United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Research and Development
National Risk Management
Research Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH 45268
EPA/600/S-95/014 August 1995
Project Summary
Pollution Prevention Opportunity
Assessments of U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers Civil Works
Facilities
The Pollution Prevention Opportunity
Assessments (PPOA) summarized here
were conducted at the following repre-
fn2^!=f U^ Army CorPs of Engineers
(USAGE) Civil Works facilities? Pitts-
burgh Engineering Warehouse and Re-
pair Station (PEWARS) and Emsworth
Locks and Dams in Pittsburgh, PA; Gar-
rison Dam Hydroelectric Powerplant in
Riverdale, ND; and John H. Kerr Dam
and Reservoir in Boydton, VA. The
PPOAs were conducted under the U S
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Waste Reduction Evaluations At Fed-
eral Sites (WREAFS) Program and were
funded by the Department of Defense
Strategic Environmental Research and
Development Program (SERDP)
Although the facilities studied were
efficiently designed and employees
have established numerous on-site pro-
cedures resulting in the reduction of
waste generation, opportunities were
identified for further action. The PPOA
reports identify and discuss the eco-
nomic and technical feasibility of po-
tential source reduction and recycling
opportunities at the facilities studied
The alternatives presented in the re-
ports have application to similar Fed-
eral, non-Federal and private sector
facilities.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's National Risk Management
Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH,
to announce key findings of the re-
search project that is fully documented
in three separate reports (see Project
Report ordering information at back).
Introduction
This project summary describes three
Pollution Prevention Opportunity Assess-
ments conducted at U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers Civil Works facilities under the
Waste Reduction Evaluations At Federal
Sites (WREAFS) Program. The purposes
of the WREAFS Program are to identify
new technologies and techniques for re-
ducing wastes from industrial processes
at Federal sites, and to enhance the imple-
mentation of pollution prevention through
technology transfer. New techniques and
technologies for reducing waste genera-
tion are identified through pollution pre-
vention opportunity assessments (PPOA)
and may be further evaluated through joint
research, development, and demonstra-
tion projects.
The assessments were conducted us-
ing the procedures outlined in EPA's Fa-
cility Pollution Prevention Guide (EPA/600/
R-92/088). The assessments had two ma-
jor phases. The first phase quantified
waste generation and management prac-
tices. The second phase identified and
evaluated the feasibility of opportunities
and techniques to eliminate, reduce or
recycle wastes.
The facilities studied in the PPOAs were-
a navigation lock and dam; a warehouse
and a maintenance and repair facility; a
hydroelectric power plant; and a flood con-
trol dam and reservoir with associated pub-
lic recreation areas. Other Federal
agencies, such as the Bureau of Recla-
mation and the Tennessee Valley Author-
ity havei similar functions and facilities as
do states and the private sector. Thus
Printed on Recycled Paper
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the results of the PPOAs described in the
three full reports have applicability to a
broad audience.
Results and Discussion
Garrison Dam Hydroelectric
Power Plant
The Garrison Dam Hydroelectric Power
Plant (GDHP) Is located on the Missouri
River 55 miles northwest of Bismarck, ND.
For the most part the GDHP can serve as
a model for a well-run, clean industrial
facility, but there are two areas in which
the GDHP can potentially reduce waste
generation: (1) wicket gate lubrication; and
(2) antifreeze and bubbler system opera-
tions. In addition, there are several less
significant areas of potential improvement,
such as oil sampling, parts cleaning, and
recycling.
Wicket Gate Lubrication
The GDHP has five turbines, each lo-
cated in a penstock and powering a gen-
erator. In the normal operation of a turbine,
the wicket gates, which are inside the
penstock directly above the turbines, con-
trol water flow passing from the penstock
to the turbine. The bronze-coated wicket
gate bearings, on which the wicket gates
pivot, must be continuously lubricated.
