wEPA
                        United States
                        Environmental Protection
                        Agency
                                Office of the
                                Administrator
                                [Mail Code 1 802]
 Project  XL:  City  of
 Fort  Worth,  Texas
EPA-100-F-00-041
September 2000
(http://www, epa.gov)
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WHAT IS
 PROJECT XL?


   X* Pro/erf •
SUMMARY OF
THE FORT
WORTH
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 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 forty pilot experiments are being implemented and several additional
projects are in various stages of development.

As part of their program to address urban blight, the city of Fort Worth faces significant
costs for the demolition of dozens of abandoned structures containing asbestos
bearing  materials. Under this XL project, the city will test the effectiveness of an
alternative, less costly method for demolishing such structures compared to the
method  required by the Clean Air Act. The project consists of three phases. In Phase
1, the city will test its method by monitoring asbestos emissions from the demolition of
a structure containing asbestos, but not subject to the federal asbestos standard by
virtue of its classification as  a residential building with four or fewer dwelling units. In
Phase 2. the city will monitor asbestos emissions as it demolishes two additional
structures, one using the federally mandated method and the other using the
alternative method. If the tests in the first two phases are successful, Fort Worth will
be allowed to conduct a specific number of demolitions using its method during the
final phase of the project.

Two agreements will be executed under this project. The first agreement lays out the
phased approach for the project and the asbestos  monitoring plan the city will use
during Phase 1. Later, stakeholders will develop the final project agreement covering
the last two phases of the project. This XL project, EPA's 46'". was signed on
September 29, 2000.

The city of Fort Worth intends to demonstrate that  its method for demolishing
structures containing asbestos will protect the public from asbestos emissions as well
as the current federal method does. Moreover, the city expects that their innovative,
lower-cost  demolition  method will allow them to  accelerate the pace of demolitions,
thereby eliminating sites potentially harboring illegal activities and reducing community
safety/health hazards associated with abandoned  structures.
 FLEXIBILITY
The city does not need regulatory flexibility to perform Phase 1 of the project, since the
structure being demolished will not be subject to the requirements of the federal
asbestos standard. However, for any demolitions performed during Phases 2 and 3
using the Fort Worth method, the  city will need flexibility from the federal hazardous air
pollutant standard for asbestos. Specifically, the city seeks flexibility to replace work
practice requirements  in the standard, which require asbestos removal prior to
demolition, with their asbestos-in-place wet demolition techniques. With this flexibility,
the city estimates that the cost of  demolitions could be reduced by up to two-thirds.
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 STAKEHOLDER
 INVOLVEMENT
Fort Worth has contacted a number of community groups to discuss the project, and
will conduct a public meeting prior to the demolition during Phase 1 of the project. A
more formal stakeholder process, including national environmental groups as well as
community representatives, will be conducted for negotiation of the final project
agreement and  implementation  of Phases  2 and  3.
  APPROACHES
  TO BE TESTED
 CONTACTS
  Will the Fort Worth method for demolition of structures containing asbestos be as
   protective of public health as the current federal method?

 >  Will the Fort Worth method reduce the costs of demolitions, thereby helping to
   accelerate the city's program against urban blight?
EPA Region 6:
EPA Headquarters:
City  of Fort Worth:
Adele  Cardenas
David  Beck
Kathryn  Hansen
(214)665-7210
(919) 541-5421
(817)871-8136
FOR ELECTRONIC
INFORMATION
More information about this XL project, or the Project XL Program, is available on the
Internet at http://www.epa.qciv/proiectxl under "Information on Specific XL Projects," or
via Project XL's Information Line at (202) 260-5754.
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