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Appendix 1

(signed copy in Administrative Record)

September 10, 1999

Jim Colman
MA Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Programs
MA Department of Environmental Protection
1 Winter Street
Boston, MA 02108

Re: New England Universities Laboratory XL Project

Dear Jim:

This letter confirms our agreement with respect to Massachusetts' commitment to implement a state-specific rule change as part of the New England Universities Laboratory XL Project. I appreciate all of the fine work that your staff has contributed to this very worthy effort and am hopeful that this project will lead to both improvements in laboratory waste management as well as significant benefits to New EnglandÕs environment.

As you may know, the comment period for the proposed rule and FPA closed on August 26. We are now in the process of addressing comments and making final changes to the FPA and the rule. If all goes as planned, we anticipate a signing ceremony at the end of September. (My staff will coordinate with your staff on the details of this long-awaited event!) Consistent with efforts to finalize this project, I would like to take this opportunity to recap our discussion on how we agreed to accomplish the enforcement discretion aspect of this project. It is our intention to append this letter (as Appendix 4) to the Final Project Agreement, which we propose to modify slightly in accordance with the language attached to this letter.

To facilitate the implementation of this project in advance of a final and effective State rule, MA DEP will initiate implementation of this project through the use of letters of forbearance that it will issue to the participating Massachusetts universities. MA DEP will use these letters of forbearance to implement the project after EPA has an effective final Federal project-specific rule. While the letters of forbearance are in effect, EPA will exercise its discretion not to enforce for violations of currently applicable State requirements that will be replaced by the final State project-specific rule under this project. This limited exercise of enforcement discretion is intended to establish a temporary "bridge" between the effective dates of the Federal and State project specific rules needed to legally implement this project.

Therefore, as we agreed, MA DEP will promulgate its own state-specific rulemaking within 18 months from the finalization of the Federal Rule and the XL Final Project Agreement (FPA) as a condition for the use of enforcement discretion by EPA. In order to qualify for enforcement discretion, the Universities must comply with the XL project requirements contained in the final Federal Rule. EPA will terminate its enforcement discretion within 18 months from the date the Federal Rule is finalized or upon finalization of the State project-specific rule, whichever comes first. Thank you again for your continued support and advocacy of this worthy project. Please call me at 617-918-1701 if you have any questions on the above.

Sincerely,
Ira Leighton
Acting Director,
Office of Environmental Stewardship, EPA-New England

attachment
cc: U.S. EPA New England Labs XL Review Team