California sites due emission cuts

Oil companies have agreed to install equipment at six California sites to reduce pollution from petroleum storage tanks. Under agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pollution controls are to be installed at five refineries and one pipeline terminal. Emission reductions are scheduled by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. at Richmond; Chevron Pipe Line Co., La Mirada; Mobil Oil Corp., Torrance; Ultramar Inc., Wilmington; and Union Oil Co. of California, Carson and Arroyo Grande.

June 24, 1996

2 min read

Oil companies have agreed to install equipment at six California sites to reduce pollution from petroleum storage tanks.

Under agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pollution controls are to be installed at five refineries and one pipeline terminal. Emission reductions are scheduled by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. at Richmond; Chevron Pipe Line Co., La Mirada; Mobil Oil Corp., Torrance; Ultramar Inc., Wilmington; and Union Oil Co. of California, Carson and Arroyo Grande.

The aim is to cut atmospheric emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from storage tanks with floating roofs.

In complaints filed along with consent decrees in federal courts in Los Angeles and San Francisco, EPA alleged the companies operated slotted guidepoles on storage tanks in a manner that violated new source performance standards (NSPS). The result was excess VOC emissions.

Slotted guidepoles, mounted at points above and below the range of travel of a floating roof, pass through a hole in the roof. They keep the roof from spinning as it rests on a storage tank's liquid surface.

Guidepoles that are perforated, or "slotted," along their lengths allow liquid in the tank to flow freely through the pole and aid sampling of the tank's content. However, EPA said, the slots also allow "significant emissions" of VOCs.

Installation of pollution control devices on the tanks will be like taking nearly 5,000 cars off the road, the agency said.

As part of the settlements with EPA, the companies agreed to install controls on other storage tanks that are not subject to NSPS requirements.

EPA estimates that controls obtained in the settlements will yield a total reduction of at least 280,000 lb/year of VOCs.