[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 142 (Monday, July 24, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45601-45602]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18638]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6839-4]
Regulatory Reinvention (XL) Pilot Projects
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Project XL Draft Final Project
Agreement for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater
Chicago.
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SUMMARY: EPA is requesting comments on a Draft Project XL Final Project
Agreement (FPA) for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of
Greater Chicago (hereafter ``The District''). The FPA is a voluntary
agreement developed collaboratively by the District, the Illinois EPA,
USEPA and interested stakeholders. Project XL, announced in the Federal
Register on May 23, 1995 (60 FR 27282), gives regulated entities the
flexibility to develop alternative strategies that will replace or
modify specific regulatory or procedural requirements on the condition
that they produce greater environmental benefits. EPA has set a goal of
implementing fifty XL projects undertaken in full partnership with the
states.
In the draft FPA, the District's proposed project consists of four
interrelated components.
The first is a request to EPA and IEPA for regulatory flexibility
with regard to its obligation under the General Pretreatment
Regulations to provide regulatory oversight to small Categorical
Industrial Users (CIUs) into the District's WRPs. This flexibility will
allow the District to reallocate currently committed resources to other
activities with greater potential for environmental benefit.
Second, the District proposes that its Pretreatment Program Annual
Report be revised to include detailed information regarding
environmental performance that is not currently required in the Annual
Report. To offset the District's commitment to include this additional
information in its Annual Report, detailed oversight information
regarding SIUs will be limited to only the population of SIUs that were
found in significant noncompliance at any time during the report year.
Third, to further promote the objectives of the Strategic Goals
Program (SGP), the District will create Strategic Performance
Partnerships (Partnerships) with metal finishing facilities that fully
achieve the individual facility goals outlined in the SGP. Under these
Partnerships, the District will work cooperatively with demonstrated
sector leaders to develop, test, and implement alternative measurement
systems for demonstrating environmental performance.
Fourth, the District proposes to address non-regulated priority
pollutants that may be of concern on a local scale by developing Toxic
Reduction Action Plans (TRAPs). Under TRAPs, an interagency task force
(District, EPA and Illinois EPA) will use existing environmental data
(i.e., District emissions data and multi-agency ambient environmental
monitoring data) to identify priority pollutants which are documented
to be present in quantities or concentrations that may be a risk to the
District's facilities or the ambient environment but not currently
subject to regulation, and rank these pollutants in order of
importance. As resources become available through the regulatory
flexibility described above, the District will attempt to reduce
discharges and emissions of these pollutants through a variety of non-
traditional strategies such as pollution prevention outreach and
consumer education programs. The site specific rulemaking setting forth
the specific regulatory flexibility to be implemented will be developed
and will ensure that the project will fully comply with applicable
federal requirements under the Clean Water Act.
DATES: The period for submission of comments ends on August 7, 2000.
ADDRESSES: All comments on the proposed Final Project Agreement should
be sent to:
Matthew Gluckman, USEPA, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL
60604, or Chad Carbone, U.S. EPA, Room 1027WT (1802), 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460. Comments may also be faxed to Mr.
Gluckman (312) 886-7804, or Mr. Carbone (202) 260-1812. Comments may
also be received via electronic mail sent to: [email protected]
or [email protected].
[[Page 45602]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain a copy of the proposed Final
Project Agreement or Fact Sheet, contact: Matthew Gluckman, USEPA, 77
West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604 or Chad Carbone, Room 1027WT
(1802) U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460. The
FPA and related documents are also available via the Internet at the
following location: http://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL. Questions to EPA
regarding the documents can be directed to Matthew Gluckman at (312)
886-6089 or Chad Carbone at (202) 260-4296. For information on all
other aspects of the XL Program contact Christopher Knopes at the
following address: Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation, United
States Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW,
Room 1029WT (Mail Code 1802), Washington, DC 20460. Additional
information on Project XL, including documents referenced in this
notice, other EPA policy documents related to Project XL, regional XL
contacts, application information, and descriptions of existing XL
projects and proposals, is available via the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL.
Dated: July 18, 2000.
Christopher Knopes,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, Economics and
Innovation.
[FR Doc. 00-18638 Filed 7-21-00; 8:45 am]
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