Sam Hobbs Regional Wastewater Facility - Executive Summary |
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The Sam H. Hobbs Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility treats wastewater for the City of Casper and surrounding communities and county. We have an annual average flow of 7.5 million gallons per day. The facility is a secondary activated sludge plant. The regulated chemical chlorine is used for disinfection of the treated wastewater prior to discharge to the North Platte River. We typically have a maximum of 3-1 ton cylinders stored or in use at the plant during our peak periods, which is May through September, and we keep a minium of 1-1 ton cylinder during the rest of year. The City of Casper is committed to promote, facilitate, and provide the proper tools and professional training necessary for all city employees; to safely serve the public, safegaurd their personal well being and protect city property. We are committed to promoting a safe work environment for all city employees and to protect the public through implementation of appropriate safety programs, policies, and procedur es. The City is participating in the Voluntary Protection Program. The Sam H. Hobbs Regional Wastewater Facility is already in compliance with the OSHA PSM rule. We have improved maintenance procedures and record keeping immensely since implementing the OSHA PSM, due to the need to identify critical equipment and to assure that the equipment is kept in good mechanical condition. Our training has also improved since the implementation of PSM. We now go to great lengths to make sure employees understand the dangers associated with Chlorine. We have regular exercises to test our evacuation plan with the LEPC. The worst-case release scenerio we used was an immediate release of a full 1 ton cylinder of chlorine. The alternative release scenerio was a 1 inch opening in the tank. RMP COMP was used to do these scenerio's. This facility has not had an accidental release in the last five years. To prevent accidental releases we inspect all tanks prior to accepting them from the vendor to ma ke sure they are in good condition. We also follow all manufacturer recommended maintenance tasks on the equipment. The City is conducting a Facilities Plan for some necessary upgrades to the wastewater facility and a major component of the plan is consideration of a safer way to disinfect the treated wastewater that will protect employees and the public. Under the Superfund Amendment Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title III, the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Compensation Act (CERCLA), the Wastewater Treatment Facility is required under Title 40 CFR, section 302, Planning Notification, to report any Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS's) over the threshold planning quantity. Under section 304, Emergency Notification, the Wastewater Treatment Facility is required to report releases in quantities equal to or greater than their reportable quantity (RQ). Emergency Response Plans have been written in accordance wit h Title 40 CFR, section 303, and Title 29 CFR, 1910.119 (n). In an emergency, the Wastewater Treatment Facility will implement their emergency response by calling 911 on a public phone or 9-911 on a city phone. Evacuations will be coordinated through the main operations building. The Wastewater Treatment Facility relies on the Casper Fire Division to respond to emergencies such as fire and health concerns. The Hazardous Materials Team responds to emergencies within the facility such as an accidental release of an EHS, Chlorine. Members of the Hazardous Materials Team (HAZ MAT Team) have been trained in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.120 Hazardous Materials Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER). The HAZ MAT Teams have been trained to various levels, First Responder to Incident Commander, the majority of the teams members have been trained to the technician level. We have a copy of the City of Casper Emergency Response Plan for Hazordous Materials Releases available if requested at a later date. |