Document 1BMpXVrMre81gNvXdyDDV1rd

CHEMICALS "* ' 7) /i ' j '.................1 INOUSTRILS la;; INTEROFFICE / LAKE CHARLES TO FROM Dan Wiley DATE September lU 1977 J. R, Darbonne SUBJECT Process Pad Storm Water \y 1 J I talked to Hr. Jack Cearley from Conoco about our problem in $. handling process water to treatment during a storm and asked him what they were doing. kf<% r \> He said their VCH waste treatment pond receives all water from the ~ process pads. He said the water from the pad gravitates to the pond. The lines are large enough to take a T? inch-per-hour rain../ Aa** ^7, ' (He said it rains more than that only every 10 years.") O-r- They have a Uo aillion gallon diversion pond used when there is ' ^ ^ yvy4A a storm. Then, after the storm, the water in the pond is pumped to treatment. I also talked to Harold Brantley from Olin and he said that waste treatment sumps from process pads are designed to handle rains of X&jj per hour. He said it is impossible to handle a storm and he doesn't worry about the water after the first flushing of the sump. He said the first flushing of the sump will remove all the con taminants and the overflow goes to the storm sewer. The overflow is then considered as being storm sewer water. Then I talked to Jim Kathis of Firestone and was told that they have three process pads, each with a sump and pump. The pads have curbs to hold water inside and each of the pumps will pump 2100 GPH, which is doing a good job. He said that when there is a storm, other areas drain into two large 1$' wide by 8' deep ditches that run the length of the plant on each side. They can feed 800 GPH from these ditches when it is not raining. He also said that small leaks or one-gallon spills are what give them the most trouble. He demands good housekeeping and daily rounds by supervision. Jim has invited us to visit him any time. I talked to Wally Hngelken of Cities Service and he said that all process pads are gravity flowed to treatment ponds and he has no problems. SL 071890 Dan Wiley September lit, 1977 Page 2 Then thinking about our set-up, he suggested that we call Mike Pingal in Baton Rouge (90l|-292-1920) and ask about his low-^lift pump. This is a Hercules screw pump that should be good for this service. He said he would have it go on with high level and off with low level. It should be designed to pump 3^" Per hour rain runoff from the process pad. /as cc: J. E. Wyche V. J, Peard SL 071891 CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES /-l- INTEROFFICE LAKE CHARLES TO FROM Distribution D. E. Wiley DATE SUBJECT December 16, 1977 Hydrocarbon Waste Water Treatment My brief exposure to the treatment of chlorinated hydrocarbon-contaminated waste water from Plant B has caused me to seriously question the design criteria now being used for new plant design. Let me hasten to add that I don't know what the design criteria should be; however, new petrochemical facilities are coming on line which are designed to contain all rainwater until it can be analyzed and cleared for discharge to navigable waterways. We don't do this now. It seems to me there are at least two key questions that must be answered before a containment/treatment policy can be formulated: 1. Will collecting a certain quantity of rainwater from the pad area of an operating unit be always sufficient to flush away residual organics before such organics are washed into the storm sewer, thereby resulting in a discharge violation? 2. What probability exists for some operating mishap to occur after the initial flush, thereby dumping organics into the sewer and causing a violation? Unfortunately, to answer these questions would require a lot of experimental work, but such activity may be justified. The 420 lb/day NPDES permit level we now operate under may be adequate for the current Plant B facility, but what about the contribution to the sewer from new facilities such as Tri-Ethane II? New facilities will increase the amount of organics in the sewer. How much remains to be seen. The following forward program is suggested as one way to develop answers to the questions raised above: 1. Implement a sampling program in Plant B which can be put into effect during rainy periods to measure the amount of organics washed from individual units into the sewer. 2. Engineering contractors, and chemical plants similar to Plant B operating units, should be contacted to learn what design criteria are being used to anticipate the future requirements of Federal pollution statutes (such as the "Zero Discharge" limitations of 1985). SL oi I PlX 2- - 3. chemical plants so^hat exceS rain^atercan^Vr^0?1'TT^'3 rganics processed? One suggestion is to dike the pad are/ (plate or grating) over the large sump so reatS!' th<i plant unti] P * false floor eg Distribution 0- L. Cromeans G. K. Jordan R- P. Lynch T. G. Taylor W. J Peard A. R. Richard B* E. Beck -- wv*. SL 0"ll3