Pinellas County Resource Recovery Facility Capital Replacement Project: “Securing a Retrofit Investment — A Capital Replacement Initiative”

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Peter Stasis ◽  
Robert E. Henson ◽  
Ronald D. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Resource Recovery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Operating Life ◽  
Pinellas County ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
To Come ◽  
Capital Replacement

Abstract The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1990 set new emission standards for Waste-To-Energy (WTE) plants throughout the United States. Pinellas County, Florida, has achieved compliance with the new emission guidelines by completing an Air Pollution Control Retrofit to their Resource Recovery Facility (PCRRF) in 2000. Pinellas County, the owner of the PCRRF, now faces the challenge of preserving this investment for the years to come. This paper describes the additional investments being made by Pinellas County as part of the Capital Replacement Project (CRP) to extend the operating life of PCRRF.

Pinellas County Resource Recovery Facility Capital Replacement Project: One Year of Improved MSW Throughput and Electrical Generation

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. White ◽  
Donald J. Castro ◽  
Robert Hauser
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Resource Recovery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Pinellas County ◽  
Energy Plant ◽  
One Year ◽  
Electrical Generation ◽  
Capital Replacement

In May of 2003, the 3,150 TPD Pinellas County Resource Recovery Facility (PCRRF), the largest waste-to-energy plant in the United States, reached its 20-year milestone. The PCRRF is located in St. Petersburg, Florida, on a 705 acre (1.1 square mile) site owned by Pinellas County and known as “Bridgeway Acres”. The PCRRF has been owned by Pinellas County, operated by Wheelabrator Pinellas, Inc. (WPI) and monitored by HDR Engineering, Inc. since its inception. In addition to the PCRRF, the County operates both Class I and Class III landfills on the site.

Pinellas County Resource Recovery Facility Capital Replacement Project

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Castro ◽  
R. Peter Stasis
Keyword(s):  
Resource Recovery ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Pinellas County ◽  
Current Term ◽  
To Come ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Additional Service ◽  
Capital Replacement

Pinellas County has completed the first two phases of a four-phase project intended to preserve the life of the Pinellas County Resource Recovery Facility (PCRRF) for years to come. This project, called the Capital Replacement Project (CRP), is designed to restore key portions of the County’s investment, and prepare the facility for a smooth transition to a new operating contract when the current term expires in 2007. By the end of 2004, with the scheduled completion of the CRP project, key plant systems and components are expected to be in robust condition and capable of many years of additional service.

Battles over US waterways policies are ahead

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Weak State ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Agriculture Industry ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
The Subject

Significance Later this year, the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection (NWP) rule comes into force, the subject of the group's concern. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalised the rule in late January. The rule redefines which US waters are protected under the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA), and replaces the 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. Legal challenges meant WOTUS was never implemented, but it still worried agriculture, industry and landowners as it potentially expanded federal anti-pollution oversight to previously unregulated waters and adjacent private land. The NWP is the latest effort in the Trump administration’s environmental deregulation drive affecting climate change, clean air, natural resources extraction, parklands and endangered species. Impacts The greatest beneficiaries of scrapping WOTUS are likely to be mining, construction and chemicals industries. Weak state-level enforcement could reduce wetlands protection by more than a return to pre-2015 levels that the NWP professes. More polluted US rivers could aggravate riparian disputes with Mexico.

Update on Spray Dryer Absorber Technology for WTE

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Saab ◽  
Michael Sandell ◽  
Vincent Petti ◽  
Gabriel Pacheco
Keyword(s):  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Filter Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Spray Dryer ◽  
Control Technology ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Fabric Filter

Siemens Environmental Systems & Services (SESS), formerly Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control (WAPC) started up their first SDA on a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incinerator in 1987, and now have 50 operating at Waste to Energy (WTE) plants alone. We were pioneers in the development of semi-dry scrubbing technology and are continuously improving it. While Spray Dryer Absorber (SDA) / Fabric Filter (FF) technology is not new, it is still a viable option for multi-pollutant control from many processes including Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incinerators. It has been the Best Available Control Technology for this industry during the last 25 years. High performance and reliability have been experienced at these facilities across the United States. The simple, proven design of the SDA/FF system has been shown to be effective in acid gas, particulate, heavy metals, and dioxin/furan control. Technology advancements make this technology even more attractive. This paper will provide an update on SDA/FF technology for controlling emissions from MSW incinerators, particularly in relation to performance enhancements, including advancements in SDA dual fluid nozzles and Fabric Filter design. The new generation SESS Fabric Filter enhances system performance by providing lower emissions, lower compressed air consumption, and longer bag life.

