EPA Proposes Reissuance of Tesoro Facility in Kenai Alaska
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Region 10
Park Place Building, 13th Floor
1200 Sixth Avenue, OW-130
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 553-1643
1-800-424-4372 (within Region 10 only)
NOTICE OF PROPOSED REISSUANCE OF NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMIT
TO DISCHARGE TO WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES
NOTICE OF STATE CERTIFICATION
and
NOTICE OF STATE DETERMINATION OF CONSISTENCY WITH THE
ALASKA COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Public Notice No.: AK-000084-1
Technical Contact: Ben Cope, EPA Region 10, (206) 553-1442
Public Notice Issuance Date: April 18, 2000
Public Notice Expiration Date: May 18, 2000
1. Applicant
Tesoro Alaska Petroleum Company NPDES Permit No: AK-000084-1
 | Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 3369
Kenai, AK 99611 | | Facility Location:
Mile 22 Kenai Spur Hwy
Kenai, AK 99611 |
| Contact: Robert Napier, Environmental Compliance Administrator |
Tesoro Alaska Petroleum Company owns and operates a refinery in Kenai, Alaska. The refinery receives crude from Cook Inlet and Alaska North Slope oil fields, and it has a rated processing capacity of 72,000 barrels of crude per day.
Crude oil is delivered by tankers and pumped into storage tanks. It is piped to the crude unit where the following petroleum products are separated: fuel gas, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil, naphtha, light gas run, diesel, and gas oil. LPG, naphtha, gas oil, and light gas run are then fed through the LPG unit, reformer unit, hydrocracker unit, vacuum unit, and isomerization unit to produce more refined products such as propane, butane, fuel gas, reformate, jet-A fuel, and isomerate. The facility also produces asphalt in the summer months.
Wastewaters from the refining process are treated in a multi-step process to reduce pollutant levels prior to discharge to Cook Inlet.
Tesoro also operates a remediation system for on-site, contaminated groundwater. Groundwater contaminated with petroleum products is pumped to a treatment system to remove volatile hydrocarbons. Tesoro has applied to discharge the majority of treated wastewater along with refinery wastewaters to Cook Inlet. The remainder is to be discharged to a trench system (for infiltration back to groundwater). The remediation system is authorized by a RCRA Part B permit and a state infiltration permit. The remediation wastewater discharge to Cook Inlet is authorized in this NPDES permit.
A Fact Sheet is available.
2. Tentative Determination
The Region 10 Office of the EPA has tentatively determined to reissue the discharge permit to this facility.
3. State Certification
This Notice will also serve as Public Notice of the intent of the State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), to consider certifying that the subject discharge will comply with the applicable provisions of Sections 208(e), 301, 302, 303, 306 and 307 of the Clean Water Act. The NPDES permit will not be issued until the certification requirements of Section 401 have been met.
4. State Consistency Determination
This Notice will also serve as Public Notice of the intent of the State of Alaska, Office of Management and Budget, Division of Governmental Coordination, to review this action for consistency as provided in Section 307(c)(3) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended [16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3)].
The consistency certification is a statement of assurance that the federally permitted activity, which will affect the coastal zone, will be conducted in a manner consistent with the enforceable policies and standards of the Alaska Coastal Management Program.
5. Public Comments
Persons wishing to comment on the tentative determinations contained in the proposed permit or wishing to request that a public hearing be held, may do so in writing within 30 days of the date of this public notice. Comments must be received within this 30 day period to be considered in the formulation of final determinations regarding the permit. All comments should include the name, address and telephone number of the commenter and a concise statement of the exact basis of any comment and the relevant facts upon which it is based. A request for a public hearing should state the nature of the issues to be raised as well as the requester's name, address and telephone number. All written comments and requests should be mailed to the EPA address above or submitted electronically to “cope.ben@epa.gov”.
Persons wishing to comment on State Certification should submit written comments within this 30 day period to the State of Alaska, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air and Water Quality, P.O. Box 1709, Valdez, Alaska 99686, to the attention of Judy Kitigawa.
The Division of Governmental Coordination requests your comments within 34 days of this notice on the proposed project's consistency with the Alaska Coastal Management Program. For more information on the consistency review process and the comment deadline, or to submit comments, please contact the Division of Governmental Coordination, 3601 "C" Street, Suite 370, Anchorage, AK 99503-5939, (907)269-7470. The Division of Governmental Coordination complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Individuals with disabilities who may need auxiliary aids, services, or special modifications to participate in this review may contact the number above.
6. Administrative Record
The proposed NPDES permit and other related documents are on file and may be inspected at the above address any time between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copies and other information may be requested by contacting Ben Cope at EPA (see above for address and phone number). The draft permit and fact sheet are also available from the EPA Alaska Operations Office, Room 537, Federal Building, 222 West 7th Avenue, #19, Anchorage, Alaska 99513. Copies of the permit and fact sheet can be found by visiting the Region 10 website at www.epa.gov/r10earth/water.htm
For those with impaired hearing or speech, please contact EPA’s telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) at (206) 553-1698 and ask for Ben Cope at (206)553-1442. To ensure effective communication, additional services can be made available to persons with disabilities by contacting EPA at 1-800-424-4372.