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Community Outreach |
Gretchen Arnold
Director, Pollution Prevention Partnership
Personal Information
P3 Main Page
According to local air quality studies, small businesses in our area produce about 25%
of the pollutants that make ozone. P3 has provided assistance to businesses that may affect
local air quality.
[more about ozone and attainment]
Assistance provided includes training workshops, site visits, technical consultations,
development of management practices, guidance documents, and regulation research. Services
provided are confidential and free of charge.
Business sectors that have participated in the P3 small business assistance program include:
Gasoline Marketers and Transporters
Printers
Wood Product Manufacturers
Dry Cleaners
Auto Paint and Body Shops
Industrial Surface Coaters
Oil and Gas Producers
Gasoline Marketers and Transporters
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