Corps makes plant improvements to prevent release of oil into tailrace

Like most hydroelectric plants designed in the 1960s, the US Army Corps of Engineers 160-MW Truman Power Plant, near Warsaw, MO, was built with a station drainage sump that collects all drainage from the plant. As designed, float switches activate sump pumps that discharge liquids directly into the tailrace. Because the system cannot distinguish between types of liquids, in the event of an oil leak in the hydroelectric plant, oil in the sump could be released into the tailrace. This situation was not environmentally sound and needed to be corrected. The sump system was identified as a problem area in a December 1991 assessment of the plant by a district team that conducted record searches, interviews, and site surveys to determine any areas of environmental non-compliance. To eliminate the potential problem posed by the Truman Power Plant's sump system, the Corps took the initiative to make several improvements. For containment in the event of a spill, the distict installed an oil skimmer for the sump (see the photographs), similar to one used at the Corps Clarence Cannon Dam, also in Missouri. The district also plugged a number of floor drains, and installed speed bumps, similar to those used in parking lots to slow traffic, for spill containment. Additionally, a cartmounted skimmer is available to serve as a mobile spill control unit for spills elsewhere in the plant. Long-term plans call for oil detectors that will automatically turn off the sump's pumps and turn on the skimmer