DOCKETED Docket 86-AFC-01C Number: Project Title: Compliance - Application for Certification for the (ACE) Argus Cogeneration Expansion AFC TN #: 204090 Document Title: Argus Cogeneration Expansion Project Decommissioning Staff Analysis Description: N/A Filer: Dale Rundquist Organization: California Energy Commission Submitter Role: Commission Staff Submission 4/8/2015 1:57:01 PM Date: Docketed Date: 4/8/2015 STATE OF CALIFORNIA – NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION 1516 NINTH STREET SACRAMENTO, CA 95814-5512 www.energy.ca.gov DATE: April 8, 2015 TO: Interested Parties FROM: Dale Rundquist, Compliance Project Manager SUBJECT: Argus Cogeneration Expansion Project (86-AFC-1C) Staff Analysis of Petition to Decommission On November 25, 2014, the ACE Cogeneration Company, LP (ACC), the owner of the Argus Cogeneration Expansion (ACE) Project, filed a petition with the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) requesting to decommission the ACE project. Staff prepared an analysis of this proposed decommissioning that can be reviewed on the Energy Commission website for this facility (see below). The coal-fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) 100-megawatt cogeneration project was certified by the Energy Commission as a demonstration project on January 6, 1988. The project demonstrated the CFB combustion system that produced electricity and steam from solid fuels under California’s stringent air emission standards. The Energy Commission approved the conclusion of demonstration activities on June 8, 1994. The ACE project provided electricity to Southern California Edison (SCE) for sale, and steam to the Searles Valley Mineral (SVM) facility for use in its industrial processes. The plant consists of a single, coal-fired CFB boiler and a single steam turbine generator (STG). It was also equipped for supplementary natural gas firing for startup. The project is located on the northwest side of Searles Lake in Trona, San Bernardino County, California. ACC’s existing Power Purchase Agreement with SCE expires in November 2015. Under California’s greenhouse gas emissions requirements, ACE would no longer be economically viable using coal as a fuel after the power purchase agreement expires. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the SCE service territory, ACC signed an agreement with SCE to terminate operation of the ACE project in December 2014. The plant ceased operations as of October 2, 2014, has been placed in an outage condition to secure the facility and minimize environmental hazards (ACE 2014a). Section 20 of the Original Commission Decision for the ACE project requires ACC to prepare and submit a Decommissioning Plan to the Energy Commission for review and approval. California Energy Commission staff (staff) reviewed the petition and assessed the impacts of this proposal on environmental quality and on public health and safety. In the Staff Analysis, staff proposes new Air Quality Conditions of Certification AQ-SC4, AQ-SC5, and AQ-SC6, revised Cultural Resources Conditions of Certification CUL-2 and CUL-3, new Hazardous Materials Conditions of Certification HAZ-1, HAZ-2, HAZ-3, and HAZ-4, new Hazardous Waste Condition of Certification WASTE-11, and new ACE Project Interested Parties April 8, 2015 Page 2 Worker Safety Conditions of Certification WORKER SAFETY-1, WORKER SAFETY-2, and WORKER SAFETY-3. It is staff’s opinion that, with the implementation of these new and revised conditions, in addition to the existing conditions, the ACE project would comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards (LORS), and the proposed conditions of certification would not result in any significant, adverse, direct, indirect, or cumulative impacts to the environment (20 Cal. Code of Regs., § 1769). Energy Commission staff intends to recommend approval of the petition at the May 13, 2015 Business Meeting of the Energy Commission. The Energy Commission’s webpage for this facility, http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/argus/, has a link to the petition and the Staff Analysis on the right side of the webpage in the box labeled “Compliance Proceeding.” Click on the “Documents for this Proceeding (Docket Log)” option. After the Business Meeting, the Energy Commission’s Order regarding this petition will also be available from the same webpage. This notice has been mailed to the Commission’s list of interested parties and property owners adjacent to the facility site. It has also been e-mailed to the facility listserv. The listserv is an automated Energy Commission e-mail system by which information about this facility is e-mailed to parties who have subscribed. To subscribe, go to the Commission’s webpage for this facility, cited above, scroll down the right side of the project webpage to the box labeled “Subscribe,” and provide the requested contact information. Any person may comment on the Staff Analysis. Those who wish to comment on the analysis are asked to submit their comments by 5:00 p.m., May 8, 2015. To use the Energy Commission’s electronic commenting feature, go to the Energy Commission’s