VIRGIN ISLANDS
WATER & POWER AUTHORITY
Spill Response Capabilities
and
Transition to LPG (Propane)
Presented by: Gregory L. Rhymer
Chief Operating Officer
July 9, 2014
1

WAPA is a Government Owned Utility

Primary Source of Water & Power Production & Distribution in
the Territory
 Power Generation Capability –(100 % fuel oil)
 St. Thomas/ St. John - 198 MW
 St. Croix - 118 MW
 Water Production Capability (R.O.)
 St. Thomas/St. John – 3.3 MGD (current ) w/1.1 MGD option
 St. Croix - 3.7 MGD (current ) w/1.1 MGD option
 Customers
 Water - 12,390
 Electric – 54,113
 Territorial Peak Power
 St. Thomas/St. John - 45 MW min.– 75 MW max. (seasonal avg.)
 St. Croix - 30 MW min.- 55 MW max. (seasonal avg.)
 Fiscal Year 2013 Operating Expense: $354,000,007
 $242,948,463 - Fuel Oil Cost
 68.6% Fiscal Year 2013 Operating Expense
2
Spill Response
Capabilities
3
Randolph
Harley-Krum Bay Facility
Randolph Harley-Krum Bay Facility
St.St.Thomas,
USVI
Thomas, USVI

Randolph Harley-Krum Bay Facility is located on
the western side of Krum Bay, approximately 2
miles southwest of Charlotte Amalie.

Power is generated by the combustion of No. 6 and
No. 2 fuel, delivered by barge to the Fuel Pier and
pumped to storage tanks.

Bulk Storage Tanks:
 Tanks 10, 11, 12, and 13 have individual steel
secondary containment walls.
 Tanks 14 and 15 share a common steel
secondary containment wall.

Worst Case Discharge from largest tanks 2,268,000
gallons No. 6 Oil.
 WCD - Tank Rupture of Tank 12 or 13 with
a simultaneous failure of the secondary
containment.
4
Estate Richmond Facility
St. Croix, USVI

Richmond Facility is located on the northern side of Christiansted, St. Croix.

Power is generated by the combustion of No. 6 and No. 2 fuel, delivered by barge to the Fuel
Pier and pumped to storage tanks.

Bulk Storage Tanks:
 Tanks 5, 6, and 7 have individual steel secondary containment walls
 Tanks 3 and 4 share a common secondary containment

Worst Case Discharge from largest tank 5 which holds a maximum of 2,230,353 gallons No. 2
Oil
 WCD - Tank Rupture of Tank 5 with a simultaneous failure of the secondary
containment
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VIWAPA Facility
Response
ActionAction
Plan
VIWAPA
Facility
Response
Plan

WAPA has ability to take immediate actions to
respond to any discharge
 Stop Flow
 Enforce Safety and Security Measures
 Shut-off Ignition Sources
 Commence Internal and External
Notifications per FRP
 Commence Spill Response Actions

Tier 1 Response
 WAPA
 Immediately Activate On-Site
Response Resources
 Small Discharges or Average Most
Probable Discharge (AMPD) will
be handled by WAPA resources

