vvEPA
              United States                       Office of Water               EPA 821-F-02-018
              Environmental Protection               4303T                     September 2002
              Agency

              Fact Sheet
              Cooling Water Intake Structures At New Facilities-
              Amendment of Final Regulations

Summary
•  EPA is making minor changes to the final regulations of section 316(b) of the Clean Water
   Act for cooling water intake structures at new facilities.
   These changes clarify three technical issues on velocity monitoring, authority to require
   additional design and construction technologies, and procedures governing requests for less
   stringent alternative requirements.
•  EPA will issue the modifications as a direct final rule but will also issue a companion
   proposed rule at the same time.
•  If EPA receives no adverse comments on the direct final rule during the 30-day comment
   period, the rule will become effective 90 days after it is published in the Federal Register. If
   EPA receives adverse comments, the Agency will withdraw the direct final rule, address the
   comments, and issue a final rule based on the proposed rule.

Background
•  On December 18, 2001, EPA published final regulations in the Federal Register to establish
   location, design, construction and capacity standards for cooling water intake structures at
   new facilities under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act.
   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 and other 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).
•  These changes will add neither costs nor benefits to those resulting from the existing rule.

Additional Information
You can call Deborah Nagle at (202) 566-1063 or Martha Segall at (202) 566-1041, 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 Nagle.Deborah@epa.gov or Segall.Martha@epa.gov. For further
details about this direct final rule or any other phase of this rulemaking, refer to
www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b/ on the Internet.

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