The GDHP uses approximately 3,200
Ib/yr of a grease called Multifak EP2 to
lubricate its wicket gate bearings. Essen-
tially all of this grease escapes into the
water flowing past the wicket gates.
Synthetic bearing systems have been
installed in powerplant wicket gate bear-
ings, as well as turbine main bearings and
other bearings in turbine/wicket gate sys-
tem. One system studied uses a bronzed
bearing with a coating of a material called
Thordon, which functions as a lubricant-
impregnated spongelike matrix. Thordon
systems have been used since the early
1970s and appear to have an excellent
reliability record. Most of the installations
have been in Canadian facilities; however,
similar systems have also been installed
in one of the wicket gate systems at Tim's
Ford Hydroelectric Powerplant, a Tennes-
see Valley Authority (TVA) facility.
A second system, the Lubron system,
manufactured by Lubron Bearing Systems,
uses a teflon base in a bronze substrate.
The Teflon has lubrication in its matrix,
and additional lubricant can be deposited
in machined recesses in the bearings.
Lubron is being used at the Tim's Ford
TVA plant in the shift ring for the wicket
gate arms. The Lubron system was in-
stalled at the same time as the Thordon
bearings, and has likewise performed with-
out problems.
A general comparison of the bronze
greased lubrication bearing system and
the non-grease lubricated systems is in-
cluded in the report.
Chemical Antifreeze Use
Ice formation on the spillway tainter
gates prevents their proper working in case
of an emergency discharge, and might
damage the gates or cause them to fail.
To keep ice formation from reaching the
gates, the GDHP spillway was built with
an underwater bubbler system. To supple-
ment the bubbler system and clear the
bubbler lines of ice, the GDHP employs
chemical antifreeze treatment in the bub-
bler lines. Vaporized Frosto (mostly metha-
nol) is injected into the compressed air
bubbler lines running near the tainter gates.
Table 1 contains a summary of the pos-
sible alternative methods of reducing pol-
lution from tainter gate deicing.
Table 2 contains a summary of the most
significant waste streams generated by
Table 1. Options to Reduce Methanol Use at the Tainter Gates
Option to
Reduce
Methanol
Use
Bubbler system
repair
Operational
readiness
evaluation
Physical Ice
reduction
options (heater
system, water
mixer)
Alternate
chemical use
Pulse rate
reduction
Requirements for
Introducing Option
•
Dredge lake bottom;
stabilize lake banks;
overhaul bubbler system
Internal evaluation by
the USAGE
Evaluation of the tainter
gates preceded by install-
ation of system
Assessment of applicabil-
ity in current system; might
require extensive equip-
ment modifications
Determine lowest reasonable
level of chemical injection;
make minor equipment
modifications
Estimated
Costs
$1.5 million
Facilities would bear no
direct costs if a USAGE
research group performed
the evaluation
Equipment cost is about
$20,000 per gate; electric-
ity costs are hard to pre-
dict, but costs would likely
be around $4,000 per gate
Equipment modification costs
are not predictable-they could
be minimal or run into many
thousands of dollars; chemical
costs would be similar to
current chemical costs
Total costs would likely not
exceed $1,000 per unit; some
units allow pulse reduction by
simply changing their settings
Advantages
The repair would allow
bubbler to operate effect-
ively; would reduce erosion
of banks ensuring future op-
eration of bubbler
No additional equipment or
chemicals required; only
procedural changes
Once installed, units would
generate little pollution and
allow less antifreeze to be
consumed
Toxicity of chemicals intro?
duced to the environment
would be reduced
Simple, low cost pollution
prevention measure
Disadvantages
Very expensive repair; chemical
use might not be markedly decreased
Evaluation may take time; USAGE
may feel operational readiness can
not be compromised
Data on systems only from 1991
forward, so reliability is not
confirmed; increased elec-
tricity consumption
Total chemical consumption might
not markedly change; feasibility
of modifying equipment must be
assessed
If chemicals are reduced too much,
ice might form at tainter gates
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Table 2.
