Please refer to previous POLREPs for Site description and previous actions taken.
The following activities took place during the reporting period:
During this reporting period ERRS crews installed protective tarps over 64 roll-off boxes containing mixtures of ash, debris, and wastewater. These boxes were found on-site it is believed that they had been used to store rainwater pumped from the tank farm containment area. Currently, the roll-off boxes are a less stable method of storage than the frac tanks being used to store water that was pumped from the containment during the response.
Design of a wastewater treatment system has been completed and construction has begun on a series of flocculation tanks and filtration units to treat the more than 600,000 gallons of wastewater currently being stored on-site. When complete, it is estimated that the system will be able to treat 10,000 to 15,000 gallons per day. The treated water will be sampled for quality control and released on-site through by a sprinkler system over a closed, capped and vegetated ash landfill.
The existing front office has been cleared and cleaned and is currently being used as the main office for site operations. Generators continue to request access to the site in order to retrieve their materials; in order to accommodate these requests, they have been asked to provide 48 hours of notice in order to schedule an appointment so that EPA personnel or representative can be on-site during that time.
During the week of 5/8/2006, START and ERRS crews began sampling the 15 tanks in the tank farm. Rain and thunderstorm warnings have delayed sampling as well as construction of the wastewater treatment system. Analytical results obtained from this sampling will help to determine how best to treat, dispose, or stabilize the materials stored in the tanks.
The wastewater treatment system is expected to be operational by 5/19/2006.
The condition of two large caustic tanks will be inspected to determine whether the material must be removed from the tank.
The main issue continues to be the weather. Every time that it rains the containment area will store water. Until a determination can be made (via sampling) about the constituents of the water collecting in the area, it will need to be pumped out.
The integrity of the valves connected directly to the tanks in the tank farm has been brought into question. All unloading from the tanks has ceased until 1) the nature of its contents has been determined via sampling, and 2) a system has been installed that will prevent the valves from failing.
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