Business and Industry Assistance

Gasoline Marketers and Transporters
The Pollution Prevention Partnership has provided assistance to gasoline marketers and transporters. According to local air quality studies, a large percentage of emissions occur during fuel deliveries to facilities when Stage I vapor recovery is not used. After working with industry representatives in advisory group meetings, an educational program was developed by the P3 using speakers with a variety of viewpoints on the importance of Stage I vapor recovery. Seminar speakers included consultant Bill Hennings, Air Program Manager Jim Bowman of the TCEQ, Regional Safety Manager Sherwood Hamilton of Mission Petroleum, and General Manager Jerry McGowan of Diamond Shamrock. Each emphasized different reasons why Stage I should be utilized. P3 initially delivered seven seminars to 262 people representing 205 of the area's 275 facilities. Stage I vapor recovery procedure use went from 15 percent to 83 percent resulting in an annual emissions reduction of over 700 tons. A recent survey observing over 100 fuel deliveries reflected over 90% of area fuel deliveries utilizing Stage I.   top

Printers
The Pollution Prevention Partnership has provided assistance to the Printing industry.

The printing industry uses inks and solvents that contain VOC's that can affect local air quality.

Workshops and site visits have been provided to 16 local printing companies. The workshops provide information regarding environmental compliance, and site visits include confidential inspections for regulatory compliance.

Learn more about specific rules and regulations regarding the printing industry.   top

Wood Product Manufacturers
The Pollution Prevention Partnership has provided assistance to the wood product industry. The wood product industry uses solvents, coatings and thinners that contain VOC's and also spray these products onto surfaces; therefore, their activities can affect local air quality.

On-site consultation services have been provided to 10 companies. Site visits include inspection of spray booths and equipment and materials used. An interview with a wood product manufacturer that received assistance from the Pollution Prevention Partnership stated that after implementing recommendations provided during a site visit, material costs decreased by approximately 20%.

Wood product shops that meet criteria for environmental compliance are exempt from having to obtain an air quality permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.   top

Dry Cleaners
The Pollution Prevention Partnership has provided assistance to the dry cleaning industry. The dry cleaning industry uses solvents that contain VOC's and therefore can affect local air quality.

During advisory group meetings with industry representatives from 18 of the City's 20 facilities, it was determined that because of the diversity in equipment and processes, a workshop approach would not be effective. Based on recommendations from industry, a site-specific approach was chosen.

The Partnership hired a recognized expert in the dry cleaning field, Chuck Davies, to visit each facility, evaluate their environmental compliance, and provide recommendations for pollution reduction. All of the 18 participants requested and received inspections. The key criteria for the industry were utilization of closed dry cleaning systems and solvent recovery units. The success of the program was demonstrated two weeks later during a visit to Corpus Christi by EPA inspectors.

The EPA spent a week inspecting Corpus Christi facilities and found them to be in compliance with the EPA standards. According to EPA, no Notices of Violation were issued.   top

Auto Paint and Body Shops
The Pollution Prevention Partnership has provided assistance to the auto paint and body industry. The auto paint and body industry uses paints, solvents, top-coats, and thinners that contain VOC's.

In addition, they spray these materials onto surfaces and therefore affect local air quality. The Pollution Prevention Partnership has provided workshops, initial site visits and follow-up site visits to over 30 auto paint and body facilities.

Workshops include environmental compliance education, and site visits include inspection of paint booths, equipment and material used. Learn more about specific rules and regulations regarding auto paint and body shops.   top

Industrial Surface Coaters
The Pollution Prevention Partnership has provided assistance to the industrial surface coaters. The industrial surface coating industry uses paints, solvents, and thinners that contain VOC's. In addition, they spray these materials onto surfaces and blast older material off of the surface, therefore affecting local air quality. The P3 provided an environmental compliance education workshop to over 25 industry representatives. Also, the P3, in coordination with an advisory committee, developed a policy, best management practices and project manager checklists for industrial surface coating activities taking place at all local Port Industries. The Port Industry Managers have adopted the policy , best management practices and project checklists and the Pollution Prevention Partnership is currently providing training to contractors and project managers to implement them. Learn more about specific rules and regulations regarding industrial surface coating.   top

Oil and Gas Producers
Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the oil and gas industry were the focus of a P3 industry initiative. New technologies and practices were being explored in order to lower overall levels of pollutants from this sector.

The Hydrocarbon Emissions Detection and Remediation (HEDR) project was designed to illustrate the advantages of reducing Volatile Organic Compound emissions (VOC) from the production side of the oil and gas industry in the Corpus Christi airshed. A reduction in VOC emissions in the airshed would result in improved air quality. The objective of the project was to demonstrate the effectiveness of a vapor recovery system in capturing these fugitive emissions.
Project collaborators included El Paso Production, who volunteered the use of their gas well production facility near Kingsville, TX. and ITT Industries Spaces Systems Division The emission sensing LIDAR equipped aircraft made several passes over the pipeline and well head with the vapor recovery system operational to provide a baseline data set. Upon completion of the base line overflights the aircraft then signaled to the ground crew to shut down the vapor recovery system and open the thief hatches to allow for the hydrocarbon vapors to escape while the aircraft made subsequent passes to detect the emissions.

Once the overflights were completed, the data were analyzed and enhanced by ITT Industries. The before and after images were compelling and presented at the November 1st 2005 Symposium on Improved Profits Through Best Managed Practices hosted by the Pollution Prevention Partnership, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the Petroleum Technology and Transfer Council and. It was concluded that vapor recovery is effective in limiting VOC emissions as well as improving profits. El Paso Production determined that the rich hydrocarbon vapors result in improved profits by as much as $35,000.00 a week from the Kingsville facility. This improved profit margin resulted in a company wide policy which requires vapor recovery systems to be installed at other El Paso Production sites when it is deemed applicable.

The full presentation for this project is available on the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council's web site at: http://www.energyconnect.com/pttc/archive/improvedprofit.htm

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