Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0667-0016
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2009-11-05T05:00Z

Site Visit Report

	Westchester RESCO

	One Charles Point Avenue

	Peekskill, NY 10566

April 16, 2008

Background and Objectives

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of
developing 316(b) cooling water intake structure requirements that
reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse
environmental impact for all existing power plants and manufacturing
facilities. As part of this process, EPA staff is visiting electric
generators and manufacturers to better understand the cooling water
intake structure (CWIS) technologies in use at facilities, including the
site-specific characteristics of each facility and how these affect the
selection and performance of CWIS technologies.  EPA is also visiting
facilities to better understand cooling water use and specific issues or
technologies that can affect 316(b) compliance.  Wheelabrator
Westchester (Wheelabrator) was selected for a site visit due to its use
of fine mesh wedgewire screens.

Facility Description

Wheelabrator is located on a 21 acre site on the east bank of the Hudson
River at approximately river mile 44.  The facility began operations in
1984 and burns municipal solid waste.

The facility was constructed principally for solid waste disposal; it
burns 680,000 tons of trash per year (2250 tons per day) and reduces the
volume of solid waste by over 90%.  Power generation is generally
considered a secondary benefit of the disposal process, but is becoming
a more important consideration as demand for electricity increases. 
Approximately 65 employees are at the site.  The facility is owned by
Wheelabrator, whose parent company is Waste Management.

The facility’s NPDES permit (NY0109690) expires in 2010.

Electricity Generation and Transmission

Wheelabrator uses municipal solid waste for fuel in its three generating
units.  The facility has a generating capacity of 60 MW and typically
has a capacity utilization rate of greater than 90%.  Although small,
Wheelabrator is a baseload facility.  The facility consumes
approximately 13% of the electricity it generates for internal uses.

The facility has minor outages on a monthly basis.  Longer outages occur
every 3 months (boiler maintenance, requiring a 5 day outage), with a
major outage of 11 days each spring.

Electricity is transmitted to Consolidated Edison’s distribution
system.

Cooling Water Intake Structure

Wheelabrator operates one cooling water intake structure; it employs a
fine mesh (2mm) cylindrical wedgewire screen located 450 feet offshore
at a depth of 30 feet.  The design intake flow for the facility is 55
million gallons per day (MGD).  Facility representatives expect that
actual flows are approximately 50 MGD, but no flow meters are presently
installed to verify the actual flow rates.

The facility’s once-through, double pass cooling water system uses two
single speed pumps to withdraw water through four wedgewire T-screens
that feed into a single 48” pipe manifold and into the facility.  The
design intake velocity is 0.5 feet per second.

The facility’s permit limits the thermal discharge temperature to 105
degrees F; typical discharge temperatures in May to June are
approximately 92.5 degrees F.  The delta T is also limited to 25 degrees
F.

There is approximately a 2 foot tidal variation at the facility and the
direction of the tide changes every 6 hours.  In order to maintain clear
screens, the facility uses an air burst every 2 hours.  The screens are
inspected by divers twice a year, but generally require minimal
cleaning.  The facility does not have a significant problem with debris
loading or silt.  No biocides are used at the facility, as the screens
are constructed of a copper-nickel alloy to retard biofouling.

Impingement and Entrainment Information

Facility representatives stated that NYDEC has not mentioned any
concerns over 316(b) issues.  No biological monitoring is required in
the permit nor has any been conducted in recent years; facility
representatives assume that the biological studies conducted when the
facility was built are used to justify the current permit language.

Cooling Tower Feasibility

Facility representatives noted that the most efficient location for a
cooling tower would require relocating an existing building.  They also
noted a marina and other businesses to the south and a small park and
stormwater collection site to the north.  They added that Westchester
County is planning a riverwalk for the Hudson River, which would require
sacrificing 15 to 20 feet of land along the western (river) border of
the property and would affect the available space for a cooling tower.

Facility representatives added that the use of cooling towers would
decrease the generating capacity of the facility, thereby reducing the
overall volume of “green” energy on the market.

Additional Information

Wheelabrator owns 17 refuse-to-energy facilities in the U.S., with the
first facility beginning operations in 1975.  Facility representatives
added that Europe has banned the development of new landfills,
indicating a trend towards refuse-to-energy facilities.

Facility representatives described the extensive air emissions
technologies in place, noting that the facility’s emissions are
significantly lower than all fossil fuel plants.  They added that some
data indicate that a large fireworks show may generate more air
emissions than the facility would produce over a period of several
years.  Modern refuse-to-energy facilities are typically constructed
with these emissions controls as a standard feature.

Attachments

Attachment A		List of Attendees

Attachment B		Aerial Photo

Attachment C		Wheelabrator Information Sheet

Attachment D		Site Visit Photos

Attachment A--List of Attendees

Paul Shriner, EPA

Jan Matuszko, EPA

Kelly Meadows, Tetra Tech

Brett Baker, Wheelabrator Westchester

Michael Idiagbor, Wheelabrator Westchester

Peter Kendrigan, Wheelabrator Westchester

Suzanne May, Wheelabrator Westchester

Attachment B—Aerial Photo

Please see DCN 10-6517B accompanying this document.

Attachment C--Wheelabrator Information Sheet

Please see DCN 10-6517A accompanying this document.

Attachment D-- Site Visit Photos

Please see DCNs 10-6517C-E accompanying this document.

 Indian Point and Lovett, two other Phase II facilities, are located
just downstream.

 Municipal waste does not include medical or construction waste;
facility representatives stated that acquiring the permits to burn these
wastes is much more difficult, if not prohibitive.  Wheelabrator is not
involved in the pickup of trash; all curbside trash pickup is conducted
by Westchester County, who pays a dumping fee to dispose of the waste at
the facility.

 The air sparge is triggered manually by facility engineers to minimize
effects to passing boats.

 Facility representatives estimated that the maintenance performed by
the divers costs approximately $15,000 per year.

 Two-thirds of the facility’s footprint is air emissions control
equipment.

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