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Public Involvement Network News
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
AIL ARRIVES
Action Initiation List: epa.gov/lawsregs/search/ail.html
EPA is making federal environmental regulation more transparent. EPA's new Action Initiation List (AIL) is a monthly, publicly-available, web-based listing of EPA regulatory actions that are just entering the development stage. EPA is using AILs to notify the public about new rules and other regulatory actions. 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 about May 15th).
Formerly, the public had to wait for EPA's Semiannual Regulatory Agenda epa.gov/lawsregs/search/regagenda.html, which is updated only every six months, to learn about new regulatory actions. The principal purpose of AIL is to provide stakeholders in EPA's mission with a "virtually real-time" alternative.
The AIL provides summaries, agency contacts, and other information about the rules EPA has approved for development. For example, the March 2008 AIL announced the agency's plans to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking for greenhouse gases in late spring. This notice will solicit public input as EPA considers the specific effects of climate change and potential regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from stationary and mobile sources under the Clean Air Act. The March AIL also announced the agency's plans to propose a rulemaking that builds on EPA's existing renewable fuels standard program. The expansion of the program was mandated by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.
EPA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations sought this new mechanism to help meet the needs of its key constituents --EPA's state and local government partners -- the people who often are charged with implementing federal environmental regulations. Clearly, effective intergovernmental consultation can only occur if EPA’s partners are able to plan and prepare for it. But, in addition to providing state and local government professionals with the earliest possible notification that new (and often resource-intensive) requirements will be coming their way, the AIL will also help the entire range of EPA stakeholders more effectively plan their participation in the rule development process.
EPA recognizes that timely, meaningful stakeholder involvement is an indispensable part of the rule development process. EPA's new AIL, as a planning resource for our customers, is one more tool to help ensure that the Agency's "culture of collaboration" will continue to flourish.