Reuters
An investigation is underway after flaring and smoke was reported at the Chevron Phillips Chemical Company facility in Baytown Tuesday, emergency officials said.
An all-clear was given around 9:00 p.m. Tuesday by Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou
“At approximately 9:15 a.m. today, the Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas, experienced unplanned operational impacts due to loss of power from the utility provider. As a result, flaring and smoke were visible at the facility. An all-clear notice has now been issued. There were no employee or contractor injuries and no danger to the surrounding community. Flaring is a safety relief mechanism designed to help mitigate emissions. The Harris County Pollution Control Services Department conducted air monitoring around and downwind of the facility, and we are advised that no community impacts were detected. We thank the local emergency response agencies and community officials for their support and apologize for any inconvenience this event may have caused,” a spokesperson with the company said.
Power has reportedly been restored at Chevron Phillips and to most of the outage area north of I-10.
“Texas Commission on Environmental Quality sent the following statement regarding the incident:
TCEQ’s regional office and the county are aware that the Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou Plant had a power outage today. The entity provided a Chemtel report and a National Response Center report identifying the plantwide power outage and the control actions being taken (e.g., flaring) at the facility. The initial reporting was done as the entity anticipated the potential for exceeding reportable quantities.
The local area downwind is rural and not populated (winds out of the south). There was no shelter in place established at the facility. The entity is conducting perimeter fence line air monitoring and will contact the ERC if they detect any readings above background. The facility provided an update at 3:35 pm that the plant is continuing to restore normal process operations and flaring has been significantly reduced.