Tier II and Tier III Response
 National Response Corporation (NRC)
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Randolph Harley-Krum Bay Facility
Krum Bay Facility, St. Thomas
On-Site Response Resources
On-Site Response Resources
Tier 1 Response Capabilities – Within 12
Hours
WAPA On-Site Response Equipment
 Oil Recovery – Weir Disk Skimmer
 548 BBLS of Effective Daily
Recovery
 Stored in Warehouse at Fuel Pier
 8,000 Ft., 8-inch Boom
 Purpose would be to set a
containment barrier
 Stored in a trailer at Fuel Pier
 4,000 Ft., 8-inch Absorbent Sausage
Boom
 Stored in Warehouse at Fuel Pier
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Richmond Facility
On-Site Response Resources
Tier 1 Response Capabilities – Within 12 Hours
WAPA On-Site Response Equipment
 Oil Recovery –
 Two Weir Disk Skimmers
o 4800 total BBLS of Effective Daily
Recovery
o Stored in the Fuel Department Building
 Vacuum Truck
o 788 gals per load
 2,900 Ft., 8-inch boom
 Purpose would be to set a containment
barrier around the pier and effluent
discharge point.
 Stored on a motorized reel and, additional
lengths, in trailers at by the Fuel Department
Building
 3,488 Ft., 8-inch Absorbent Sausage Boom
 Stored in trailers at by the Fuel Department
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Response
Equipment
within
12 hours
Response Equipment
Within
12 Hours
St.St.Thomas
St.
Croix WAPA Facilities
Thomas / /St.
Croix
Tier II Response Capabilities – Within 12 Hours
National Response Corporation (NRC)
Equipment
12 – Hours
Boom
52,700 FT
Effective Daily
Recovery (EDRC)
77,640 / day
BBLS
Portable Storage
60,000
BBLS
Vessels
Personnel
30
Oil Spill
Response Vessel,
St. Croix, USVI
Marko Skimmer
St. Croix, USVI
Portable Barge Sets
St. Croix, USVI
150
Vacuum Transfer
Unit
St. Croix, USVI
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Response Equipment
Within 24 – 36 Hours of USVI
Tier II – III Response Capability
Equipment
24Hours
36 Hours
Boom
61,700
FT
107,800
FT
EDRC
158,024
BBLS
296,322
BBLS
Portable
Storage
216,019
BBLS
230,528
BBLS
Vessels
34
90
463
597
Personnel
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WAPA – Annual Exercise & Compliance
NRC Support Services to VIWAPA
Programs

Annual Spill Management Team Table Top
Exercises

Annual Incident Management System (ICS)
Training

Annual HAZWOPER Training
 First Responder Awareness
 First Responder Operation Level
 Accommodating Crews on St. Thomas &
St. Croix

Semi-Annual Equipment Deployment Training
 Annual Boom Deployment Training
 Accommodating Crews on St. Thomas &
St. Croix
Additional WAPA Programs
•
RCRA – Resource Conservation & Recovery Act
•
SPCC – Spill Prevention Countermeasure Control
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NRC OSRO Services for USVI

NRC Caribbean Response Manager positioned in San
Juan, PR

NRC Response Manager in St. Croix, USVI

NRC Response Crew in St. Croix, USVI (5 Personnel)

Independent Contract Network (ICN) in St. Thomas,
St. Croix, San Juan, PR; and US Mainland
 Access to Additional ICN Equipment
through NRC
 Access to NRC and NRC Contracted
Personnel

PREP Credit for VIWAPA and NRC Spill Management
Team Table-Top & Equipment Deployment Exercises

Routine Industry and Regulatory Updates from NRC
via NRC’S Client Advisory Letters (CAL)
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Transition to LPG
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
Fuel cost is $0.40 per kwh; customer cost is $0.51 for
residential and $0.54 for commercial customers per kwh

This is highest cost for electricity than any other U.S.
state, territory or possession

Two independent power generating facilities that are not
able to be interconnected primarily due to very deep water
depths between islands

Main industry in the U.S. Virgin Islands is tourism

Closure of the HOVENSA refinery resulted in loss of cheap
fuel oil at incentive pricing and significant adverse impact
on Territory’s residents and economy
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July 2013, WAPA signed a turnkey master agreement with Vitol Virgin
Islands Corp. (Vitol) for infrastructure construction, conversion of existing
combustion turbines, supply, and delivery of propane at WAPA’s power
plants on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
◦ Vitol is the world’s largest independent physical trader in the oil and
oil products market and a provider of procurement, storage,
processing and transportation services of oil related commodities.
◦ All upfront costs are paid by Vitol. WAPA repays Vitol over 7 year
amortization (option to repay in 5 years)
• Target completion: 4th quarter of 2014
• All-in cost will result in approximately 30% reduction in fuel costs
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$ per Million BTU
Actual Cost of Fuel oil vs. Projected Cost of Propane
$25
$20
$15
~ 30% Fuel
Cost
Reduction
$10
$5
$Fuel Oil
Propane
Estimate based on WAPA’s actual price for fuel in February 2014; The propane
cost considered above includes a 5 year amortization of the facilities capital
expenditures (construction of new propane storage terminals, repair/upgrade
of fuel transfer docks and conversion of WAPA’s turbines in the St. Thomas &
St. Croix Districts). After 5 years, propane costs will further be reduced.
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






