United States Environmental Protection Agency Policy, Planning, and Evaluation [Mail Code 2129] EPA231-F-97-001 April 1997 (http://www.epa.gov) What Is Project XL? Excellence and Leadership in Environmental Protection SUMMARY OF THE PROGRAM SELECTION CRITERIA PROPOSAL AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Project XL is a national pilot program that tests innovative ways of achieving better and more cost-effective public health and environmental protection. Through site-specific agreements with project sponsors, EPA is gathering data and project experience that will help the Agency redesign current approaches to public health and environmental protection. Under Project XL, sponsors - private facilities, industry sectors, Federal facilities, and communities - can implement innovative strategies that produce superior environmental performance, replace specific regulatory requirements, and promote greater accountability to stakeholders. Because the number of XL projects is limited to 50, it is vital that each project tests ideas with potential for wide application and broad environmental benefits. To participate in Project XL, applicants must have a good compliance history and develop alternative environmental management strategies that: (1) produce superior environmental results; (2) utilize regulatory flexibility to cut costs and reduce paperwork; (3) are supported by stakeholders; (4) achieve innovation/pollution prevention; (5) are transferable to other facilities; (6) are feasible; (7) identify monitoring, reporting, and evaluation methods; and (8) avoid shifting the risk burden. Additionally, community applicants should: (1) present economic opportunity; and (2) incorporate community planning. Projects are selected by EPA on an on-going basis, and they must have the full support of State and tribal governments. Before formally proposing an XL project to EPA, project sponsors should do as much groundwork as possible to develop their ideas and engage stakeholders. EPA stands ready to help. Once a proposal is received, its full content, a proposal summary, and subsequent materials about the proposal are placed and updated on the Project XL Internet Website (http://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL). If EPA and the affected States and tribes determine that a proposal should move forward, it proceeds to the proposal development phase. Page 1 ------- • Proposal Development: In this phase, a cross-agency proposal team, consisting of representatives from EPA Headquarters, Regions, and States, reviews the proposal and determines additional information needed to evaluate the proposal. The sponsors, together with any stakeholders who have been identified at this point, determine whether to provide additional information requested by EPA, submit a revised proposal, or withdraw the proposal. After all information is complete, EPA assesses the merits of the proposal relative to the Project XL decision criteria. Decisions to advance or reject proposals are made by the EPA Associate Administrator for Reinvention in consultation with other members of the Agency's senior leadership team. Such decisions will be made in close consultation with the relevant State or tribal environmental agency, and no XL project will proceed without the approval of the State or tribe. • Project Development: Once proposals advance to the project development phase, the sponsor, EPA, State, other co-regulators, and direct participant stakeholders negotiate a Final Project Agreement (FPA). The FPA outlines the details of the project and each party's commitments. Specifically, the participants define the innovation to be tested, what superior environmental performance must be achieved, what flexibility EPA and other co-regulators will provide, what conditions must be met, and how results will be monitored and reported. After the FPA is signed, the project moves into the implementation phase, where the details of the FPA become operating reality. XL Facility Projects: A total of 47 proposals have been reviewed to date. Three projects - Weyerhaeuser Flint River Operation, Intel Corporation, and Berry Corporation - have a signed FPA and are being implemented. Seventeen are in some phase of proposal or FPA development, two of which are expected to sign the FPA shortly. Twenty-four have been withdrawn or rejected, and three, because of XL staff facilitation, will be implemented outside the XL program. XL Community Projects: A total of 16 have been reviewed to date. One project is expected to sign an FPA shortly. Eight are in the proposal or FPA development phase, and eight have been withdrawn or rejected. FOR ELECTRONIC More information about Project XL is available on the Internet at INFORMATION http://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL, via Project XL's automated phone line at 202-260-2220, or via Project XL's Information Line at 703-934-3239. STATUS OF PROJECTS AND PROPOSALS AS OF APRIL 1997 Page 2 ------- |