Reprocurement Considerations for an Existing Municipally Owned Refuse-to-Energy Plant: Pinellas County, Florida

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren N. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Resource Recovery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spare Parts ◽  
Project Schedule ◽  
Pinellas County ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Metals Recovery ◽  
Energy Facility ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Construction Operation

On May 7, 2007, the operating agreement for the Pinellas County mass-burn resource recovery facility will expire. This contract, originally negotiated in the late 1970’s is one of the first in the United States for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a municipally owned refuse-to-energy facility, and thus is one of the first to expire. In late 2003, Pinellas County began the process to reprocure an operator for its resource recovery facility under the terms of a new long-term agreement. This paper discusses planning processes and reprocurement activities to date, including hiring a reprocurement consulting engineer; formation of the project team (Project Working Group and Project Oversight Committee); development of the project schedule; and, identification of the reprocurement approach (informal meetings with vendors, Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals). The paper also addresses certain technical and contractual issues associated with contracting a 24-year old refuse-to-energy facility. Technical items considered are a modified approach to ash processing and metals recovery; whether or not to continue the WESPhix® ash treatment process; and the need for various capital improvements. Contractual matters include such items as ownership of spare parts; availability of operating documents and record drawings; transfer of proprietary licenses; and consideration of a transition agreement. Pinellas County’s reprocurement is being designed with the primary goal of developing a process that is fair, open and competitive; and one that provides a level playing field for all interested proposers. The paper draws comparisons between the reprocurement methods and processes considered, with conclusions about why the final reprocurement approach was selected.

scholarly journals Two Cheers for Air Pollution Control: Triumphs and Limits of the Mid-Century Fight for Air Quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merlin Chowkwanyun
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Local Experience ◽  
The Us ◽  
Clean Air

This article analyzes the early years of 20th-century air pollution control in Los Angeles. In both scholarship and public memory, mid-century efforts at the regional level were overshadowed by major federal developments, namely the Clean Air Act and creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. Yet the mid-century local experience was highly consequential and presaged many subsequent challenges that persist today. The article begins with an exploration of the existential, on-the-ground misery of smog in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s. The article examines the role that scientific evidence on smog did and did not play in regulation, the reasons smog control galvanized support across various constituencies in the region, and, finally, some of mid-century air pollution’s limits.

scholarly journals What Do Economists Have to Say about the Clean Air Act 50 Years after the Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency?

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Currie ◽  
Reed Walker
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Clean Air Act ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clean Air

Air quality in the United States has improved dramatically over the past 50 years in large part due to the introduction of the Clean Air Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce it. This article is a reflection on the 50-year anniversary of the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, describing what economic research says about the ways in which the Clean Air Act has shaped our society—in terms of costs, benefits, and important distributional concerns. We conclude with a discussion of how recent changes to both policy and technology present new opportunities for researchers in this area.

scholarly journals Policy Evolution under the Clean Air Act

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Schmalensee ◽  
Robert N. Stavins
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Clean Air Act ◽  
The United States ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
Air Pollution Regulation

The US Clean Air Act, passed in 1970 with strong bipartisan support, was the first environmental law to give the federal government a serious regulatory role, established the architecture of the US air pollution control system, and became a model for subsequent environmental laws in the United States and globally. We outline the act’s key provisions, as well as the main changes Congress has made to it over time. We assess the evolution of air pollution control policy under the Clean Air Act, with particular attention to the types of policy instruments used. We provide a generic assessment of the major types of policy instruments, and we trace and assess the historical evolution of the Environmental Protection Agency’s policy instrument use, with particular focus on the increased use of market-based policy instruments, beginning in the 1970s and culminating in the 1990s. Over the past 50 years, air pollution regulation has gradually become more complex, and over the past 20 years, policy debates have become increasingly partisan and polarized, to the point that it has become impossible to amend the act or pass other legislation to address the new threat of climate change.

How Implementation of Retrofits Required by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Affects Waste-to-Energy Facility Operations, Plant Efficiency and Finances

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Shabat
Keyword(s):  
Clean Air Act ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Clean Air Act Amendments ◽  
Energy Facility ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
Direct And Indirect Impacts ◽  
Air Pollution Control Devices ◽  
Indirect Impacts ◽  
Induced Changes

This paper considers the direct and indirect impacts on facility operations and financial performance resulting from the retrofits required to comply with the tighter emissions standards and more stringent operating requirements imposed by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA). While all large municipal waste combustors (>250 tons per day) and many smaller units (>250 TPD) have already made the initial financial and operational adjustments required by CAAA-induced changes, many small combustors preparing to comply with the Subpart BBBB requirements, have yet to experience these changes. Since most large WTE facilities only began operating under the new CAAA scenario during or shortly before December 2000, the long-term cost impacts of these changes are only now becoming clear. The Subpart BBBB standards are nearly identical to the standards imposed on large combustors. Each existing WTE facility operator affected by Subpart BBBB must determine whether the standards can be met with existing air pollution control devices and existing emission monitoring equipment, or if a facility retrofit is required. If a facility retrofit is required, the economics of continued operation as compared to alternative disposal options must be considered.

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