Draft Environmental Assessment Tulsa Ports Discharge Pipeline Easement
Public Notice for 30 Day Comment Period related to the Draft Environmental Assessment For Tulsa Ports Outfall Pipeline Easement.
The 30 day public comment period for this draft environmental assessment runs from July 24, 2024 to August 23, 2024.
Comments must be submitted in writing via email or U.S. Postal Service.
Send comments via email to christopher.m.gilliland@usace.army.mill
Send written comments via U.S. Mail to:
Chris Gilliland
Biologist
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District
Operations Division
2488 East 81st Street
Tulsa, OK 74137
City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority (Tulsa Ports) acquired 2,400-acres located in Inola, Oklahoma in 2019 to construct a new industrial park (Inola Industrial Park). Tulsa Ports contracted with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. (Burns & McDonnell) in 2020 to conduct a desktop due diligence study and prepare a master plan for the newly acquired Port property. During the master planning process, the most significant setback to developing the site was determined to be the ability to treat and discharge wastewater generated on-site.
Tulsa Ports is proposing to construct a wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) near the southwest corner of the Inola Industrial Park (Figure 1-1) in Township 19N, Range 16E, Section 25 within the Town of Inola municipal boundary, Rogers County, Oklahoma. A previous Environmental Assessment for the construction of the WWTF was completed in March 2022 and is attached as Appendix A. The construction of the WWTF and associated collection system will not require the acquisition of any rightof-way or easements, as Tulsa Ports currently owns all property within the Inola Industrial Park. However, the discharge route identified for the wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) to the Verdigris River crosses U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) levee easements which triggered the need for a new Environmental Assessment for this Proposed Action.
In 2021, Tulsa Ports contracted with Burns & McDonnell to study and determine the assimilative capacity of the Verdigris River to accommodate the future wastewater generated from the 2,400-acre greenfield site, to determine the wasteload allocation (WLA) available, and to obtain the required permits for the discharge. The WLA Study serves as the precursor to the submittal of a request to discharge permit application to authorize discharges under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit (NPDES). The WLA Study has been completed and approved by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), and the preparation of an application for an individual NDPES permit is underway. Under the NPDES permit, Tulsa Ports is seeking to discharge industrial wastewater generated by Inola Industrial Park facilities and domestic wastewater from the Town of Inola.