Środowisko i energia · 24/11/2004

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System-Proposed Regulations To Establish Requirements for Cooling Water Intake Structures at Phase III Facilities

Today's proposed rule would establish national categorical requirements under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act for certain existing facilities that employ a cooling water intake structure and are designed to withdraw water above a certain design intake flow from certain waters of the United States for cooling purposes. Today's notice proposes three possible options for defining which existing facilities would be subject to uniform national requirements, based on design intake flow threshold and source waterbody type: The facility has a total design intake flow of 50 million gallons per day (MGD) or more, and withdraws from any waterbody; the facility has a total design intake flow of 200 MGD or more, and withdraws from any waterbody; or the facility has a total design intake flow of 100 MGD or more and withdraws water specifically from an ocean, estuary, tidal river, or one of the Great Lakes. Because the lowest co-proposed flow threshold option is 50 MGD, the proposed requirements would only apply to manufacturing facilities--as power producers with a flow greater than 50 MGD are regulated under the Phase II rule. This proposed rule would constitute Phase III of EPA's section