must continue complying with the requirements 

that were in effect prior to the RTR amendments until the 

compliance date for the RTR amendments arrives. 

12 months or 

less

Technical Corrections for the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting 

Rule

NPRM Alexis McKittrick 

202-343-9153

McKittrick.Alexis@epa.gov

This action will propose amending specific provisions in the 

Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule to correct 

technical and editorial errors that have been identified since 

promulgation. This action would also clarify or propose 

amendments to certain provisions that have been the subject of 

questions from reporting entities. It is anticipated that this 

document will include over 200 changes to the current rule, 

including, but not limited to, additional information to clarify 

compliance obligations, correct data reporting elements so they 

more closely conform to the information used to perform emission 

calculations, and make other corrections and amendments. 

Specific subparts to be amended may include A, C, H, P, X, Z, AA, 

HH, MM, NN, PP, RR, TT, UU, and others.

12 months or 

less
Action Initiation List – June 2012 Page 3 of 4

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Notice of Proposed Revisions 

to Stormwater Regulations to 

Clarify that an NPDES Permit 

is not Required for Stormwater 

Discharges from Logging 

Roads

NPRM Jeremy Bauer 

202-564-2775

Bauer.Jeremy@epa.gov

The EPA intends to propose revisions to its Phase I stormwater 

regulations (40 CFR 122.26) to clarify that stormwater discharges 

from logging roads do not constitute stormwater discharges 

associated with industrial activity and that a National Pollutant 

Discharges Elimination System (NPDES) permit is not required for 

these stormwater discharges. EPA is taking this action in 

response to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Northwest 

Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) v. Brown, which addressed 

the question of whether discharges from certain logging roads 

require National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 

permits. The Agency intends to clarify that a permit is not required 

for these discharges.

12 months 

or less 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting -

Change to Calculation 

Methodologies for Subpart I

NPRM Alexis McKittrick 

202-343-9153

McKittrick.Alexis@epa.gov 

This action proposes amending the calculation and monitoring 

methodologies for subpart I, Electronics Manufacturing, of the 

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Proposed changes include 

revising certain calculation methods, amending data reporting 

requirements, and clarifying terms and definitions. This action also 

proposes confidentiality determinations for the reporting of the data 

elements that would be added to subpart I as a result of the 

proposed rule amendments. This notice also proposes 

amendments to subpart A, General Provisions, to reflect proposed 

changes to the reporting requirements in subpart I.

EPA is proposing these amendments to (1) modify calculation 

methods and data requirements to better reflect new industry data 

and current practice; (2) provide additional calculation methods to 

allow individual facilities to choose the method best suited for their 

operations; (3) provide flexibility in implementation to balance the 

burden associated with existing requirements; and (4) address 

sensitive business information concerns raised by industrial 

stakeholders.

12 months 

or less 
Action Initiation List – June 2012 Page 4 of 4

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.