Texas Risk Reduction Program Facility Operations Area -- An Innovative Remediation Option for Refineries and Petrochemical Plants ExxonMobil Oil Corporation

摘要

ExxonMobil’s Beaumont, Texas Refinery and adjacent Chemical Plant are establishing a Facility Operations Area (FOA) under provisions of the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The FOA is an innovative remediation program applicable to operating refineries and/or chemical manufacturing plants with ongoing corrective action. When authorized, the FOA becomes a defined portion of the facility that may include manufacturing, processing, transfer, storage, and management of products, hazardous materials, and wastes. Advantages of the new program are that within the FOA boundary: (1) interim remedies utilizing exposure prevention for workers can be applied; (2) perimeter monitoring systems may be used for ground water; and (3) final remedies can be deferred to the end of active manufacturing operations. This flexibility contrasts with the conventional remediation approach, which mandates separate investigations of solid waste management units (SWMUs) and other areas of concern (AOCs) to confirm if releases have occurred and to define the extent of individual releases. The FOA replaces SWMU/AOC specific monitoring systems with facility-wide ground water monitoring at the FOA boundary. This approach will identify all releases that may migrate offsite and pose a threat to potential offsite receptors.