vvEPA
             United States                       Office of Water               EPA 821-F-02-012
             Environmental Protection               4303T                     June 2002
             Agency

             Fact Sheet
             Cooling Water Intake Structures At Large Existing Power
             Plants- Extension of Comment Period

Summary
•  In April 2002, EPA proposed to establish location, design, construction and capacity
   standards for cooling water intake structures at existing power plants that use the largest
   amounts of cooling water.
•  The proposed regulation was published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2002, and
   provided a 90-day public comment period (www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b/).
•  In response to multiple requests for additional time to review and comment on the proposed
   regulation and its record, EPA is extending the comment period by 30 days.  Public
   comments will now be accepted until August 7, 2002.

Background
•  Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires EPA to ensure that the location, design,
   construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology
   available for minimizing adverse  environmental impact.
•  EPA is developing these regulations under the terms of an Amended Consent Decree in
   Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Whitman, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 93-
   Civ.0314(AGS).
   The proposed regulation is designed to protect fish, shellfish, and other aquatic life from
   being killed or injured by cooling water intake structures.
•  EPA estimates that this rule would affect approximately 550 facilities and cost $182 million
   per year. EPA estimates that the benefits of the rule would be as much as $700 million.
•  The rule would not cause any electric generating facilities to close and would not adversely
   effect energy supply, distribution, or use.

Additional Information
You can call Tom Wall at (202) 566-1060 or Deborah Nagle at (202) 566-1063,  or you can write
to either of them at:

             U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
             Office of Science and  Technology
             Engineering and Analysis Division, Cooling Water Intake Task Force (4303T)
             1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
             Washington, D.C. 20460

You can also send an e-mail to Wall.Tom@epa.gov or Nagle.Deborah@epa.gov . For further
details about this Phase II proposal or any other phase of this rulemaking, refer to
www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b/ on the Internet.

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