[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20658-20659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10121]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6967-6]


Technical Experts Meeting to Discuss Issues Associated with 
Regulations of Cooling Water Intake Structures at Existing Facilities, 
Announcement of Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; announcement of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The EPA will conduct a public meeting of invited technical 
experts to discuss specific issues associated with the development of

[[Page 20659]]

regulations under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act governing 
cooling water intake structures at existing facilities. The purpose of 
this meeting is to elicit individual comments from the technical 
experts regarding the Agency's preliminary data on cooling water intake 
structure technologies that are in place at existing facilities and the 
costs associated with the use of available technologies for reducing 
impingement and entrainment of aquatic organisms. The experts will be 
selected by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology within 
the Office of Water. The experts will represent, at a minimum, a 
balanced mix of individuals recommended by or associated with industry 
and public interest groups, with additional representation from two or 
three States and one academic institution. The public is invited to 
attend and will have an opportunity to express their views at the end 
of the meeting.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2001 from 
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Crystal City Marriott, 1999 
Jefferson Davis Highway, Alexandria, Virginia 22202. The Crystal City 
Marriott telephone number is (703) 413-5500. The nearest Metro stop is 
Crystal City station on either the Blue or the Yellow Line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claudio H. Ternieden, Office of Water, 
Office of Science and Technology, Engineering and Analysis Division, 
Cooling Water Intake Task Force, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number 
(202) 260-6026; and e-mail address [email protected]. For any 
updates on the issues that EPA will discuss at the meeting, refer to 
http://www.epa.gov/ost/guide.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA is developing regulations implementing 
Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act 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). The Amended 
Consent Decree divides the regulatory process into three phases: (1) 
Phase I, governing new facilities that employ a cooling water intake 
structure; (2) Phase II, governing, at a minimum, existing utilities 
and non-utility power producers that employ a cooling water intake 
structure, and whose flow levels exceed a minimum threshold to be 
determined by EPA; and (3) Phase III, governing existing facilities 
that employ a cooling water intake structure, that are not covered by 
the Phase II rule, and whose intake flow levels exceed a minimum 
threshold to be determined by EPA. EPA proposed Phase I regulations on 
July 20, 2000, 65 FR 49060. The remaining deadlines for rulemaking in 
each phase are as follows:

Phase I: Final action by November 9, 2001
Phase II: Proposal by February 28, 2002
Final action by August 28, 2003
Phase III: Proposal by June 15, 2003
Final action by December 15, 2004

    Dated: April 11, 2001.
Geoffrey H. Grubbs,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 01-10121 Filed 4-23-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U