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EPA/WATER

RIN: 2040-AE95

Publication ID: Spring 2010

Title: Criteria and Standards for Cooling Water Intake Structures
Abstract: Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) requires EPA to ensure that the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impacts. In developing regulations to implement section 316(b), EPA divided its effort into three rulemaking phases. Phase II, for existing electric generating plants that use at least 50 MGD of cooling water, was completed in July 2004. Industry and environmental stakeholders challenged the Phase II regulations. On review, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remanded several key provisions. In July 2007, EPA suspended Phase II. Following the decision in the Second Circuit, several parties petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review that decision, and the Supreme Court granted the petitions, limited to the issue of whether the Clean Water Act authorized EPA to consider the relationship of costs and benefits in establishing section 316(b) standards. On April 1, 2009, the Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit, finding that the Agency may consider cost-benefit analysis in its decisionmaking, but not holding that the Agency must consider costs and benefits in these decisions. In June 2006, EPA promulgated the Phase III regulation, covering existing electric generating plants using less than 50 MGD of cooling water, new offshore oil and gas facilities, and all existing manufacturing facilities. Petitions to review this rule were filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. EPA has asked for a partial voluntary remand of the determinations in the Phase III regulation concerning existing facilities, in order to issue a regulation that addresses both Phase II and III existing facilities. EPA expects this new rulemaking would apply to the approximately 1,200 existing electric generating and manufacturing plants.
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)	Priority: Economically Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage
Major: Yes	Unfunded Mandates: Undetermined
CFR Citation: 40 CFR 122 40 CFR 123 40 CFR 124 40 CFR 125
Legal Authority: CWA 101 CWA 308 CWA 316 CWA 402 CWA 501 CWA 510

Legal Deadline: None

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	09/00/2010
Final Action	07/00/2012

Additional Information: SAN No. 5210; EPA Docket information: EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Undetermined	Government Levels Affected: Local, State
Small Entities Affected: No	Federalism: Undetermined
Included in the Regulatory Plan: Yes
RIN Information URL: www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No
Agency Contact: Paul Shriner Environmental Protection Agency Water 4303T, Washington, DC 20460 Phone:202 566-1076 Email: Shriner.Paul@epamail.epa.gov Jan Matuszko Environmental Protection Agency Water 4303T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460 Phone:202 566-1035 Fax:202 566-1053 Email: matuszko.jan@epa.gov