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We have specific programs in place to reduce and minimize hazardous, non-hazardous and nuclear waste. In addition, we track our hazardous waste shipped offsite through waste manifests. All our facilities are normally classified as Small Quantity Generators (SQG) or Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators (CESQG) of hazardous waste.
In 2005, four of our facilities had one-time generations of larger quantities of hazardous waste which classified them as a Large Quantity Generator for that month. One of these episodic events was a disposal of materials containing lead wastes from the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. This one time disposal of 27.8 tons of lead waste accounted for the increase in total tons of company hazardous wastes in 2005 over 2004, as shown in the chart below. Excluding this one time generation from Palo Verde, our total hazardous waste generation decreased by almost 15 tons (27%) in 2005 from the 2004 totals.
We also work closely with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) which stringently control and oversee the management of nuclear fuels and their radioactive byproducts.
Our facilities employ a wide variety of pollution-prevention activities based on the facilities individual and diverse needs. The Deer Valley Service Center is charged with managing the waste and recycling for our service centers. Through a centralized facility, we are able to implement a variety of reuse and recycling activities.
APS is a member of the EPA's WasteWise Partnership and Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2). WasteWise is a voluntary EPA program through which organizations work to minimize solid waste. C2P2 is a cooperative effort between the EPA and the Utility Solid Waste Activity Group (USWAG) to help promote the beneficial use of coal combustion products and the environmental benefits that can result.
The above two tables includes waste streams from our major facilities, including power plants, Deer Valley service center, and corporate headquarters building. The 2005 numbers for solid waste are for wastes sent to landfills from these APS facilities, and do not included wastes that were reused or recycled, or vegetative or coal combustion wastes which are listed separately above. Previous year's numbers included some solid wastes that were reused or recycled, or wastes from remediation activities associate with MGP sites. Tracking landfilled solid waste from operations will give us a better ability to evaluate our ongoing performance in reducing landfill waste.
Used Nuclear Materials
The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station and other nuclear power plants produce two forms of radioactive waste: high-level waste and low-level waste. High-level waste consists primarily of spent nuclear fuel. This spent fuel is highly radioactive for many years, but can be safely stored in spent fuel storage pools or specially designed and licensed spent fuel storage casks.
We have existing spent fuel storage pools at Palo Verde and have constructed a facility for on-site dry cask storage of spent fuel while we are awaiting the completion of the Nuclear Waste Storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The DOE has announced the repository cannot be completed before 2010 and it does not intend to begin accepting spent nuclear fuel prior to that date.
With the existing storage pools and the addition of the on-site dry cask storage facility, we believe spent fuel storage methods will be available for use by Palo Verde to allow continued safe operation through the term of the operating license for each of Palo Verde’s three units. On average, Palo Verde replaces 200 fuel assemblies annually.
Some low-level waste has been stored on-site in a low-level waste facility; however APS is currently shipping low-level waste to off-site disposal facilities. Examples of low-level waste include used protective clothing, resins and filters.
Vendor Audits
Pinnacle West and APS perform audits of all vendors that provide waste disposal or recycling activities and services to company facilities. This program evaluates our vendor's facility operations, environmental management systems and financial strength in order to minimize short- and long-term liability caused by vendor actions or omissions. The audits also ensure that our waste materials are being properly managed once they leave our facilities. Thirty vendor audits were completed in 2005, including 19 audits of waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities, 10 audits of recycling firms and one of a safety equipment service vendor.
Pinnacle West belongs to the Joint Utility Vendor Audit Consortium (JUVAC), CHWMEG Consortium and the Desert Utility Vendor Audit Team (DUVAT). The consortiums are made up of various organizations or partnerships that conduct vendor audits and make them available to their members. Twenty-one of the vendor audits conducted in 2005 were done in conjunction with the consortiums. Participation in these consortiums helps to leverage auditing resources and performance.
Toxic Release Inventory
Our company is required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report applicable releases of chemicals listed by the EPA through its Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program. Our reportable releases under the TRI program are primarily contained in our air emissions from power plant smokestacks, or are contained within coal ash. While the TRI quantities reported by our company are fairly large (as is the case with all utility companies), the majority of these releases are captured by pollution control equipment, or are continued as an integral part of the coal ash process (much of which is recycled for beneficial use).
Below is a table of our 2004 TRI releases. The 2005 TRI report is due to the EPA by July 1, 2005, and we will replace this table with the 2005 results when that report has been finalized.
Spill Summary
We take many precautions to avoid spills. However, despite our efforts, on occasion an accidental spill occurs. In 2005, APS had the following releases. (Note: releases to water are defined as materials that went into a Water of the USA, as defined in the federal regulations)
Oil Spills:
Chemical Spills:
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A spill of 100 gallons of diesel fuel at Palo Verde due to a failed fuel line on a portable generator
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200 gallons of hydrazine solution was released into a sump that flows into the combined waste treatment ponds at Four Corners Power Plant
- Five gallons of hydrazine solution leaked out onto the U-2 Mezzanine floor at the Cholla Power Plant, where it was absorbed and placed into DOT approved/labeled drums for RCRA disposal
Other Releases:
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1,000 gallons of lime slurry flowed into a retention basin at Cholla because of a leak from the lime slurry regent feed line in unit 4.
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Approximately 1,000 gallons of low volume wastewater and ash sluice water overflowed and was discharged to the Condenser Cooling Water Canal at Four Corners.
The following table summarizes the spill history for the past five years:
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