{"abstract":"Today's proposed rule would implement section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for certain existing power producing facilities that employ a cooling water intake structure and that withdraw 50 million gallons per day (MGD) or more of water from rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, oceans, or other waters of the U.S. for cooling purposes. The proposed rule constitutes Phase II in EPA's development of section 316(b) regulations and would establish national requirements applicable to the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures at these facilities. The proposed national requirements, which would be implemented through National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, would minimize the adverse environmental impact associated with the use of these structures. Today's proposed rule would establish location, design, construction, and capacity requirements that reflect the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact from the cooling water intake structure based on water body type, and the amount of water withdrawn by a facility. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to group surface water into five categories-- freshwater rivers and streams, lakes and reservoirs, Great Lakes, estuaries and tidal rivers, and oceans--and establish requirements for cooling water intake structures located in distinct water body types. In general, the more sensitive or biologically productive the waterbody, the more stringent the requirements proposed as reflecting the best technology available for minimizing adverse environmental impact. Proposed requirements also vary according to the percentage of the source waterbody withdrawn, and facility utilization rate. A facility may choose one of three options for meeting best technology available requirements under this proposed rule. These options include demonstrating that the facility subject to the proposed rule currently meet specified performance standards; selecting and implementing design and construction technologies, operational measures, or restoration measures that meet specified performance standards; or demonstrating that the facility qualifies for a site- specific determination of best technology available because its costs of compliance are either significantly greater than those considered by the Agency during the development of this proposed rule, or the facility's costs of compliance would be significantly greater than the environmental benefits of compliance with the proposed performance standards. The proposed rule also provides that facilities may use restoration measures in addition to or in lieu of technology measures to meet performance standards or in establishing best technology available on a site-specific basis. EPA expects that this proposed regulation would minimize adverse environmental impact, including substantially reducing the harmful effects of impingement and entrainment, at existing facilities over the next 20 years. As a result, the Agency anticipates that this proposed rule would help protect ecosystems in proximity to cooling water intake structures. Today's proposal would help preserve aquatic organisms, including threatened and endangered species, and the ecosystems they inhabit in waters used by cooling water intake structures at existing facilities. EPA has considered the potential benefits of the proposed rule and in the preamble discusses these benefits in both quantitative and non-quantitative terms. Benefits, among other factors, are based on a decrease in expected mortality or injury to aquatic organisms that would otherwise be subject to entrainment into cooling water systems or impingement against screens or other devices at the entrance of cooling water intake structures. Benefits may also accrue at population, community, or ecosystem levels of ecological structures.","action":"Proposed rule.","agencies":[{"raw_name":"ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY","name":"Environmental Protection Agency","id":145,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/environmental-protection-agency","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/145","parent_id":null,"slug":"environmental-protection-agency"}],"body_html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2002/04/09/02-5597.html","cfr_references":[{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":9,"title":40},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":122,"title":40},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":123,"title":40},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":124,"title":40},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":125,"title":40}],"citation":"67 FR 17122","comment_url":null,"comments_close_on":"2002-07-08","correction_of":null,"corrections":[],"dates":"Comments on this proposed rule and Information Collection Request (ICR) must be received or postmarked on or before midnight July 8, 2002.","disposition_notes":null,"docket_ids":["FRL-7154-7"],"dockets":[],"document_number":"02-5597","effective_on":null,"end_page":17225,"executive_order_notes":null,"executive_order_number":null,"full_text_xml_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/xml/2002/04/09/02-5597.xml","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/04/09/02-5597/national-pollutant-discharge-elimination-system-proposed-regulations-to-establish-requirements-for","images":{"EP09AP02.000":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP09AP02.000/EP09AP02.000_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP09AP02.000/EP09AP02.000_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP09AP02.000/EP09AP02.000_original_size.png"}},"images_metadata":{"EP09AP02.000":{"large":{"identifier":"EP09AP02.000","content_type":"image/png","size":105274,"width":823,"sha":"912e188376efca66757466539fa67313","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP09AP02.000/EP09AP02.000_large.png","height":1073},"medium":{"identifier":"EP09AP02.000","content_type":"image/png","size":52697,"width":574,"sha":"48d0422ceecf5208834141291dc27460","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP09AP02.000/EP09AP02.000_medium.png","height":748},"original_size":{"identifier":"EP09AP02.000","content_type":"image/png","size":616737,"width":4606,"sha":"7fe9fbf1dbc383e0a43d2694d9e41815","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/EP09AP02.000/EP09AP02.000_original_size.png","height":6005}}},"json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents/02-5597?publication_date=2002-04-09","mods_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/metadata/granule/FR-2002-04-09/02-5597/mods.xml","not_received_for_publication":null,"page_length":104,"page_views":{"count":343,"last_updated":"2026-07-28 02:15:03 -0400"},"pdf_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2002-04-09/pdf/02-5597.pdf","presidential_document_number":null,"proclamation_number":null,"public_inspection_pdf_url":null,"publication_date":"2002-04-09","raw_text_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2002/04/09/02-5597.txt","regulation_id_number_info":{"2040-AD62":{"issue":"200404","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/2040-AD62/minimizing-adverse-environmental-impact-from-cooling-water-intake-structures-at-existing-facilities-","title":"Minimizing Adverse Environmental Impact From Cooling Water Intake Structures at Existing Facilities Under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act, Phase 2","xml_url":"http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=200404&RIN=2040-AD62&operation=OPERATION_EXPORT_XML","priority_category":"Economically Significant"}},"regulation_id_numbers":["2040-AD62"],"regulations_dot_gov_info":{},"regulations_dot_gov_url":null,"significant":true,"signing_date":null,"start_page":17122,"subtype":null,"title":"National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System-Proposed Regulations to Establish Requirements for Cooling Water Intake Structures at Phase II Existing Facilities","toc_doc":"Cooling water intake structures at Phase II existing facilities; requirements","toc_subject":"Water pollution control:","topics":["Administrative practice and procedure","Air pollution control","Confidential business information","Hazardous substances","Hazardous waste","Indians-lands","Intergovernmental relations","Penalties","Reporting and recordkeeping requirements","Waste treatment and disposal","Water pollution control","Water supply"],"type":"Proposed Rule","volume":67}