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Intel

Draft Summary of the Intel and Weyerhaeuser Projects Meeting

May 15, 1996

On May 15, a meeting was held to provide updates on Weyerhaeuser's and Intel's XL projects to representatives of the environmental and environmental justice NGO community. In attendance were Weyerhaeuser and Intel staff, NGO representatives, EPA staff, local regulators and local stakeholders from the two projects. This meeting was intended to provide a forum in which members of the NGO community could interact directly with project proponents, regional and local regulators and local stakeholders for two of the XL projects furthest along in the Final Project Agreement (FPA) development process. The following summary was prepared by the Keystone Center and is intended only to identify the major points of discussion raised at the May 15 meeting. Attached to this summary is a list of those who participated in the meeting either in person or by phone. To receive materials handed out by Weyerhaeuser and Intel at the meeting, please contact The Keystone Center or the company contacts listed under Next Steps.

Meeting Summary

The meeting began with remarks by David Gardiner of EPA, who stressed the importance of continuing and improving the dialogue between all stakeholders in XL and of listening and learning from each other.

Weyerhaeuser
Weyerhaeuser representatives from the Flint River facility in Georgia gave a brief overview of their XL project, including their Minimum Impact Manufacturing strategy (MIM) which they intend to present to EPA as an alternative regulatory strategy. Under Project XL, Weyerhaeuser hopes to receive greater flexibility in areas such as permit modifications, regulatory inspections and reporting obligations. This flexibility would be granted in exchange for greater environmental performance derived from efforts in Phase V of MIM, which include bleach plant effluent reductions, solid waste reductions, timberlands resource management practices, water use reductions, and energy conservation.

Weyerhaeuser's presentation was followed by a question and answer session during which several areas of general concern emerged. In particular, several participants raised major concerns with the current lack of compliance mechanisms necessary to enforce the performance of actions agreed to under the FPA. Weyerhaeuser agreed that this was a key issue for everyone involved in XL and stated that the responsibility to develop policies and guidelines on the subject belongs to the regulatory agencies. Weyerhaeuser reaffirmed several times their commitment to performing the actions detailed in their FPA, but NGO representatives stressed that a verbal commitment is not enough in this process. As one participant put it "trust but verify" should be the goal. To address some reporting and enforcement concerns in the meantime, Weyerhaeuser stated that they will lay out a schedule of semi-annual and annual reporting schedules, and a rigorous system of monitoring requirements in the FPA.

In addition to enforcement issues, Weyerhaeuser representatives answered questions concerning topics such as the use of chlorine dioxide in their pulp bleaching process, plans for timberlands management, the use of virgin versus recycled fibers, and the ability of stakeholders in the XL process to evaluate technical issues involved in the project.

Intel
The Intel presentation was conducted by representatives of their four stakeholder working groups: Recycle, Air/Planning/Accountability, Legal, and Regulatory Efficiency. As discussed in the presentations, Intel's XL project involves the development of a five year Environmental Master Plan for their new Fab 12 semiconductor facility in Chandler, AZ. Due to the rapid technology changes that characterize their industry, Intel would like pre-approval for the dozens of quick process changes they expect to make each year. In addition, Intel would like to consolidate regulatory/permitting authority within the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. In exchange for this flexibility and consolidation, Intel proposes to achieve enhanced pollution prevention through source reduction, recycling and other innovative techniques. Intel intends to identify improvements that are transferable and that do not shift environmental burdens to other media. The presenters repeatedly stressed the significant role of stakeholder, public and employee input into Intel's FPA development process.