Summary of Significant Waste Streams Generated by the GDHP and Recommended Options for the Waste Stream
Reduction or Modification
Wastefs) Generated
Frosto (mostly methanol)
Multifak EP2
Lubricant, transformer, and
OCB oil
Lubricant, transformer, and
OCB oil: ft'/ters- nil aluHna
Source of Waste
Generation
Bubbler system
operation
Wicket gate
lubrication
Oil testing
Oil transfer and recycling
Amount of Waste
Generation
Approximately
1,6SOgal/yr
Approximately
1,500gal/yr
Approximately
30gal/yr
Less than 20 gal/yr
Recommended Options
1. Repair bubbler system
2.. Add heating elements
3. Use alternate antifreeze
4. Lower antifreeze injection pulse rate to bubbler
5. Reassess need for fully operational spillway year-round
Install non-grease lubricated bearings in
wicket gate system
1. Reduce sampling volumes to lowest levels possible
2. Reduce sampling frequency to lowest reasonable levels
1. Use caution during transfers
Mineral Spirits
Parts washing
oil; less than 100 to
of filter waste; less than
30 gal/yr sludge
Approximately
55 gal/yr
2. Reduce recycling frequencies if feasible
1. Use ultrasonic cleaners instead of solvent bath
2. Locate acceptable alternate solvent with preferable
environmental characteristics
the GDHP, and options recommended for
those streams.
Pittsburgh Engineer Warehouse
and Repair Station (PEWARS)
and Emsworth Locks and Dams
The Pittsburgh Engineer Warehouse and
Repair Station (PEWARS) is located on
Neville Island between the main and back
channels of the Ohio River near the town
of Emsworth, PA. Operations performed
at the two facilities are related, in that
PEWARS performs painting, depainting,
storage, and routine and major mainte^
nance operations for all flood control and
navigation projects in the USAGE Pitts-
burgh District, including Emsworth; how-
ever, normal operations are quite different
at the two facilities.
The Emsworth Locks and Dams Sys-
tem is located on the Ohio River, 6.2
miles downstream of Pittsburgh, PA. The
main portion of the project consisting of
two locks and a gated dam, located on
the main channel. The second portion,
which consists of a single gated dam, is
located on the back channel of the river.
The dams are created to maintain a chan-
nel depth that will accommodate large ves-
sels, such as commercial barges. The
locks enable vessels to be raised or low-
ered to the water levels created by the
dams.
Both Emsworth Locks and Dams and
PEWARS have areas of operations that
could benefit from the following pollution
prevention initiatives.
1. Installation of non-grease lubri-
cated bearings, chains, gears,
and other components in the lock
and dam system where possible.
A major task involved during rou-
tine maintenance activities con-
ducted on the lock-operating
machinery is ensuring that a proper
amount of lubricant is present on
all bearings and other parts requir-
ing lubrication. Synthetic systems
have been used in water contain-
ing relatively high concentrations of
undissolved solids, as might be
found in lock and dam systems;
however, there is no proven history
of the application of synthetic ma-
terials in lock and dam systems. Its
use in this situation could be stud-
ied and demonstrated.
2. Replacement of the current cen-
tralized hydraulic system with lo-
calized units incorporating
accessible oil flow lines. Hydrau-
lic pressure is used in the daily
operation of the Emsworth Locks
and Dams to open and close the
lock gates and butterfly valves in
the lock system. If a break occurs
in one of the hydraulic lines, a sig-
nificant spill could occur in a short
period of time. It would be environ-
mentally preferable to install a sys-
tem with localized hydraulic oil units,
like the system currently used at
Emsworth to operate the tow haul-
age and retriever system.
3. Substitution of the current
depainting method with a lower-
waste generating alternative.
