tp://www.epa.gov)
• EPA
WHAT IS
PROJECT
XL?
SUM MARY OF
THE
ELMENDORF
PROJECT
SUPERIOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
PERFORMANCE
   FLEXIBILITY
                     United States
                     Environmental Protection
                     Agency	
                            Office of the
                            Administrator
                            [Mail Code 1101]
EPA-100-F-99-028
December 1999
               (ht
 Project XL:  Elmendorf
Air Force Base
      POL
  KCONOM
  INNOVA'l
CY
cs
ON
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 EPA in
redesigning its current regulatory and policy-setting approaches through a
collaborative process. Project XL encourages testing of cleaner,
cheaper, and smarter ways to attain environmental results superior to
those achieved under current regulations and policies.  It also requires
substantial involvement by stakeholders, i.e. the people and organizations
affected by EPA's decisions. EPA hopes that these projects will provide
opportunities for everyone to think "outside the box" of our current system
and to find solutions to obstacles that limit environmental performance.

The project streamlines the application, implementation, management,
and renewal process for  Elmendorf Air Force Base's (EAFB's) Title V
permit, through reduced monitoring and record keeping. EAFB estimates
that total monitoring, record keeping, reporting, and overall permit
management costs will decrease by about 80 percent,  yielding about $1.5
million in savings over six years. These realized cost savings will be
directed toward pollution  prevention (P2) opportunities. The Final Project
Agreement (FPA), EPA's sixteenth XL project, was signed on December
15, 1999.

EAFB will spend the savings derived from streamlining its environmental
management costs on P2 opportunities. A P2 project identified in the
FPA involves installing a  compressed natural gas  (CNG) fueling station,
purchasing new CNG vehicles, and converting certain base fleet vehicles
to allow them to use CNG as an alternative fuel. EAFB has assembled a
list of other feasible P2 opportunities available at the base, along with the
estimated costs and environmental benefits of each opportunity. EPA, the
State of Alaska, and EAFB have expressed a preference for projects that
reduce hazardous air contaminants. A supplemental agreement setting
forth the specific additional P2 opportunities to be implemented will be
developed with the assistance of stakeholders.

The traditional Alaska operating permit program currently treats the entire
EAFB installation as a single air contaminant emission source. This
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                     requires EAFB to have 106 sources of regulated contaminants to be
                     addressed in its permit.  Under these circumstances, the costs of
                     obtaining and maintaining a Title V permit would be substantial.

                     Under this FPA the permit applies to only a small segment of EAFB ,
                     including one source that is a major stationary source and several others
                     that are subject to new source performance standards.  The other sources
                     at EAFB that will not be permitted will instead obtain limits on their
                     potential-to-emit to ensure that they are not considered major sources.
                     This will simplify monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting associated with
                     Title V, and result in significant cost savings that will be applied to P2
                     projects.
 COMMUNITY
 INVOLVEMENT
Stakeholder meeting are held on a regular basis to develop and update
pollution prevention projects at the base.  In addition, Trustees for Alaska
have submitted comments on the project. The comment and EPA's
response are attached to the FPA.
APPROACHES TO
BE TESTED
  Can redirecting resources from monitoring and record keeping to P2
  projects improve the environment?

  Should the regulation of military facilities be modified so that they can
  reduce monitoring and record keeping and increase their investment in
  environmentally-beneficial projects?

  Which P2 projects provide the greatest benefits at military facilities?
CONTACTS
FOR ELECTRONIC
INFORMATION
                     EPA HQ:
                     State Contacts:
                     Project Sponsor:
                       Ted Cochin
                       Bill MacClarence
                       Dave Bennett
      202-566-2181
      907-269-7575
907-552-2760
                     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-
                     566-2173.
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