United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of the Administrator
[Mail Code 1802]
EPA-100-F-00-013
May 2000(http://www.epa.gov)
EPA
Project XL: U.S. Postal
Service - Denver
WHAT IS PROJECT XL?
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 May 2000, twenty-five pilot experiments are being implemented
and approximately thirty additional projects are in various stages of development.
SUMMARY OF THE USPS PROJECT
The USPS will scrap 512 late-1970s/early 1980s vintage postal vehicles operating in the
Denver/Boulder non-attainment area, taking these vehicles off the road permanently. The USPS
commits to using at least 794 alternative fuel vehicles in the Denver area and helping to stimulate the
development of a public infrastructure to support these vehicles. In exchange for these commitments,
the USPS will receive up to 794 emission credits from the State of Colorado. The USPS is not
requesting any federal flexibility. USPS, EPA's 22nd Final Project Agreement, was signed on May
22, 2000.
SUPERIOR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
Some of the environmental benefits expected from this pilot include direct reductions of air emissions by
replacing high-emission vehicles with low emission vehicles. Other benefits are more difficult to
measure~for example, stimulating the development of an infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles. The
environmental benefits of the project are summarized below:
A significant decrease in USPS's contribution to mobile source emissions within the Denver
metropolitan area. Model year 2000 vehicle engines are inherently cleaner burning and more fuel
efficient than older model year vehicle engines, that would be replaced by the alternative fuel vehicles.
"* Expedited removal of 512 1975-1983 model year delivery vehicles from the
Denver/Boulder non-attainment area. Vehicles will be removed from service and sold as scrap. USPS
estimates that the vehicles to be scrapped travel over 1.6 million miles per year.
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REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY
"* " Increased market demand for ethanol, both through USPS's adding 794 vehicles and
the publicity that this XL project will provide regarding alternative fuel vehicles, which will give
economic incentive to retail fuel suppliers to furnish alt fuel refueling facilities. As ethanol availability
increases commercially, more vehicle fleets and private individuals will purchase dedicated alternative
fuel vehicles, thereby reducing mobile source emissions further.
Reduced number of vehicle miles traveled by USPS, through the
use of larger trucks (eliminating 24,960 VMT per year) and an
infrastructure that will reduce trips back to a central refueling
center.
STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT
APPROACHES TO BE TESTED
Through this XL agreement, the State of Colorado will grant the USPS regulatory flexibility through the
Colorado Environmental Leadership Program. Colorado will give the USPS 512 emission credits to
scrap vehicles: one credit for each vehicle scrapped. The USPS can also receive up to 282 additional
credits based on the amount of ethanol used in the vehicles. The State of Colorado will also give the
USPS preferred vendor status and public recognition, as well as assistance in publicizing the XL
project.
The organizations that helped develop this project include but are not limited to: Ford Motor
Company, National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, environmental groups, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, State of Colorado, local ethanol production industry, and local
gasoline service stations.
Can a demonstration project provide the impetus for other fleet operators to purchase
alternative fuel vehicles?
Is 794 vehicles a sufficient number of vehicles to build an alternative fuel infrastructure?
CONTACTS
Regional Contact: Mary Byrne 303-312-6491
EPA/XL HQ: Nancy Birnbaum 202-260-2601
State Contact: Tamera Van Horn 303-692-3477
Project Sponsor: Ryan Walker 303-454-4142
FOR ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
More information about Project XL is available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL, or
via Project XL's Information Line at 202-260-5754.
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