PEWARS utilizes a product called
Black Beauty (made up of bitumi-
nous coal) applied with a Chemco
sandblaster for paint removal. Once
a gate is depainted, the blast mate-
rial is tested for lead content. If the
lead content is greater than 5 ppm,
the waste must be disposed of as
: hazardous waste. The possible sub-
stitutes for the current depainting
method at PEWARS are: (1) open
abrasive blast cleaning with recy-
clable abrasives; (2) high pressure
water jetting with abrasives; and
(3) ultra-high pressure water jetting
with abrasives. Table 3 contains a
direct comparison of these three
methods.
4. Substitution of the current paint
and application method with a
lower VOC-emitting system
PEWARS has already undertaken
major steps to reduce pollution gen-
erated by painting. The use of an
airless spray system with epoxy
paint complies with requirements for
VOC levels in paints, which must
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TaWa 3. Comparison of Recommended Alternative Paint Removal Methods
Method
Number
Method
Name
Open abrasive blast
cleaning with recycl-
able abrasive
High pressure water
Jetting with abrasive
injection
Ultra-high pressure
water jetting with
abrasive injection
Equipment
INvestment
Very
expensive
Expensive
Very
expensive
Removal
Efficiency
Excellent in all
areas
Good to
excellent in
all areas
Good to
excellent in
all areas
Production
Speed
Very high
Moderate
to high
High
Environmental
Advantages
Recycling of abrasive
results In lowest vol-
ume of waste gener-
ation of tested meth-
ods
Much less debris
than current method
Much less debris
than current method
Environmental
Disadvantages
Waste may be hazardous
due to potential for in-
creased lead concen-
trations
More debris than method
2; waste may be hazardous
due to potential tor in-
creased lead concentrations
More debris than method
2; waste may be hazardous
due to potential tor increased
lead concentrations
contain less than 2.8 Ib/gal. This
system is also easily applied and
has shown reasonable durability.
However, there are alternative sys-
tems being developed which may
prove to be reliable and reduce
waste generation. These alterna-
tives are shown in Table 4. Any of
these three methods would produce
significantly less solid waste than
the current operations at PEWARS.
5. Further implementing the central-
ization of and tracking system
for the Inventory control process.
This would help prevent purchas-
ing duplicate materials, and there-
fore reduce shelf-life losses.
Of the five Initiatives given above, Num-
bers 1 and 2 are applicable to any lock
and dam site. Numbers 3, 4 and 5 would
apply to any facility that performs major
maintenance or storage. Number 3 ap-
pears to be an excellent candidate for a
demonstration project. Initiative 4 could
also prove beneficial if powder or 100%
solid coatings progress to the point where
they are suitable for conditions such as
those found at PEWARS and Emsworth
Locks and Dams.
Table 5 provides a list of waste streams
generated at Emsworth and PEWARS, and
options recommended for those waste
streams.
John H. Ken Dam and
Reservoir
The John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir is
located on the Roanoke River 55 miles
north of Raleigh, NC and 100 miles south-
west of Richmond, VA. The project was
authorized by the Flood Control Act of
1944, and was constructed for flood con-
trol and aquatic recreation needs. Addi-
tional purposes of the project include
domestic water supply, water supply for
hydroelectric power generation, water qual-
ity control, wildlife management, and navi-
gation.
The facilities discussed in the full report
are: (1) North Bend Park maintenance
facility, spray irrigation water treatment
system, marina, and campground, all op-
erated by USAGE; (2) Longwood Park,
operated by USAGE; (3) the pump station
at Island Creek Dam, operated by USAGE;
(4) Satterwhite Point State Park mainte-
nance facility and wastewater treatment
system, operated under lease by the State
of North Carolina Department of Parks
and Recreation; and (5) the Clarksville
Marina, a privately owned concession un-
der lease.
There has been substantial cooperation
between these Federal, state, local, and
private organizations. However, several
specific areas were identified which could
benefit from pollution prevention efforts.
