Project XL Criteria

Eight criteria used to evaluate XL projects

Project XL Criteria

EPA will use the following criteria to evaluate Project XL proposals:

1. Environmental results

Projects that are chosen should be able to achieve environmental performance that is superior to what would be achieved through compliance with current and reasonably anticipated future regulation. Cleaner results can be achieved directly through the envi ronmental performance of the project or through the reinvestment of the cost savings from the project in activities that produce greater environmental results. Explicit definitions and measures of cleaner results should be included in the project agreemen t negotiated among stakeholders.

2. Cost savings and paperwork reduction

The project should produce cost savings or economic opportunity, and/or result in a decrease in paperwork burden.

3. Stakeholder support

The extent to which project proponents have sought and achieved the support of parties that have a stake in the environmental impacts of the project is an important factor. Stakeholders may include communities near the project, local or state governments, businesses, environmental and other public interest groups, or other similar entities

4. Innovation/Multi-Media Pollution Prevention

EPA is looking for projects that test -innovative strategies for achieving environmental results. These strategies may include processes, technologies, or management practices. Projects should embody a systematic approach to environmental protection that tests alternatives to several regulatory requirements and/or affects more than one environmental medium. EPA has a preference for protecting the environment by preventing the generation of pollution rather than by controlling pollution once it has been cr eated. Pilot projects should reflect this preference.

5. Transferability

The pilots are intended to test new approaches that could conceivably be incorporated into the Agencys programs or in other industries, or other facilities in the same industry. EPA is therefore most interested in pilot projects that test new approaches t hat could one day be applied more broadly.

6. Feasibility

The project should be technically and administratively feasible and the project proponents must have the financial capability to carry it out

7. Monitoring, reporting and evaluation

The project proponents should identify how to make information about the project, including performance data, available to stakeholders in a form that is easily understandable. Projects should have clear objectives and requirements that will be measurable in order to allow EPA and the public to evaluate the success of the project and enforce its terms. Also, the project sponsor should be clear about the time frame within which results will be achievable.

8. Shifting of risk burden

The project must be consistent with Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice. It must protect worker safety and ensure that no one is subjected to unjust or disproportionate environmental impacts.