6
unit trains unload per week by Shell PSR ARUF
Shell Puget Sound Refinery Anacortes Rail Unloading Facility
The Shell Puget Sound Refinery (PSR) proposes to construct and operate a rail unloading facility at the Shell PSR facility on March Point near Anacortes, Washington in Skagit County. The proposed project (Shell Anacortes Rail Unloading Facility or Shell ARUF) includes building a rail spur from the existing adjacent Anacortes Subdivision onto the Shell PSR property to accommodate unit trains transporting Bakken crude oil from the mid-continent area. Oil spill release scenarios were developed to characterize the range of potential impacts from a number of environmental and oil spill release conditions.
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Timeline
2015
In May 2015, discussions began with Washington State Department of Ecology, Skagit County, and Shell regarding 3rd party EIS.
2015
In September and October 2015, RPS developed an approach.
2015
In December 2015, the approach, scenarios, and deliverables were finalized with the Washington State Department of Ecology and Skagit County.
2015
In January 2015, modelling work began.
2016
In April 2016, the technical reports were completed.
2016
In July 2016, the Probability, Oil Spill, and Fire and Explosion Technical Appendices to the EIS were completed.
2016
In October 2016, the draft EIS was submitted to the Washington State Department of Ecology and Sakgit County.
2016
In October 2016, the project put on hold by Proponent.
Key Details
Project Name
Shell Puget Sound Refinery (PSR) Anacortes Rail Unloading Facility (ARUF)
Client
Shell
Location
- Washington, USA
Sectors
- Rail
- Water management
- Oil and gas
- Power and gas networks
- Storage
Challenge
Understanding the potential trajectory of crude oil within the environment and its ultimate fate was necessary to identify the potential impacts. Results were also required for use in inform planning and response efforts. Oil spill release scenarios were defined by release location, release volume, and environmental conditions. Under the direction of the co-lead agencies, relatively low probability, high-impact accidents (i.e., large volume releases) were modeled to better understand the maximum potential consequences of a more extreme event. These results provide the upper range of estimates of consequence in the unlikely event that there is a large volume release of oil.
Solution
RPS provided computational oil spill modeling, technical assistance, and served as a co-author on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which assessed the potential risks associated with shipments of crude-by-rail in Washington State.
Services Provided
Environment:
- Contaminated land and remediation – identification of susceptible land following hypothetical releases.
- Ecology – identify potential effects to terrestrial and aquatic environments
- Environmental Impact Assessment – Environmental Impact Statement
- Environmental permitting & compliance – Technical reports and numerical modeling completed to meet Washington State Department of Ecology and Sakgit County requirements
- Hydrology / hydrogeology – hydrologic network and river modeling as well as Puget Sound estuarine modeling
- Spatial intelligence and GIS – Overlay of oil spill numerical modeling data onto areas of interest (AOI) as well as geospatial depiction of environmental data
- Software Development – Enhancements to oil spill modeling from trains (multiple sources – each tank car)
Water services:
- Water and wastewater network modelling and asset management – model hydrologic network and potential routes for hydrocarbon contamination of drinking water intakes and other susceptible resources
- Water quality modelling and monitoring – provide oil spill modeling that identifies the extent, timing, and potential magnitude of water quality impacts from hydrocarbon releases
Design and development:
- Utility options and design – rail routing
Other services:
- Numerical Modeling – unmitigated releases of hydrocarbons onto land and into water
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Probability Assessment
- Regulatory Engagement
Project Statistics
60,000
to 70,000 bbl of conditioned Bakken crude sarried by a single unit train
650
to 676 bbl per tank car
3
representative locations were assessed
2
release volumes studied
2
seasonal conditions per site were studied
2
biological sensitivities investigated
24
scenarios using 2 models OILMAPland and SIMAP