These areas are summarized in Table 6.
Conclusion
For the most part, the majority of envi-
ronmental effects from USAGE Civil Works
facilities occur during construction. Less
pollution is generated as a result of the
operation, maintenance, replacement or
repair of these facilities; however, several
areas can be targeted for pollution reduc-
tion. At Garrison Dam Hydroelectric
Powerplant, the six areas identified for the
greatest potential reduction in waste gen-
erations were wicket gate lubrication,
tainter gate maintenance, oil sampling and
recycling, parts washing, consumer prod-
uct recycling, and inventory control. The
greatest potential for pollution reduction at
PEWARS and Emsworth Locks and Dams
were lubrication and the hydraulic system
used to transport the oils; painting and
depainting, and inventory control practices.
At John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir, the
areas of greatest pollution prevention po-
tential were expanding the use of recycled
plastic timbers instead of creosoted rail-
road ties, oily rag generation, antifreeze
for toilets and piping, parts washing and
degreasing, solid waste separation and
recycling, and inventory control.
The full reports were submitted in fulfill-
ment of Contract No. 68-D2-0181, Work
Assignment No. 1-011 by TRC Environ-
mental Corporation under the sponsorship
of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
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Table 6. Summary of Pollution Prevention Recommendations for John H. KerrDam and Reservoir Areas
Site for
Implementation
Activity
Description
Current Practice
Recommended
Alternative Practice
Benefits of
Alternative
All locations
North Bend State Park-
Maintenance Facilities
North Bend State Park-
Maintenance Facilities,
Sattemhite Point State Park
North Bend State Park-
Maintenance Facilities,
Ctarksvilla Marina
North Bend State Park,
Sattenvhite Point State Park
Island Creek Dam and
Pump Station
Clarksville Marina and
other marinas
Railroad tie replacement Wood, creosote, and recycled Use recycled plastic ties as
Oily rag generation from
car oil changes
Antifreeze for toilets and
piping
Parts washing and
degreasing
Solid waste separation
Inventory control
Human waste disposal
plastic tie replacements
Disposal in 55-gal drums
Ethylene glycol used as
an antifreeze
Mineral spirits used in
parts washer
Many recyclable materials
are disposed of as solid
waste
Materials are not always
accounted for and can be
allowed to expire
Boaters must haul wastes
up hill and pay fee
much as possible
Wringer system to recover oil
and allow reuse of rags
Use ofpropylene glycol instead
of ethylene glycol
Alternative solvent, such as
various DuPont® solvents
Encourage recycling, allow civic
groups to collect recyclables,
provide bins
Ensure adequate recordkeeping,
allow unneeded chemicals to be
distributed
Put sewer hookups near boats,
recoup fee in a less
direct method
Reduces use of virgin
materials
Reduces amount of
oil and rags consumed
Much lower toxicity
Reduced VOC emissions
Reduced solid waste
generation
Reduced solid and
hazardous waste
generation
Reduce unsanitary
waste disposal
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This Project Summary was authored by the staff of TRC Environmental
Corporation, Chapel Hilt, NC, 26514.
Theresa Hoagland Is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
This Summary covers research documented in three separate reports:
(1) "Pollution Prevention Opportunity Assessment United States Army
Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh Engineer Warehouse and Repair Station
andEmsworth Locks and Dams, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania," (Order No.
PB95-260261; Cost: $19.50, subject to change).
(2) "Pollution Prevention Opportunity Assessment of the United States
Army Corps of Engineers Garrison Dam Hydroelectric Powerplant,
Riverdale, North Dakota," (Order No. PB95-260253; Cost $27.00,
(3) "Pollution Prevention Opportunity Assessment at the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers John H.Kerr Dam and Reservoir, Boydton, Virginia,"
(Order No. PB95-260246; Cost: $17.50, subject to change).
The above reports will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Spring field, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH 45268
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
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EPA/600/S-95/014
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