Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP 144D; SDG&E Wastewater Facility; Specific Plan (SP) (5)1200 ELM AVENUE • ^^fl • TELEPHONE: CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 W^feW/ tfM (714)729-1181 City of CarMmb December 2, 1975 TO: EIR REVIEW AGENCIES FROM: CARLSBAD PLANNING DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR SDG&E AMENDMENT TO SPECIFIC PLAN AUTHORIZING CONSTRUCTION OF ENCINA UNIT #5 (SP-144B) The City of Carlsbad has received an application from San Diego Gas and Electric requesting an amendment to their existing Specific Plan which authorizes construction of a fifth generating unit at the Encina Power Plant. The amendment would replace four existing stacks at the plant with a single 400' MSL stack for the purpose of reducing ground level sulfur dioxide concentrations. The City is obligated, under State Law and the Carlsbad Environmental Protection Ordinance, to consider all previously certified environmental impact reports for the project and to supplement those reports as necessary. Accordingly, I am notifying you of the City's intention to consider the Encina 5 project. I have attached a synopsis of environmental issues re- lating to the project and the sources of documentation for each respective issue. Should you desire any further information or wish to comment on the project, please contact this office. Sincerely, £DftnalcTA. Agatep Planning Director DAA/SDH/vb Attachment CITY OF CARLSBAD PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT January 28, 1976 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT INFORMATION ENCINA POWER PLANT STACK MODIFICATION EIR-205 BACKGROUND: The original Specific Plan for SDG&E (SP-144) was approved prior to the application of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). Consequently, no EIR was required for that project, In 1973 the applicant proposed to amend the original Specific Plan by adding a single 400' above sea level stack with the fifth generating unit. The City conferred with the California Public Uti-lities Commission (CPUC) and the State Resources Agency in an attempt to determine EIR require- ments for the Stack modification project. It was determined that: 1) The CPUC was lead agency for Encina Unit #5 and as such was responsible for preparation of the Encina #5 EIR; 2) Since the Encina Unit #5 EIR was not completed at the time of the tack modification application, the City was responsible for pre- paring an EIR dealing only with the impacts of the Stack modifi- cation at the generating plant. 3) Additionally, it was understood that the CPUC would incorporate the stack modification EIR information in preparing the Encina Unit #5 EIR. The City selected and contracted Westec Services to prepare the draft stack modification EIR. Reimbursement of the EIR preparation cost was borne by SDG&E pursuant to Carlsbad Environmental Protection Ordinance. The Final (certified) Stack Modification EIR #205 has been attached for your review. II. EIR REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESENT APPLICATION: SDG&E has requested that the stack modification amendment (SP-144A) be reapproved by the City. Be- cause of the time required to process other permit applications, SDG&E has only recently secured the final permit from the State of California Coastal Conservation Commission. The Carlsbad Environmental Protection Ordinance and the California Environmental Quality Act state that no new EIR is required unless: 1) Substantial changes are proposed to the project which would require new environmental information; 2) The circumstances under which the project is to be carried out have changed. In approving a project for which an EIR has previously been certified, the approving agency must consider all information contained in that Certified EIR (EIR 205). However, the lead agency is not required to conduct public hearings on the review. Staff has recommended that the Planning Commission and City Council find that the previously certified EIR 205 be found to meet all CEQA and Title 19 requirements for reasons of Prior Compliance for the following reasons: 1) The application as submitted by SDG&E is identical to the 1973 request for Specific Plan Amendment and the circumstances under which the proposed stack modification will be designed and constructed have not changed. 2) The California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has imposed conditions designed to mitigate air quality impacts of the Encina Power Plant's operation. These measures, in Staff's opinion, are consistent with the Carlsbad Environmental Protection Ordinance. 3) Conditions and mitigations imposed by the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (Carlsbad's air quality staff) are now and will in the future insure that the San Diego Gas and Electric Generating facility meets ambient air standards as required by the State of California Air Resources Board. 4) Mitigations and conditions suggested by this Environmental Report are incorporated into the proposed conditions should the Specific Plan Amendment be approved. Should the Planning Commission or City Council find that the existing EIR is not adequate and should they require additional information prior to making a decision, the following options may be considered: 1) The stack modification EIR may be supplemented with addition- al information if the Commission and/or City Council feel that additional information is needed. This would require an estimated month's additional time to prepare the supplemental information and notify the applicable reviewing agencies. 