&EPA
WHAT IS
PROJECT XL?
SUMMARY OF
THEPROJECT
SUPERIOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
PERFORMANCE
FLEXIBILITY
United States
Environmental
Agency
Protection
Office of the
Administrator
[Mail Code 1802]
EPA-100-F-00-038
September 2000
(http://www.epa.govj
Project XL: Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental
Protection Coal Remining and
Reclamation Project
F.CONOM
INNOVAT
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.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has proposed
this XL project to explore a new way of encouraging coal operators to remine and
reclaim abandoned coal mine sites. Currently, remining and reclamation activities are
subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements
under the Clean Water Act These requirements set numeric effluent limits at
individual discharge points. Under the current system, potential coal operators run the
risk of exceeding effluent limits due to pre-existing acidic discharges from closed
mines. In this XL project, PADEP proposes to replace numeric effluent limits at
individual discharge points for pre-existing discharges, with requirements to use Best
Management Practices (BMPs) as well as to comply with in-stream pollutant
concentration limits. This alternative approach should not only reduce potential risk
and expense to coal operators, it should result in more operators implementing more
reclamation activities and improving overall water quality. This new approach will be
tested in up to eight watersheds with significant acid mine drainage (AMD) pollution.
This XL project, EPA's 38th, was signed on September 22, 2000.
Remining, with reclamation to present-day standards, has proven to be an effective
way to reclaim abandoned mine lands and improve water quality. This XL project is
designed to increase the number of remining operations providing reclamation, and to
improve upon and increase the number of reclamation and AMD-abatement measures
taken during remining operations. Coal operators are expected to implement more
reclamation activities in the watershed than are currently required by Pennsylvania
regulations, which will ultimately improve water quality at little or no cost to taxpayers.
As a safety measure, if BMPs fail and water quality is degraded, operators will be
required to implement additional BMPs in the watershed or treat effluents at individual
discharge points.
As the Project XL sponsor, PADEP is requesting relief from imposing numeric effluent
limits for preexisting discharges. For these preexisting discharges, the coal operators
will be required to implement specific BMPs as well as comply with in-stream pollutant
concentration limits. PADEP will continue to require numeric limits for the preexisting
discharges during the remining operation. When these BMPs have been used at other
remining sites, they have improved water quality and achieved the NPDES numerical
limits.
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STAKEHOLDER
INVOLVEMENT
APPROACHES
TO BE TESTED
PADEP has communicated with stakeholders on this innovative approach to remining
permits on several occasions over the past two years. Among other activities, PADEP
has issued a statewide press release on this subject, and has met with the Mining and
Reclamation Advisory Board (MRAB), a cross section of stakeholders, from coal
mining companies to environmentalists interested in the remining of Pennsylvania's
abandoned coal mine lands. PADEP also has sponsored a Project XL stakeholders
meeting to present the details of the proposed project and to solicit participation.
PADEP has made a commitment to make project-related reports and information
available for public inspection at the appropriate district mining office for each pilot
watershed. In some cases, citizen watershed organizations have formed around
efforts to remediate AMD-impacted streams. These citizen organizations and other
stakeholders will be contacted by PADEP to identify the best watersheds to be
included in this project and evaluate possible BMPs to bring about water quality
improvements
* Will a permitting approach that emphasizes BMPs as opposed to numeric effluent
standards encourage remining of abandoned mines?
• How does the BMP approach affect the overall water quality of watersheds
containing abandoned mines? What are the most effective BMPs, and how can
they be improved?
• Can BMPs without numeric limits prevent pollution from abandoned mines,
regardless of whether they will be disturbed during the remining?
CONTACTS
Regional Contact:
EPA/XL HQ:
Project Sponsor:
Steven J. Donohue
Ted Cochin
Michael Smith
(215) 814-3215
(202) 260-0880
(814)342.8200
FOR ELECTRONIC
INFORMATION
More information about this XL Project, or the Project XL Program, is available on the
Internet at http://www.epa.gov/projectxl under "Information on Specific XL Projects,"
or via Project XL's Information Line at (202) 260.5754.
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