Project XL was created by President Clinton as part of his March 16, 1995, strategy to reinvent environmental regulation. Goals of the program are to achieve a cleaner environment at the lowest cost.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected Intel to participate in the pilot of Project XL as one of eight initial participants. The program allows corporations to try new approaches instead of reacting to environmental regulations. Intel will create a single contract with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and EPA to manage all environmental performance requirements for its new Fab 12 facility. As part of the contract, Intel is expected to develop more flexible methods to achieve equal or better environmental protection than current command and control regulatory methods, developing and demonstrating a more effective regulatory scheme -- one that makes sense for both the environment and for economic growth.

"What I see in Project XL is a real paradigm shift," said Gordon E. Moore, Chairman of the Board of Intel, "The old way of doing business was that government dictates every move a business must take to protect the environment. The new system, envisioned by Project XL, is to work cooperatively and focus on the results: a cleaner environment; a faster, less costly system; with more input from the local community."

"This is where the future of environmental protection lies -- in the cooperation between industry, regulators, and communities to protect the public health and the environment in a common sense manner that shows that a strong environment and economy go hand in hand," said Felicia Marcus, U.S. EPA's regional administrator.

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