Strategic Petroleum Reserve Site Environmental Report for calendar year 1994

The purpose of this Site Environmental Report (SER) is to characterize site environmental management performance, confirm compliance with environmental standards and requirements, and highlight significant programs and efforts. The SER, provided annually in accordance with Department of Energy DOE Order 5400.1, serves the public by summarizing monitoring data collected to assess how the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) impacts the environment. This report (SER) provides a balanced synopsis of non-radiological monitoring and regulatory compliance data and affirms that the SPR has been operating within acceptable regulatory limits. Included in this report is a description of each site`s environment, an overview of the SPR environmental program, and a recapitulation of special environmental activities and events associated with each SPR site during 1994. Two of these highlights include decommissioning of the Weeks Island facility (disposition of 73 million barrels of crude oil inventory) as well as the degasification of up to 144 million barrels of crude oil inventory at the Bayou Choctaw, Big Hill, Bryan Mound, and West Hackberry facilities. The decision to decommission the Weeks Island facility is a result of diminishing mine integrity from ground water intrusion. Degasifying the crude oil is required to reduce potentially harmful emissions that would occur during oil movements. With regard to still another major environmental action, 43 of the original 84 environmental findings from the 1992 DOE Tiger Team Assessment were closed by the end of 1994. Spills to the environment, another major topic, indicates a positive trend. Total volume of oil spilled in 1994 was only 39 barrels, down from 232 barrels in 1993, and the total volume of brine spilled was only 90 barrels, down from 370 barrels in 1993. The longer term trend for oil and brine spills has declined substantially from 27 in 1990 down to nine in 1994