United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of the
Administrator
[Mail Code 1802]
EPA-100-F-00-029
September 2000
(http://www.epa.gov)
WHAT IS
PROJECT XL?
•**,Pro_iect~_
( i
'< *. •
SUMMARY OF
THE US FILTER
RECOVERY
SYSTEMS
PROJECT
Project XL: US Filter
Recovery Systems
POL
F.CON'OM
IN NOVA' I"
P
CY
cs
ON
SUPERIOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
PERFORMANCE
Project XL, which stands for "excellence and Leadership," is a national initiative
that tests innovative ways of achieving better and more cost-effective public
health and environmental protection. The information and lessons learned from
Project XL are being used to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) in redesigning its current regulatory and policy-setting approaches.
Project XL encourages testing of cleaner, cheaper, and smarter ways to attain
environmental results superior to those achieved under current regulations and
policies, in conjunction with greater accountability to stakeholders. It is vital that
each project tests new ideas with the potential for wide application and broad
environmental benefits. As of September 2000, over thirty pilot experiments are
being implemented and several additional projects are in various stages of
development.
US Filter Recovery Systems (USFRS), a commercial hazardous waste treatment
and recovery facility in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan area, is primarily
responsible for removing more than 80 percent of the metals in industrial
wastewater that is treated by the local publicly-owned treatment works (POTW)
and discharged to the Mississippi River. As part of this XL Project, USFRS
proposes to install an ion exchange canister resin system at certain approved
customers' facilities. This de ionization process causes the metals in the waste
water to adhere to the resin material in the canister, yielding waste water that is
free of metal contaminants and that can be reused in the customers' process
lines.
The resin in a USFRS customer's ion exchange column typically would be
considered a listed hazardous waste (FO06) under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) if the customer's waste streams included wastewater
from electroplating or other similar operations. Under current RCRA regulations,
taking advantage of recycling and recovery opportunities may trigger other
regulations and impose a financial burden for USFRS customers. USFRS
proposes that alternative waste management requirements will be less costly and
believes that the removal of certain RCRA regulatory requirements will
encourage its potential customers to recycle their waste streams rather than
disposing of them by discharge to the local POTW. This XL project also
exemplifies the "alternative approaches" that the Agency is seeking to address
the small business universe - approaches that work outside of the usual
regulatory framework to provide flexibility, reduced burden, cost-savings, and,
most important, environmental protection. This XL project, EPA's 36'". was
signed on September 21.2000.
The USFRS XL project will provide superior environmental performance by
promoting recycling of water and recovery and reuse of metals that would
otherwise be disposed of on land. USFRS and its customers will comply with
-------
FLEXIBILITY
STAKEHOLDER
INVOLVEMENT
APPROACHES
TO BE TESTED
requirements, enforceable through a site-specific rule, that are as protective of
public health and the environment as the RCRA requirements that would
otherwise be applicable. USFRS's state-issued XL permit will incorporate
required elements of this program. Additionally, USFRS will be required to retain
and submit certain reports which RCRA normally would require of its customers,
recycle the metals from its treatment of the resins, and report ongoing
environmental performance and success in meeting its targets.
USFRS seeks flexibility from certain RCRA regulations to encourage water reuse
and metals reclamation. In lieu of complying with certain RCRA requirements,
generators and transporters who are approved to participate will handle, store,
and transport the ion exchange resin wastes in accordance with a new site-
specific rule. USFRS will handle the ion exchange resin wastes as an FO06
waste and will comply with its existing hazardous waste permit. The proposed
rule would impose on USFRS additional reporting and handling requirements in
exchange for the regulatory flexibility provided to the generators and transporters.
With this flexibility, USFRS's customers, some of which are small businesses, will
realize a reduction in costs associated with energy consumption, water use and
treatment, record-keeping, manifesting, and transportation of FO06 waste.,
Nine public meetings were held to inform the general public and national
environmental groups about the project and to invite their comments and
participation. Additional public meetings may be held during implementation of
the agreement based on public interest or as decided by the direct participants.
Stakeholder input and community goals have been and will continue to be
considered throughout project implementation.
This innovative pilot will test USFRS's ability to:
Conserve potable water;
* Achieve better metals recovery through waste segregation and use of ion
exchange columns;
Reduce energy and other costs associated with water treatment; and
Reduce cost to generators for record-keeping, manifesting, and
transporting FO06 waste.
CONTACTS
FOR ELECTRONIC
INFORMATION
EPA Region 5:
EPA Headquarters:
U.S. Filter:
MPCA:
Bob Egan
Sandra Panetta
George Anderson
Joe Carruth
312-886-6212
202-260-6632
651-638-1 300
651-297-8372
More information about Project XL is available on the Internet at
http://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL, or via Project XL's Information Line at 202-260-
5754.
------- |