must occupy new areas, ecologically vital areas should be avoided. 

 Sites such as dredge-spoil dumps which have had their ecological functions 

 obliterated, might conveniently be developed for industrial use, providing 

 any adjacent vital areas are preserved intact. It should be noted that 

 problems arise with expansion in committed areas that are designated by 

 the EPA as presently "air pollution impacts" and where new industry is 

 essentially banned in order to prevent further air quality degradation. 



There are many reasons to locate chemical industries back from 

 water bodies and to provide for buffer strips of vegetation between the 

 facility and the water's edge. The vegetated area provides a visual 

 screen, a purification system for storm runoff, and a protective buffer 

 for the ecologically sensitive shoreline, especially the wetlands. 

 The setback should be placed above the annual flood line, which marks 

 the upper edge of wetlands, and should provide a buffer wide enough to 

 cleanse the maximum storm runoff it might receive in the 5 or 10-year 

 rain storm. Flood-plain management and flood-proofing requirements must 

 also be considered. 



Design : The petrochemical plant's waste treatment needs must be 

 incorporated into the community's long-term plan for environmental 

 protection. For example, since the constituents of industrial effluent 

 are usually quite different from those of domestic sewage, separate 

 private systems may have to be constructed by the petrochemical plant 

 and planned accordingly. Where discharge is allowed into the municipal 

 collection network, private pretreatment units will probably be necessary 

 to reduce the industrial waste flow to domestic strength before discharge, 

 in order to protect the municipal facilities and the receiving waters. 



Construction : The applicant must perform the site preparation with 

 the utmost care to protect adjacent aquatic and terrestrial vital areas 

 and generally productive habitats. Extra precautions will be necessary: 

 (1) to minimize the alteration of water systems; (2) to prevent the 

 erosion of soil; and (3) to eliminate the discharge of toxic or deleterious 

 substances. Excavation and filling of areas near wetlands must be done 

 so that sediments do not enter the wetland ecosystems. Revege- 

 tation of disturbed areas must be accomplished as soon as possible 

 to reduce erosion. 



Operation : The applicant's major environmental problem in operation 

 will be in meeting pollutant discharge standards on industrial waste 

 disposal and runoff water (Table 20). The problems of oil spills arise 

 with both petrochemical plants and refineries. Unfortunately, the 

 location of these facilities is such that spill and leak impacts are 

 heaviest in the rich and vulnerable water of estuaries. New facili- 

 ties should probably not be sited on bodies that have limited canacity 

 for flushing. 



In operation, petrochemical plants require large quantities of 

 water for both cooling and processing purposes. Cooling water is used 

 to reduce the heat generated during manufacturing operations. It does 



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