2) The CPUC EIR could be considered in addition to the Stack modification EIR(although the City's comments are contained in the PUC document. This would require approximately two weeks delay to make the CPUC information available to the decision makers. Since the CPUC EIR is voluninous, additional time for review would probably be required. -2- III. DISCUSSION: City staff has been following current activities and complaints relating to air quality impacts of the existing Encina power plant operation. Two new air quality studies controlled by the San Diego Air Polution Control District (APCD) have been under- taken since the certification of the Stack modification and CPUC Encina Unit #5 EIR's. The first study, completed by the Air Pollution Control District in June 1975, examined the air quality impacts of Encina Unit #5. The study concluded that with or without the additon of the 5th unit, sulfur -dioxide (SC^) emissions from the plant are a significant air quality problem. Based on the company's projections of need, the study showed that ground level concentrations of S02 would decrease slightly with the installation of the single stack. The APCD also examined nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons and particulate emissions (during normal operation) and concluded that these emissions were not a significant problem. These results are essentially the same as those contained in the Encina Unit #5 and Stack Modification EIR's. The APCD is currently involved in an additional study of particulate emissions from the power plant. This study was prompted by numerous complaints from Carlsbad residents (primarily in the Terramar area) concerning noise and "fallout" from the power plant. The complainants have stated that when the "stacks are blown" at the plant (a process which is done routinely to maintain operating efficiency of the generators) small particles fall on the surrounding area, causing rust and corrosion of painted surfaces and damage to plants. Some of the complaintants have also alleged that the "fallout" causes illness. The APCD's initial investigation of damage to house and auto paint determined that the problem may be the product of the "disintegration of cenospheres". Cenospheres are ferrous particles with some sulfates present. One of the main sources of cenospheres is the combustion of fuel in power plant boilers. The size and quantity of the cenospheres produced depends on the amount of inorganics contained in the fuel andrthe condition of the burner nozz:l:e. When combined with moisture, the cenospheres disintegrate, causing the following known effects: 1) The ferrous metal causes orange-thrown spots to form; 2) The sulfates react with moisture to form sulfuric or sulfurous acid. This acid deteriorates paint on homes and cars.' In an effort to confirm the presence of cenospheres at the Encina Power Plant, the APCD has taken samples which have been sent to the following laboratories for analysis: Letter from Richard Baldwin, Chief of Surveillance and Enforcement Div. of the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, to California • Coastal Zone Conservation Commission, November 7, 1975. -3- TYPE OF TEST Source testing-Samples taken from power plant stacks during both normal operation and dur- ing soot blowing. Ambient testing-Air samples taken at selected sites in the Terramar area and also at a distance one mile from the power plant. Particle samples, samples of damaged paint. LABORATORY ANALYSIS Crocker Nuclear Lab., U.C, Davis Crocker Nuclear Lab., U.D. Davis Lawrence-Livermore Lab., Sacramento; Environmental Protection Agency, Denver Office. Final results of these studies will not be available before February. It is possible that additional studies may be indicated. In light of this, staff has proposed as a condition of approval of the present application, that costs for additional monitoring equipment and air quality analysis as deemed necessary by the Air Pollution Control Officer be borne by SDG&E. A similar condition was also applied to the Coastal Commission's Permit issued on November 19, 1975. In addition, staff is proposing a condition which would incorporate any future emission control measures imposed by the APCD into the present Specific Plan Amendment. This condition would eliminate the need to further amend the Specific Plan should SDG&E be required to install equipment for the control and mitigation of the cenosphere problem. Inasmuch as the County Health Department (of which the APCD is a part) is contracted to provide health and air quality control services to the City of Carlsbad, staff feels that these conditions are appro- priate. Staff has been apprised of a cenosphere problem which was recently studied at the Pacific Gas & Electric Moss Landing Power in Monterey County. According to John Maloney, Air Pollution Control Officer for Monterey County/ cenospheres emitted from the Moss Landing Plant were traced to two 500' stacks. Complaints of fallout at Moss Landing were coincident with periods of fuel oil usage (as opposed to natural gas usage). Formation of the cenospheres was lessened, but not completely eliminated with the use of low sulfur fuel oil. This problem has been successfully abated with the installation of equipment to control the cenospheres.^ 2 Telephone Conversation with John Maloney, Air Pollution Control Officer, Monterey County APCD, November 3, 1975 -A- t*• The Moss Landing situation seems to indicate that increasing stack height would not diminish emission of cenospheres. A cenosphere problem could conceivably be spread over a wider area with an in- crease in stack height. These effects however, must be studied further before any conclusive results can be reached.3 IV DOCUMENTS ON FILE: California Public Utilities Commission Final EIR and Decisions California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission Reports San Diego Air Pollution Control District Correspondence and Reports Energy Commission Staff Reports and Decisions. -5-