Common use of Project Description and Purpose Clause in Contracts

Project Description and Purpose. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (the Department or NJDEP) has taken the lead in detailed stakeholder discussions to frame the Silver and Gold Track Program for Environmental Performance since the summer of 1999. This program was initiated in November 1996 as one element of the New Jersey Chemical Industry Project (NJCIP), a joint public and private sector project that focused on developing and implementing creative approaches to achieving more efficient and effective environmental performance. New Jersey’s Silver and Gold Program is designed as a tiered system, requiring an increased level of commitment in return for concomitant regulatory flexibility. The first or baseline tier, Silver Track, requires participating entities to meet certain core criteria: certifying current compliance with all applicable environmental rules and regulations, a historically acceptable compliance record, and an agreement to establish both a community outreach program, and implement an Operational and Environmental Compliance plan within one year of acceptance into the program. The baseline incentives offered under Silver Track include: recognition as a top-performing company, via a NJDEP seal/flag, inclusion in a Silver Track category on the Department’s web page, a single point of contact in the Department to expedite and coordinate permitting needs, consolidated reporting (when available) of routine emission and discharge statements, among others, and research, development and demonstration project (RD&D) flexibility. Each participating entity’s commitments and incentives will be memorialized in a five-year covenant with accountability mileposts that will be jointly developed with the facility and the Department. The commitments and incentives under Silver Track were intended to be consistent with and authorized by existing regulations, and so were not implemented through rule changes. The Silver Track portion of the program was implemented in September of 1999. Silver Track II, the second tier of the program, maintains the original core requirements of the baseline tier, as well as some additional commitments. Participants must commit to attaining agreed-upon emission reductions of CO2 or Greenhouse Gas equivalents. In turn, participants will not have to seek certain pre-construction air permits for sources that emit less than prescribed de minimis emission levels. Silver Track II was initiated in May 2000. The Department is developing State rules to implement the incentives offered in Silver Track II, and anticipates publishing a formal rule proposal by the end of 2000. Neither Silver Track nor Silver Track II are the subject of this Final Project Agreement (Agreement). The third and highest tier, Gold Track, which is covered by this Agreement, represents the highest degree of commitment byparticipating entities and additional incentives offered by the Department. One of the goals of Gold Track is to achieve reductions in releases of air pollutants and hazardous waste by providing incentives for participants to go beyond baseline compliance. For example, in the area of air pollution, one way of implementing this goal would be to establish emission caps for criteria and hazardous air pollutants, and to require participants to commit to further emission reductions over time. The requirements and incentives offered under Gold Track follow in detail. Implementing Gold Track requires both federal and state rule changes, which are being pursued through the U.S. EnvironmentalProtectionAgency’s (USEPA’s) Project XL Program, and through the Department’s own Administrative Authority. The USEPA, with the cooperation of State and local authorities, has initiated Project XL to work with interested companies, communities and other potentialProject Sponsors to develop innovative approaches to environmental protection. Gold Track has been designed to satisfy Project XL s intent of advancing the nation’s environmental goals more effectively and efficiently than is possible under current regulations, policies or procedures. The Department is seeking to act as the sponsor of this XL Project, and to include regulatory flexibility as an incentive under Gold Track. NJDEP is seeking to obtain "State-wide XL status", wherebythe Department would be responsible for oversight of the participating facilities and would be empowered to administer, to the extent possible, all of the innovations contained in Gold Track. The Department seeks this status in view of its proven track record of being in the forefront of environmental initiatives that strive to attain and maintain superior environmental performance. In summary, Silver Track, Silver Track II and Gold Track offer different degrees of regulatory flexibility and oversight for qualifying entities. Acceptance into any of the tiers of the program signifies a commitment by the Department and the participants to demonstrable, measurable, improved environmental performance, coupled with an appropriate level of monitoring, reporting and oversight by the Department.

Project Description and Purpose. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (the Department or NJDEP) has taken the lead in detailed stakeholder discussions to frame the Silver and Gold Track Program for Environmental Performance since the summer of 1999. This program was initiated in November 1996 as one element of the New Jersey Chemical Industry Project (NJCIP), a joint public and private sector project that focused on developing and implementing creative approaches to achieving more efficient and effective environmental performance. New Jersey’s Silver and Gold Program is designed as a tiered system, requiring an increased level of commitment in return for concomitant regulatory flexibility. The first or baseline tier, Silver Track, requires participating entities to meet certain core criteria: certifying current compliance with all applicable environmental rules and regulations, a historically acceptable compliance record, and an agreement to establish both a community outreach program, and implement an Operational and Environmental Compliance plan within one year of acceptance into the program. The baseline incentives offered under Silver Track include: recognition as a top-performing company, via a NJDEP seal/flag, inclusion in a Silver Track category on the Department’s web page, a single point of contact in the Department to expedite and coordinate permitting needs, consolidated reporting (when available) of routine emission and discharge statements, among others, and research, development and demonstration project (RD&D) flexibility. Each participating entity’s commitments and incentives will be memorialized in a five-year covenant with accountability mileposts that will be jointly developed with the facility and the Department. The commitments and incentives under Silver Track were intended to be consistent with and authorized by existing regulations, and so were not implemented through rule changes. The Silver Track portion of the program was implemented in September of 1999. Silver Track II, the second tier of the program, maintains the original core requirements of the baseline tier, as well as some additional commitments. Participants must commit to attaining agreed-upon emission reductions of CO2 or Greenhouse Gas equivalents. In turn, participants will not have to seek certain pre-construction air permits for sources that emit less than prescribed de minimis emission levels. Silver Track II was initiated in May 2000. The Department is developing State rules to implement the incentives offered in Silver Track II, and anticipates publishing a formal rule proposal by the end of 2000. Neither Silver Track nor Silver Track II are the subject of this Final Project Agreement (Agreement). The third and highest tier, Gold Track, which is covered by this Agreement, represents the highest degree of commitment byparticipating by participating entities and additional incentives offered by the Department. One of the goals of Gold Track is to achieve reductions in releases of air pollutants and hazardous waste by providing incentives for participants to go beyond baseline compliance. For example, in the area of air pollution, one way of implementing this goal would be to establish emission caps for criteria and hazardous air pollutants, and to require participants to commit to further emission reductions over time. The requirements and incentives offered under Gold Track follow in detail. Implementing Gold Track requires both federal and state rule changes, which are being pursued through the U.S. EnvironmentalProtectionAgencyEnvironmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Project XL Program, and through the Department’s own Administrative Authority. The USEPA, with the cooperation of State and local authorities, has initiated Project XL to work with interested companies, communities and other potentialProject potential Project Sponsors to develop innovative approaches to environmental protection. Gold Track has been designed to satisfy Project XL XL=s intent of advancing the nation’s environmental goals more effectively and efficiently than is possible under current regulations, policies or procedures. The Department is seeking to act as the sponsor of this XL Project, and to include regulatory flexibility as an incentive under Gold Track. NJDEP is seeking to obtain "State-wide XL status", wherebythe whereby the Department would be responsible for oversight of the participating facilities and would be empowered to administer, to the extent possible, all of the innovations contained in Gold Track. The Department seeks this status in view of its proven track record of being in the forefront of environmental initiatives that strive to attain and maintain superior environmental performance. In summary, Silver Track, Silver Track II and Gold Track offer different degrees of regulatory flexibility and oversight for qualifying entities. Acceptance into any of the tiers of the program signifies a commitment by the Department and the participants to demonstrable, measurable, improved environmental performance, coupled with an appropriate level of monitoring, reporting and oversight by the Department.