Jump to main content.


Project XL Logo

Intel

Final Project Agreement -- Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), with the cooperation of State and local authorities, has initiated the Excellence in Leadership ("XL") Program to work with interested companies to develop innovative approaches for addressing environmental issues. See generally 60 Fed. Reg. 27282 (May 23, 1995). The XL Program encourages companies to come forward with new approaches that have the potential to advance environmental goals more effectively and efficiently than have been achieved using traditional regulatory tools.

The Intel Corporation ("Intel"), an early volunteer for the XL Program, has worked intensively with representatives of EPA, the State of Arizona, Maricopa County, the City of Chandler, and public stakeholders to develop a site-specific XL Project. The project focuses on Intel's 720-acre manufacturing site in Chandler, Arizona (the "Site" or the "Ocotillo Site"), a description of which is included in Attachment 1 to this Agreement. A new semiconductor wafer fabrication facility ("FAB 12") has been constructed and is operating on the Site, and additional semiconductor-related facilities may be built on the Site in the future.

Under the XL Project, a Site-wide environmental master plan has been developed, integrating both mandatory and voluntary environmental undertakings across all media--air, water, solid waste, and hazardous waste. Under the plan, Site-wide environmental goals for all media have been identified, and Intel has committed to provide public reports, in a consolidated and easily-accessed format, to track progress in meeting these goals. In developing the master plan, the XL Project stakeholders have sought to reduce unnecessary, burdensome and duplicative requirements within the constraints of existing law. Several important innovations have resulted, including the creation of a consolidated reporting form, an integrated emergency planning document, and a streamlined air permitting scheme.

In developing innovative approaches for addressing environmental issues at the Ocotillo Site, Intel has been guided by four key principles. First, the Company is committed to complying with all applicable statutory or regulatory requirements. The Company has worked with authorities at all levels, however, to apply current legal requirements in a more effective manner, and to supplement these requirements with additional environmental goals.

Second, the Company has sought to improve the transparency of its environmental performance by consolidating its commitments across all media in this Final Project Agreement ("FPA"), and by establishing an innovative reporting mechanism that allows information on all of these subjects to be publicly available in an integrated format. The Company has worked closely with all stakeholders, including interested members of the public, in developing these tools.

Third, the FPA identifies a single regulatory Agency, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality ("ADEQ"), as the coordinating Agency for the FPA. The identification of a primary point of reference to coordinate environmental issues arising at the Ocotillo Site under the FPA should enhance the effective administration of the FPA, and provide a model for future agreements of this type. This administrative approach is not intended to reduce or conflict with the existing jurisdiction or enforcement authority of participating governmental agencies. Rather, it is intended to streamline regulatory oversight where possible; coordinate approaches to any environmental issues that arise at the Ocotillo Site, including issues that may have cross-media impacts; and make it easier for the public to obtain non-proprietary information on Intel.

Fourth, and finally, the Company has sought to improve overall environmental performance by including protective new features in the traditional air permit required for the Site, and augmenting mandatory legal requirements with significant voluntary commitments. This fresh look at overall environmental performance has been accompanied by the commitment to reduce paperwork and other procedural burdens that do not provide value-added contributions to these aggressive environmental goals. The process has been a team effort involving regulatory authorities at all levels-City, County, State, and Federal-as well as members of the local community.

Examples of the types of special performance features described more fully in the FPA include:


Local Navigation


Jump to main content.