Questions directed to Intel's presenters revolved around four major issues. Several NGO representatives questioned the inclusiveness of Intel's stakeholder involvement process, stating that there is a difference between input and consensus. The stakeholders present on the phone asserted that the frequency of public meetings and accessibility of stakeholder representatives to the public assure that there is plenty of opportunity to address significant concerns in the process. One NGO went on the question the designation of "significant" in this answer. Second, participants noted the difficulty in establishing environmental performance baselines for new facilities and questioned the process that will be used to do so. In addition, concerns were raised about the establishment of caps for hazardous air pollutants, or HAP caps. Due to the varying toxicity characteristics of different HAPs, participants questioned the concept of lumping several HAPs together under one cap as opposed to having caps for individual HAPs based on their relative risks Finally, the issue of enforcement mechanisms for FPA provisions again was questioned. One NGO stated that it would be very difficult to provide a substantive reaction to the XL process until the enforcement issue is resolved.

Next Steps

In the interest of keeping communication channels open between interested parties, XL staff and companies, anyone with questions or comments for specific projects is encouraged to contact the following people:

Weyerhaeuser:

Intel:

In an effort to improve the efficacy of these meetings, participants of this meeting and other interested parties are encouraged to contact The Keystone Center with comments on the usefulness of this type of forum for relaying project specific information to national interest groups and others not directly involved in the project.

The Keystone Center 202-783-0248(p)/202-783-0328(f)

Participants of May 15, 1996 Project XL Meeting

At the meeting:
Name Company/Org Phone Fax
Tim Mohin Intel 202-626-4399 202-628-2525
Chuck McLean Denver Research/Intel 970-920-1080 970-920-1259
Paul Schlegel Weyerhaeuser 202-293-7222 202-293-2955
Lee Dittihns Weyerhaeuser/Alston&Bird 404-881-7151 404-881-7777
Russell Stevenson Weyerhaeuser 912-472-5518 912-472-5508
Gary Risner Weyerhaeuser 770-668-1210 770-668-1252
David Hawkins NRDC 202-783-7800 202-783-5917
Chris van Loben Sels NRDC 202-783-7800 202-783-5917
Christopher Bedford Communities Concerned about Corporations 301-779-1000 301-779-1001
Marty Spitzer PCSD/CEQ 202-408-5331 202-408-1655
Alicia Culver Government Purchasing Project 202-387-8030 202-234-5176
Ken Scott Calvert Group 301-657-7039 301-951-0721
Michelle Glenn EPA Region 4 404-347-3555/6319 404-347-1918
David Gardiner EPA 202-260-4332 202-260-0275
Maryann Froehlich EPA 202-260-6038 202-260-0780
Ellen Brown EPA 202-260-4257 202-401-0713
Chris Knopes EPA 202-260-9298 202-401-6637
Jon Kessler EPA 202-260-3761 202-401-6637
Pasky Pasqual EPA 202-260-6887 202-401-6637
Julie Frieder EPA 202-260-1088 202-401-6637
Ronn Dexter EPA 202-260-7562 202-260-4105
Angela Cracchiolo EPA RCRA 703-308-7877 703-308-8433
 
On the Phone:
Jeff Rosenbloom EPA Region 9 415-744-1962 415-744-1078
Ann Lyons EPA Region 9 415-744-1343 415-744-1041
David Wampler EPA Region 9    
Todd Dorris Arizona DEQ 602-207-4337 602-207-4872
Jim Larsen Intel-Project XL Director 602-715-0414 602-715-0401
Terry McManus Intel 602-554-4283 602-554-4977
Jim Fullmer Intel 602-715-0342 602-715-0399
Gary D'Oria Intel 602-715-0139 602-715-0401
Angela Boggs Intel    
Jim Lemmon Member of Intel CAP 602-941-5517 602-941-2551
Steve Brittle Don't Waste Arizona, Inc.    
Mark Woodall Sierra Club 706-846-2281 706-846-3218
Peter Washburn Natural Resources Council of Maine 207-622-3101/216 207-622-4343
Suzanne Orenstein Resolve, Inc. 202-965-6201 202-338-1264
Sanford Lewis Good Neighbor Project 617-489-3686 617-489-2482
Linda Milligan   404-755-2855 404-755-0575
David Legrande      
Valerie Carter Merck Inc. 908-423-7226 908-735-1160

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