webpage for this facility, cited above, click on the “Submit e-Comment” link, and follow the instructions in the on-line form. Be sure to include the facility name in your comments. Once submitted, the Energy Commission Dockets Unit reviews and approves your comments, and you will receive an e‐mail with a link to them. Written comments may also be mailed or hand-delivered to: California Energy Commission Dockets Unit, MS-4 Docket No. 86-AFC-1C 1516 Ninth Street Sacramento, CA 95814-5512 All comments and materials filed with and approved by the Dockets Unit will be added to the facility Docket Log and become publically accessible on the Energy Commission’s webpage for the facility. If you have questions about this notice, please contact Dale Rundquist, Compliance Project Manager, at (916) 651-2072, or by fax to (916) 654-3882, or via e-mail to [email protected]. ACE Project Interested Parties April 8, 2015 Page 3 For information on participating in the Energy Commission's review of the petition, please call the Public Adviser at (800) 822-6228 (toll-free in California) or send your e- mail to [email protected]. News media inquiries should be directed to the Energy Commission Media Office at (916) 654-4989, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Mail List 753 Argus Cogeneration Expansion Listserv ARGUS COGENERATION EXPANSION PROJECT (86-AFC-1C) PETITION TO DECOMMISSION Executive Summary Dale Rundquist INTRODUCTION On November 25, 2014, the ACE Cogeneration Company, LP (ACC), the owner of the Argus Cogeneration Expansion (ACE) Project, filed a petition with the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) requesting to decommission the ACE project. The coal-fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) 100-megawatt cogeneration project was certified by the Energy Commission as a demonstration project on January 6, 1988. The project demonstrated the CFB combustion system that produced electricity and steam from solid fuels under California’s stringent air emission standards. The Energy Commission approved the conclusion of demonstration activities on June 8, 1994. The ACE project provided electricity to Southern California Edison (SCE) for sale, and steam to the Searles Valley Mineral (SVM) facility for use in its industrial processes. The plant consists of a single, coal-fired CFB boiler and a single steam turbine generator (STG). The decommissioning proposed in the petition would result in the power plant and other facilities being demolished and removed and the license being terminated. The purpose of the Energy Commission’s review process is to assess any impacts the proposed decommissioning would have on environmental quality and on public health and safety. The process includes an evaluation of the consistency of the proposed changes with the Energy Commission’s Final Decision and an assessment of whether the project, as modified, would remain in compliance with applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards (20 Cal. Code Regs., § 1769). Energy Commission staff (staff) has completed its review of all materials received. The Staff Analysis below is staff’s assessment of the project owner’s proposal to decommission the ACE project. PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION ACE is a 100-megawatt (MW) coal-fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) cogeneration project, located on the northwest side of Searles Lake in Trona, San Bernardino County, California. The project was certified by the Energy Commission on January 8, 1988, and began commercial operation in January, 1991. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED DECOMMISSIONING Upon the cessation of plant operations at the ACE project on October 2, 2014, the plant was placed in a long-term outage condition to secure the facility and minimize environmental hazards. Prior to the outage, all remaining coal and limestone stored on- site was consumed. April 2015 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY During the outage: all of the remaining ash will be disposed of in the plant’s ash land fill, and the land fill will be closed except for a small portion to be used for later disposal of the refractory lining; all fluids including ammonia for the air emission control system will be drained, returned or disposed of; the plant will be de-energized; and the appropriate plant interconnections to off-site services will be isolated. Decommissioning of ACE involves selling easily removed tools and equipment of no interest to the new buyer of the site, Sabco, Inc (Sabco), dismantling/demolishing the power plant and any other facilities not retained by Sabco, recycling components and materials to the extent possible, hauling off and disposing of the remaining waste, remediating portions of the site if necessary, and cleaning-up the site. The demolition and site clean-up activities will take approximately six months. Following the decommissioning, any equipment and facilities shared with SVM and not to be used by Sabco, such as the coal unloading facility and storage barn, will be turned over to SVM according to separate agreements.