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Motiva Enterprises (1406), Norco
Releases of Sewage
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 76659 2005-01-31 | Sanitary sewer discharge line | Cause: A leak developed on the sanitary sewer discharge line serving the Central Maintenance Shop due to the failure of the connecting nipple between the discharge piping and the sewer drain line. The sanitary sewage was routed to the refinery wastewater treatment system and subsequently discharged through LPDES Outfall 002, bypassing a portion of the treatment process. Followup: Yes Notes: A vacuum truck was stationed at the location to collect additional sanitary sewage which might be released during repair operations. Repairs to the line were completed and flow returned to normal on February 2, 2005. | |
| 98320 2007-08-01 | Sanitary sump pumps serving RCCU and DU-5 units | Cause: Discharge piping on the sanitary system sump pumps serving the RCCU and DU-5 units leaked sewage due to plugged pipe. Material drained to a nearby stormwater sewer and was discharged into the refinery wastewater treatment system bypassing normal sewage treatment routing.
See also incidents 96492 and 97505, reports of the same date. Followup: Yes Notes: Vacuum truck was called out to pick up material and prevent additional leakage to the wastewater system. Operations blew line free of plug, reestablishing flow. Motiva will make permanent repairs once evaluation of lines is complete. Routine emptying of the sanitary sump via vacuum truck is being conducted until repairs to the discharge line are completed. The material was routed directly to the refinery wastewater treatment system and received full treatment through this system prior to discharge. | |
| 97505 2007-06-28 | Interface piping of wharf structure | Cause: Pipefitting located on the sewage and steam condensate interface piping of the wharf structure leaked sewage and steam condensate into the Mississippi River.
See also incident #s 96492 and 98320, reports of the same date, and follow-up inspection reports on file for the three incidents combined. Followup: Yes Notes: The lines were 30' above the batture, making them difficult to access. A scaffold platform had to be built before repairs could take place. The lines were blocked and the release was contained with secondary containment at ground level until repairs could be made. Upon completion of scaffold platform, maintenance repaired the line, thus stopping the leak and returning the discharge to its normal routing to the site's wastewater treatment facility. The released steam condensate and sewage did not go through this wastewater treatment facility. | |
| 96492 2007-05-24 | System clean-out hub near RCCU control room | Cause: Plugged sewer line from restrooms to lift station caused sewage leak from a system clean-out hub near the RCCU Control Room. Sewage drained to a stormwater sewer and was discharged into the refinery wastewater treatment system bypassing normal routing for treatment before release.
See also incident #s 97505 and 98320, reports of the same date, and follow-up inspection reports on file for the three incidents combined. Followup: Yes Notes: Plumber unclogged line. To prevent recurrence, Motiva plans to have the line routinely cleaned on a quarterly basis. | |
| 95320 2007-04-11 | Collection line | Cause: A clogged collection line resulted in the backup and release of raw sewage to an area of soil at Motiva's Norco Facility. Followup: No Notes: Spilled sewage was absorbed in soil. Clog was removed. | 25.0 gallons |
| 94667 2007-03-15 | Sewer sump servicing DU-4 and DU-5 Units | Cause: A sewer pump servicing the DU-4 and DU-5 Units overflowed due to plugging of the discharge line. Followup: Yes Notes: The overflow material was drained into a nearby storm water sewer and was discharged into the refinery wastewater treatment system. The material was then discharged through LPDES Outfall 002. Normally the effluent goes through a small sanitary sewage treatment plant prior to mixing with the main refinery effluent, but with the plugging of the line, the effluent bypassed this treatment. Once the leak was discovered, a vacuum truck was placed to pick up the material and to prevent additional leakage. Once the piping was accessible, the plugging was cleared and the sump returned to normal operations. | 10.0 gallons |
| 106936 2008-07-03 | Sewer pump house, LPDES Outfall 002 | Cause: A PVC pipe failure inside the sewer pump house caused the sanitary sewage to fill the dry well of the sewer pump house and to spill out of the building. The spare pump also failed, causing a second unauthorized discharge. Followup: Yes Notes: The pumps were disabled and the spilled sanitary sewage was recovered via vacuum truck. A bypass was necessary to complete the repairs on the damaged piping. The sanitary sewage was directed to the refinery wastewater treatment system prior to mixing with the main refinery effluent. The discharge of sewage was cleaned up and treated. | |
| 119925 2009-12-08 | LPDES outfall 006 sewer lift station | Cause: There was a storm that occurred in the NORCO area resulting in heavy rainfall . As a result of the rainfall, the Refinery Stormwater Impoundment Basin (SWIB) exceeded its maximum capacity level of 10 feet. The LPDES Outfall 006 was forced to be open and allow bypass of wastewater.
2hrs before bypass event ended,there was a failure in the sewer lift station causing sanitary sewage to mix with the bypass wastewater. Followup: Yes Notes: bypass was stopped and all required notifications were made | 65.0 gallons |
| 120661 2010-01-11 | Sewage Line | Cause: While flushing a sewer line with utility water for freeze precaution, a bleed off valve leaked sewerage to the river. Approximately 1 quart of sewerage entered the river. OFFSITE IMPACT. Followup: No Notes: No information given. | 0.3 gallons |
| 138462 2012-04-02 | Rubber boot in sewer line on Berth 1 | Cause: Through a small hole in a rubber boot on the sewer line in Berth 1, sewer water was spilled to the Mississippi River. The released material did not go through the wastewater treatment facility. Normally, the sewer line is routed to the refinery wastewater treatment facilities and then to the Mississippi River via LPDES Outfall 002. Followup: No Notes: Operations isolated the sewer line, stopping the release. Maintenance replaced the rubber boot on the sewer line at Berth 1 with a new rubber boot. | 1.0 gallons |
| 146746 2013-02-04 | berth number 1 | Cause: An unauthorized discharge of raw sewage into the Mississippi River resulted from the unanticipated bypass of the Norco Refinery wastewater treatment facility on February 4, 2013. No reportable quantities were exceeded.
At 1027 hours on February 4, 2013, Operations discovered a sewage leak into the Mississippi River from a sewage line at Berth number 1. The leak was identified at a connection point where a PVC and metal pipe are joined with a rubber clamp. After noticing the loose pipe coupling, operations isolated the water and closed the bathroom to stop any further leakage. Followup: No Notes: The released material was approximately one gallon and did not go through a wastewater treatment facility; therefore, we are reporting an unauthorized discharge as a result of the bypass of the treatment process. The damaged pipe has been repaired with a new rubber clamp. | 1.0 gallons |
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