Propane will be delivered by tanker vessels to a floating storage
tanker vessel.
Floating storage vessel will be anchored several miles offshore.
Propane will then be transferred from the floating storage vessel to
feeder ships that will deliver fuel to the power plants .
Feeder ships will be double hulled & compliant with international
safety standards.
New supplies will arrive at the plants approximately every three
days.
Average 15-day reserve inventory at each plant.
Propane will be transferred through a pipeline on WAPA property
into storage tanks that will be onsite.
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Storage tanks will be “mounded” - encased by layers of earth, sand, rock and
gravel to maximize safety. ( 165 ft. L x 18 ft. dia. x 30 ft. H.) (Wt. 315 tons)
The benefits of mounded tanks include:
• Significant protective barrier from external damage and fire
• Elimination of oxygen, preventing uncontrolled ignition
• Additional barrier for earthquake and hurricane protection
Rendition of St. Croix
onshore terminal
Tank Size
St. Croix (8 tanks)
St. Thomas (10 tanks)
Total Storage Capacity
10,400 m3
65, 500 bbls.
14,000 m3
88,000 bbls.
Effective Supply
19.2 days
18.3 days
Facilities carefully designed to ensure
employees’ and the public’s health,
safety, and protection
 Completed Comprehensive Fire Risk
Assessment and Hazardous Area
Classification
 Emergency Response Plans for each
facility and all existing applicable
environmental permits and plans are
being updated
 Fire safety features planned for WAPA’s
propane project will have 100%
redundancy
 Firefighting systems for the facilities will
be National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) compliant, including a “water
blanket” that will suppress a leak or
flame.
 Facilities will be equipped with gas
monitoring and leak detection systems
 VI Port Authority marine pilots have
simulated navigation of feeder vessels to
ensure safety of marine operations
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 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fuel oil
 Over 80 percent reduction in particulate matter (soot), Sulfur Dioxide,
and Carbon Monoxide emissions
 Propane helps to integrate renewable sources of energy into the grid
 No foreseen obstacles in securing final air, land, or water permits
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

Engineering;
◦ Engineering substantially completed, integration of vendor information
ongoing.
◦ Process design, civil design, structural design, piping & mechanical design
are completed.
◦ Electrical, Instrumentation and Automation design under final review.
Procurement;
◦ Procurement of long lead items substantially completed.
◦ Delivery of first long lead items scheduled for July (LPG Bullets, Emergency
Generators).
◦ IFB of Piping & Mechanical Works issued 04 July 2014
◦ Bids for marine works received, negotiations with shortlisted bidder
ongoing.
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
Construction:
◦ STX and STT Demolition earthworks and demolition scope completed.
 STT 59,000 cubic yard of rock removed
◦ STX piling (900) works 50% completed.
◦ STT retaining works 25% completed.
◦ STT & STX Civil contractor; mobilization in progress works to commence on site 7
July 2014.
◦ GE To mobilize and commence conversion works on the turbines in mid- July.

Overall project progress is 58% based on the revised project budget. With the
award of the civil contract the project progress will be 75% , once that actual
work is completed.
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Communicating the benefits of switching to propane remains
crucial to project success. WAPA brought on FTI Consulting to
help inform the public and mitigate project risk.
 Project website and social media: Poweringvi.vi, Powering
VI Facebook page, YouTube Chanel.
 Ongoing meetings with community leaders and
stakeholders.
 Local press briefings and media interviews.
 Ongoing Bi-lingual radio and internet public
announcements.
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This project represents the best near-term option to significantly reduce the cost of
fuel for power generation while ensuring widespread benefits for the Territory.
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