The Chevron El Segundo Refinery may perform a planned flare release by midnight Wednesday, according to notification sent to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The planned flare release would be associated with "routine maintenance" that typically involves a processing unit being "taken out of service" and then being brought "back online," said Rod Spackman, Chevron's manager of policy, government and public affairs for the Los Angeles Basin.
Chevron is legally required to send notification of any possible flare event, though that does not mean a flare event will happen, he said. AQMD Rule 1118 requires notification when any possible flare event could exceed one or more of the following daily limits:
- 500,000 standard cubic feet of vent gas combusted,
- 100 pounds of VOC emitted, and/or
- 500 pounds of oxides of sulfur emitted
Flaring is a safety device designed to combust in the air rather than impact the processing units, which would have a greater impact, he said. At the town hall meeting, Chevron's Jeff Wagner said flaring is used to eliminate excess propane resulting from the refining process.
The Chevron El Segundo Refinery has notified AQMD of other possible flare events that could exceed a daily limit, however, no flaring took place.
The notices in those instances were for July 19 beginning at 11:30 a.m. through July 21 at 11:30 a.m. and another for July 13 beginning at 10:30 a.m. through July 16 10:30 a.m. No flaring occurred in either instance.
The Chevron El Segundo Refinery had two unplanned emergency flare events in January and held a public town hall meeting in Manhattan Beach last week. Spackman said the meeting was "kind of a collaboration" between city officials and Chevron and "just an opportunity that came up" for Chevron staff to speak in person with community members.
- Previously: 'Malfunction' Sends Flame, Smoke Skyward
- Previously: Unplanned Chevron Flare-Up Shoots Flame Skyward
- Previously: Chevron North of Manhattan Beach in CA Top 5 Releasers of Chemicals: EPA
- Previously: Chevron El Segundo Staff Updates Community at Town Hall Meeting
Chevron's 24-hour community helpline staff is available by calling (310) 615-5342.
If you'd like to receive email alerts reporting a planned flare event, click here to complete the online form.
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To notify AQMD of air quality problems in your area, call 1-800-CUT-SMOG.
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