United States
                       Environmental Protection
                       Aoencv	
                        Office ofthe
                        Administrator
                        [Mail Code 18021
EPA-100-F-00-044
October2000
(http://www.epa.aov1
     EPA
ProjectXL: United Egg
Producers
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WHAT IS
PROJECTXL?
SUMMARYOF
THE UNITED
EGG
PRODUCERS
PROJECT
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
ProjectXL 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 October 2000, over forty pilot experiments are
being implemented and several additional projects are in various stages of
development.

Through this XL project, the United Egg Producers (UEP), a farmer cooperative
that represents egg producers nationwide, has entered  into an agreement with
EPA to provide a comprehensive program to help participating egg-producing
facilities achieve superior environmental performance by implementing an
environmental management system (EMS) and complying with the terms of a
general permit issued by individual states or EPA.  This more comprehensive
approach will  require participating facilities to comply not only with the terms of a
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit, but
also to implement a multi-media EMS that controls a  range of significant
environmental impacts, including those not subject to regulation under the Clean
Water Act (CWA). The  project also includes a third-party auditing component
and on-farm management practices most likely to result in superior
environmental performance. Each  facility's EMS will be required  to pass the
independent third-party audit before the facility can apply for coverage under a
general permit. Information on audit results will be provided to the appropriate
regulatory authorities and will be available to local stakeholders. Ongoing audits
will be conducted to ensure  continuing implementation ofthe EMS, and audit
results will be  available  to the public.  This XL project, EPA's 48th, was signed on
October 25, 2000.

This  innovative project  is expected to achieve superior environmental results,
because egg producers will  be subject to an innovative, comprehensive
program. This project will bring egg-producing facilities under NPDES permits
faster and help assure continuing compliance and superior environmental
performance through the implementation of EMSs. UEP also will help organize
a third-party manure  user program designed to help recipients of manure
understand how to develop  nutrient management plans  and use manure from
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) properly.

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   FLEXIBILITY
 STAKEHOLDER
 INVOLVEMENT
APPROACHESTO
BETESTED
Most egg-producing operations use dry manure storage and handling
procedures, which generally are not covered under existing CWA regulations
for CAFOs. EPA is in the process of revising these regulations, but these
revisions will not become final until 2003. This XL project allows these facilities
to obtain permit coverage under a less costly and complex mechanism-i.e., a
general permit and an EMS-based program, tailored to the needs of the egg-
laying industry-as an incentive for the industry's large producers to maintain
environmentally superior facilities and practices.  Facilities that do not continue
to comply with their general permit or do not adequately implement their EMS
could be required to obtain individual NPDES permits.

This project was developed by a workgroup comprised of EPA, UEP members,
several states, non-governmental organizations, and USDA.  All aspects of the
program have been reviewed throughly and are supported by all  participants.
Ultimately, however, it will be up to the individual states to  support the program
by making general permits available to qualifying facilities.  UEP will work closely
with states that have egg producers to inform them about  the program and
encourage them to participate.

Will an innovative approach to  address environmental issues with egg
producers using NPDES general  permits and environmental management
systems result in better environmental performance at participating facilities?
CONTACTS
FOR
ELECTRONIC
EPA Office of Water                  Jim Home
EPA/XL HQ                           Lisa Reiter
Project Sponsor, Capitolink LLC      John Thorne
(202) 260-5802
(202) 260-9041
(202) 872-3865
More information about this XL project, or Project XL is available on the Internet
at http://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL, or via the Project XL information line at 202-
260-5754.

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