Yowlumne, Section 4 Gas Plant - Executive Summary |
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This facility, Yowlumne Section 4, is a remote oil and gas production facility. The process is regulated by Cal OSHA Process Safety Management of Acutely Hazardous Materials, Title 8 California Code of Regulations 5189. The facility is in compliance with this regulation and maintains a prevention program described below. The Yowlumne Section 4 facility has a commitment to worker and public safety. This commitment is demonstrated by the resources invested in accident prevention, such as training personnel and considering safety in the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of our processes. Our policy is to implement reasonable controls to prevent foreseeable releases. However, if a release does occur, trained personnel will respond to control and contain the release. The prevention program exceeds the requirements of this regulation and includes the following: Injury and Illness Prevention Program, General Safety Rules, Employee Participation, Process Safety Information , Process Hazard Analysis, Operating Procedures, Training, Contractor Evaluation, Contractors and Visitor Orientation, Pre-Job Start-Up Review, Mechanical Integrity, Code of Safe Work Practices (Hot Work Permit, Confined Space Entry, Control of Hazardous Energy), Management of Change, Incident Investigation, Emergency Planning and Response, and Compliance Audits. All visitors onto the property must undergo a site safety orientation and check in prior to each visit. The Mechanical Integrity Program includes ultrasonic testing of the vessel and pipe. Planned changes to improve safety have been established based on compliance with the process safety management audits every three years and revalidation of the process hazard analysis every five years. The last process hazard analysis revalidation was February 1998. The process is functionally divided into three sections, Dehydration, Refrigeration, and Storage. The main function of the facility is to extract liquid hydrocarbons and pre pare produced gas for sales. The liquified petroleum gasoline liquids are stored in one (1) vessel with a written administrative control of a maximum allowable capacity of 20,000 gallons. Operational Services Inc. maintains an emergency response plan in compliance with local emergency response agencies. The Yowlumne Section 4 Facility has a Hazardous Materials Business Plan on file with the Kern County Environmental Health Department and Certified Unified Program Agency. In the event of an accidental release, the facility operators are trained to sound the alarm, shut off the source from a safe location or activate one of the emergency shutdown devices, contact 9-1-1 and secure the area. The 9-1-1 system is used to notify the Fire Department. Based on the criteria set forth 40 CFR 68.10 and 19 CCR 2735.4, this facility has not had an accidental release. This information was verified by the reviewing records from the Certified Unified Program Agency. The worst case release scenario is based on the Environmental Protection Agency Offsite Consequence Analysis Guidance equations and model. This distance impacts public receptors of adjacent farms and a resident population of 15. The worst case release is 105,463 lbs of liquefied petroleum gasoline liquids and indicates a 1 psi overpressure distance of 0.38 miles. Although there are numerous controls in place, no credit was taken into account for evaluating the worst case scenario. The Alternative Release Scenario for this process is a break in a transfer hose connection. The facility operator and truck driver are in attendance during transfer operations. This scenario could result in release of 60 lbs of liquid over a 10 minute period. The maximum distance for this scenario is 0.05 miles. While no other mitigation measures were taken into account in evaluating the alternative release scenario, the process does have relief valves, check valves, manual shutoff valves, automatic shutoffs, process alarms , startup and operating procedures, grounding equipment, and excess flow devices. |