Previous Story
CUC eliminator system to lessen oily wastes at Rota power plant
CUC, EPA finalizing process to buy incinerator units for oily wastes
Mechem II
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has selected an advanced oil filtration equipment that is meant to minimize the amount of oily wastes being generated at the Rota power plant.
In a declaration submitted in court, environmental engineer F. Russell Mechem II of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disclosed that the vendor for the advanced oil filtration equipment—or eliminator system—is just about to release the equipment. It will then be brought to Rota for installation and staff training.
Mechem, EPA’s designated technical representative and project coordinator for stipulated order number 2, made the declaration that was filed in the U.S. District Court for the NMI last week in support of the U.S. government’s August 2018 status report on CUC projects.
SO2 focuses on oil issues and also applies to oil spills and the remediation of the contaminated power plants.
Mechem also disclosed that a plan for CUC to buy two incinerator units for power plants 1 and 2 in Lower Base has not been finalized nor submitted to the federal court. The machines will be used to dispose of CUC’s oil wastes.
Once approved by the court, Mechem said, the incinerator units would be located at CUC’s power plants 1 and 2 and will also handle Rota oil wastes.
In a separate report filed in court, Bradley R. O’Brien, senior lawyer of the Department of Justice Environmental Enforcement Section, said the incinerators will handle used non-hazardous oil waste streams and oily solid waste streams from power plants 1 and 2 in Lower Base and the Rota power plant.
O’Brien said that procuring and installing the incinerators is a significant potential waste management project.
Mechem said the incinerators would be bought, following a selection process via the engineering evaluation and feasibility study, which occurs after and issuance of a Bureau of Environmental Coastal Quality permit to CUC.
CUC intends to initiate the BECQ permitting process this month.
Mechem and O’Brien said the incinerator units would not be purchased until the BECQ permit is issued.
