## January 201 5 Ac tion Initiation List (as of 2 / 5

/201 5 )

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 ea ch

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.e pa.gov/rulemaking/.

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 201 5 Page 1 of 5Action Title Stage Contact Abstract Projected

Publication

Date

Review of the National Ambient Air Quality

Standards for Particulate

Matter NPRM Scott Jenkins

919

- 541

- 1167 Jenkins.Scott@epa.gov On January 13, 2013, the EPA published a final rule revising the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (78 FR 3086). Specifically, the EPA revised the level of the annual PM2.5 standard to provide increased protection against the health effects of PM.

T he other primary and secondary PM standards were retained. On December 3, 2014, the EPA published a call for information for research studies on PM (79 FR 71764) in order to inform the development of the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA) for the next rev iew of the PM NAAQS. This ISA will be developed by EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment and will present a rigorous assessment of the most policy

- relevant scientific evidence on PM. Building on the evidence assessed in the ISA, the EPA’s Offi ce of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) will conduct quantitative analyses of PM exposures and risks and, as appropriate, will prepare a risk and exposure assessment document (REA) presenting and assessing these analyses. The OAQPS will also prepa re a Policy Assessment document (PA) synthesizing the scientific evidence from the ISA and the exposure/risk information from the REA (if an REA is prepared). The PA will present considerations and conclusions of the EPA staff regarding the range of policy options that could be supported by the available evidence and information. Draft versions of the ISA, REA (if prepared), and the PA will be reviewed at public meetings by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC). Final documents will reflect CA SAC’s advice and recommendations, as well as staff’s consideration of the comments expressed by members of the public. After completion of the ISA, REA (if prepared), and PA, the Administrator's proposal to retain or revise the PM NAAQS will be published i n the federal register with a request for public comment. Input received during the public comment period will be

reflected in the Administrator's final decision. More than

12 months



### Action Initiation List

– January 201 5 Page 2 of 5Action Title Stage Contact Abstract Projected

Publication

Date Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permitting

for Greenhouse Gases: Providing Option for

Rescission of EPA

Issued Tailoring Rule Step 2 Prevention of Significant Deterioration

Permits NPRM,

Direct Final Jessica Montanez

919

- 541

- 3407 Montanez.Jessica@epa.gov The EPA is taking direct final action to revise the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) provisions for permit rescissions in 40 CFR 52.21(w) to allow EPA to rescind Tailoring Rule Step 2 Prevention of Significant

Deterior ation (PSD) permits that were based on regulations that the US Supreme Court determined to be invalid in the case titled: Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) v Environmental Protection Agency. 12 months

or less

Revisions to the Public

Notice Provisions in Clean Air Act Permitting Programs NPRM Phil Lorang

919

- 541

- 5463 Lorang.Phil@epa.gov This proposed rule will amend the public notice provisions of the PSD, nonattainment new source review (NNSR), Title V Operating Permit and

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) regulations to remove the current mandatory requirement in these regulations that a public notice be provided in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the source seeking a PSD, NNSR, Title V or OCS permit plans to loc ate. The proposed rule will include a public notice requirement that is media

- neutral and allows among other mechanisms electronic noticing on permitting authority websites. The option of providing public notice via a traditional newspaper advertisement w ill still be available to air agencies. This rule revision is anticipated to result in significant annual savings in newspaper publication costs for EPA Regions and Delegated States. 12 months

or less



### Action Initiation List

– January 201 5 Page 3 of 5Action Title Stage Contact Abstract Projected

Publication

Date

Oil and Natural Gas

Sector: Low Pressure

Wells Definition NPRM Bruce Moore

919 541

- 5460 Moore.Bruce@epa.gov This action will re

- propose the definition of “low pressure gas well” in 40 CFR part 60, subpart OOOO, and will acknowledge that EPA overlooked one public comment that was received following the July 17, 2014, action

titled “Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Reconsideration of Additional Provisions of New Source Performance Standards; Proposed Rule.” The

action will also solicit comment on the commenter’s alternative definition of “low pressure gas well” that had been discussed in the July 17, 2014, proposed rule. 12 months

or less

Lead

- based Paint Program; Extension of

Renovator Certifications Final Marc Edmonds

202

- 566

- 0758 Edmonds.Marc@epa.gov EPA is extending the certifications for subset of renovators under its

Renovation , Repair and Painting Program. In January 2015, the Agency published a proposed rule that would, among other things, change the requirements for the refresher training course that renovators must take to

become recertified so renovators can take the course online without having to travel to a training facility. The certifications of thousands of renovators will expire be fore this rule can be finalized, therefore, EPA is extending the certifications for certain renovators so they can take advantage of the final rule. 12 months

or less



### Action Initiation List

– January 201 5 Page 4 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 th e 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 201 4 AIL will post sometime around May 20 th).



# 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 act ion) is

just an idea to the end when it is published as a final rule (or other action) in the Federal Regis ter. For example, the Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) stage announces a proposed rule or proposed mod ification 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 wo rking 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 q uickly we expect to complete an

action.



### Action Initiation List

– January 201 5 Page 5 of 5