Faulkey Gully Wastewater Treatment Plant - Executive Summary |
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The Faulkey Gully Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a publicly owned wastewater treatment facility in northwest Harris County. The facility is owned by Faulkey Gully Municipal Utility District. The Faulkey Gully Municipal Utility District Board of Directors has authority to make all policy and procedural decisions for the facility. A contract operations company operates the facility. Faulkey Gully WWTP utilizes chlorine, a toxic chemical, to disinfect treated plant effluent. Chlorine is stored on site in 2,000-pound steel cylinders. The chemical feed equipment is used to measure and apply the chemical to the treated effluent for disinfection. There are no administrative controls or active mitigation systems in place at Faulkey Gully WWTP that would affect consideration of the release scenarios discussed below. As part of the Risk Management Program, Faulkey Gully WWTP has established a prevention program to identify potential hazards and implement operational and maintenance procedures to reduce the risk of an accidental release. The facilities used at Faulkey Gully WWTP are designed and constructed in accordance with applicable ANSI, ASTM, and ASME standards. The prevention program includes annual hazard reviews, on-going safety training for personnel, daily equipment inspection and annual preventative maintenance. A system has been established to investigate any hazardous incident related to the chemical storage and feed system. Faulkey Gully WWTP has also established a compliance audit team to review the on-going prevention program and update the program as necessary to provide continued protection to the facility employees and the surrounding community. The Faulkey Gully WWTP has not had any accidental releases of a regulated toxic substance that caused any on-site or offsite effects within the past five years. As part of the Risk Management Program, Faulkey Gully WWTP has developed two scenarios to evaluate the possible effects of an accidental release and assist emergency personnel to respond appropriately. The "worst-case scenario" and the "alternative release scenario" were developed using the EPA's "RMP Guidance for Wastewater Treatment Plants." The worst-case scenario for the facility is based on the release of an entire 2,000-pound cylinder of chlorine over a period of 10 minutes. This scenario could have hazardous effects up to 1.3 miles downwind of the vessel. Within 1.3 miles of the facility, there are homes, schools, businesses, recreation areas and day care centers that could be affected by the worst-case release. The alternative scenario for a chlorine release is based on a 1/2-inch diameter rust hole on a chlorine storage vessel. This scenario could have hazardous effects up to 0.4 miles downwind of the vessel. The Cypress Creek Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) is the local emergency responder responsible for handling an accidental chemical release at Faulkey Gully WWTP. The emergency contact number for this agency is 911. Faulkey Gully WWTP has coordinated and provided a copy of the Risk Management Program for the facility to the Cypress Creek VFD and the Harris County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for Unincorporated Areas. |