Action Initiation List – September 2012 Page 1 of 5

September 2012 Action Initiation List (as of 10/23/2012)

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 – September 2012 Page 2 of 5

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Renewable Fuel Standards

Renewable Identification 

Number (RIN) Quality 

Assurance Program

NPRM Holly Pugliese 

734-214-4288

Pugliese.Holly@epa.gov

EPA is responsible for developing and implementing regulations to 

ensure that transportation fuel sold in the United States contains a 

minimum volume of renewable fuel. The Renewable Fuel Standard 

(RFS) program regulations finalized in 2007 (RFS1) and 2010 (RFS2) 

were developed in collaboration with refiners, renewable fuel 

producers, and many other stakeholders. The RFS compliance 

program is based on the use of unique renewable identification 

numbers (RINs) assigned to batches of renewable fuel by renewable

fuel producers and importers. These RINs can then be sold or traded, 

and used by any obligated party to demonstrate compliance with the 

applicable standard. It has recently come to EPA’s attention that the 

production, transfer, and use of invalid RINs has resulted in violations 

for parties that were not aware that the RINs were invalid. The action

will propose a voluntary mechanism for ensuring that RINs have been 

appropriately generated.

12 

months or 

less

Federal Plan Requirements for 

Sewage Sludge Incineration 

Units Constructed on or Before 

October 14, 2010

NPRM Amy Hambrick 

919 541-0964

Hambrick.Amy@epa.gov

On March 21, 2011, EPA promulgated new source performance 

standards and emission guidelines for sewage sludge incineration 

units located at wastewater treatment facilities designed to treat 

domestic sewage sludge. The final rule will set limits for nine pollutants 

under section 129 of the Clean Air Act: cadmium, carbon monoxide, 

hydrogen chloride, lead, mercury, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, 

polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, 

and sulfur dioxide. Section 129(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act directs states 

with existing sewage sludge incinerators subject to the emission 

guidelines to submit plans to the EPA that implement and enforce the 

emission guidelines. The deadline for states to submit new state plans 

to the EPA for review was March 21, 2012. If a state with existing 

sewage sludge incinerators does not submit an approvable plan within 

2 years after promulgation of the emission guidelines, section 

129(b)(3) of the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to develop, implement 

and enforce a federal plan for sewage sludge incinerators in the state. 

This action proposes the sewage sludge incinerators federal plan to 

implement the emission guidelines adopted on March 21, 2011, for 

those states that do not have an approved new state plan

implementing the emission guidelines, as amended, in place by March 

21, 2012.

12 months 

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

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

Regulation of Fuels and Fuel 

Additives: Reducing the 

Number of Reporting Due 

Dates under EPA’s Fuels 

Programs

Direct 

Final 

Ben Larson 

202-343-9565

Larson.Ben@epa.gov

EPA’s Fuels Programs will reduce regulatory burden by decreasing the 

number of reporting due dates across all of the fuel related programs. 

This action will lay the foundation for the overall goal of combining 

required reports together and eventually significantly reducing the 

burden hours associated with reporting. This overall effort responds to 

Executive Orders 13563 and 13610 and is one of the prototype efforts 

under the Agency’s “E-Enterprise” reporting model.

Currently under 40 CFR Part 79 and 40 CFR Part 80 there are 10 

separate reporting dates each year (11 in a leap year). The Fuels 

Programs will change all of these dates to be simply one per quarter. 

To minimize ambiguity the reporting deadline will also change to the 

1st of the month, two months after each quarter ends to June 1st 

(quarter 1), September 1st (quarter 2), December 1st (quarter 3), and 

March 1st (quarter 4).

This change will either delay or maintain current deadlines for nearly all 

required reports. Only one annual report that’s due on March 31st each 

year will have an earlier deadline by 30 days, starting in 2014.

Respondents will still have the option of reporting before each deadline 

as needed. Additionally, this change will lead to a single web-form that 

collects all required data and maximizes the capability of web-forms 

with data reuse, no duplicate fields, and a user-friendly interface.

12 months 

or less 

Certain Nonylphenols and 

Nonylphenol Ethoxylates; 

Significant New Use Rule

NPRM John Schaeffer 

202-564-8173

Schaeffer.John@epa.gov

EPA intends to propose a significant new use rule (SNUR) under 

Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for related 

chemicals known commonly as nonylphenols (NPs) and nonylphenol 

ethoxylates (NPEs). The SNUR would require persons who intend to 

manufacture, import, or process certain NP and NPE chemicals for an 

activity that is designated as a significant new use by the proposed rule 

to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The 

required notification would provide EPA with the opportunity to 

evaluate the intended use and, if necessary, to prohibit or limit that 

activity before it occurs to prevent unreasonable risk to human health 

or the environment. The NP and NPE chemicals that would be subject 

to this SNUR are toxic to aquatic organisms, and can be used in a 

variety of industrial and consumer applications that lead to releases to 

the environment.

12 months 

or less
Action Initiation List – September 2012 Page 4 of 5

Action Title Stage Contact Abstract

Projected

Publication 

Date

National Emission Standards 

for Hazardous Air Pollutants for 

Wool Fiberglass Manufacturing

NPRM Susan Fairchild 

919-541-516

Fairchild.Susan@epa.gov

In 2012, EPA received responses from wool fiberglass companies 

which conducted furnace emissions testing for chromium 

compounds under a section 114 letter. Industry data show that 

wool fiberglass area sources emit chromium from all furnace types. 

Emissions of chromium compounds from the wool fiberglass 

industry's area sources total over 50 pounds per year. Additionally, 

one major source facility is expected to become an area source 

through changes to a process downstream and independent of the 

furnace; one furnace at that source has been measured as 

emitting over 500 pounds per year of chromium compounds. EPA

plans to list and regulate area sources in the wool fiberglass 

source category for all processes that emit Hazardous Air 

Pollutants.

12 months or 

less 
Action Initiation List – September 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.