EPA Issues NPDES Regulations for Cooling Water Intake Structures for New Facilities by Susan Rosenwinkel, Bureau of Point Source Permitting Region 2

EPA recently issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Regulations addressing cooling water intake structures (CWIS's) for new facilities. This rule was issued in final form on November 9, 2001 and took affect on January 17, 2002.

The rule is unique in that it applies to intakes and not discharges. The primary impact of CWIS's is mortality or injury to fish or other aquatic organisms that may be impinged (pinned) on screens or other intake structures, or entrained into cooling systems where they may be subject to thermal, physical or chemical stresses.

Background

Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires EPA to ensure that the location, design, construction and capacity of CWIS's reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact. For many years this provision has been implemented without federal standards in place, on a resource intensive, site-by-site basis. Following settlement of a lawsuit, EPA is now developing national standards in three phases. The November 9, 2001 rule fulfills "Phase I", namely CWIS's for new facilities. "Phase II," which has a draft issuance date of February 28, 2002, concerns rules for existing medium and large size electrical generating facilities (i.e. not manufacturing). "Phase III" concerns small electrical generating facilities and manufacturing facilities and is due out in late summer 2003.

Who is Covered Under this Rule?

The Phase 1 rule applies to "greenfield" or "stand-alone" facilities that use a newly constructed CWIS or an existing CWIS with an increased design capacity to accomodate the intake of additional cooling water. A greenfield facility is a facility that is constructed at a site at which no other source exists or that totally replaces the process or production equipment at an existing facility. A stand-alone facility is a new, separate facility that is constructed on a property where an existing facility is located and whose processes are substantially independent of the existing facility. Construction of the "greenfield" or "stand-alone" facility must commence after the effective date of the rule in order to be within the scope of the rule.

Greenfield or stand-alone facilities that meet the definitions described above, must also meet all of the following applicability criteria to be covered under this rule:

1. The new facility's cooling water intake structure(s) withdraw(s) water from waters of the U.S. and at least twenty-five (25) percent of the water withdrawn is used for contact or non-contact cooling purposes;

2. The new facility has a design intake flow of greater than two million gallons per day (MGD); and

3. The new facility has a NPDES permit or is required to obtain one.

With respect to the twenty-five percent figure noted above, any facilities that re-use or recycle cooling water should not consider this water as part of the twenty-five percent withdrawal number. This exemption was specifically included to encourage re-use activities.

Additional Information

Additional information concerning the rule is available on EPA's web site at www.epa.gov/ost/316b. Please contact Susan Rosenwinkel of the Bureau of Point Source Permitting at (609) 292-4860 or at Susan.Rosenwinkel@dep.state.nj.us for additional information regarding New Jersey's application of this rule.