A component is identified as a chronic leaker based on the following conditions:
Chronic Leak Definition - the maximum concentration at which a material can be found to be leaking to remain in compliance
Evaluation Period - one or more consecutive calendar quarters
Number of Exceeding Quarters - an Exceeding Quarter is a calendar quarter with a leak above the chronic leak definition
Equipment Category (and optionally Equipment Type)
For example, a component categorized as a valve (equipment category) may be defined in the consent decree as a chronic leaker if it leaks above 10,000 ppm (chronic leak definition) during two quarters (exceeding quarters) in any consecutive four quarters (evaluation period). When a component exceeds the number of leaks permitted, it is assigned a chronic leaker status. Typically, a consent decree includes good performance conditions, such as no leaks for eight consecutive quarters, that allow a component's chronic leaker status to be removed.
Chronic leak conditions are defined in the Chronic Leaker Criteria section on the Consent Decree form. The Update Chronic Leakers tool evaluates monitoring results and determines which components are chronic leakers. The Chronic Leakers List is available to view the components identified as chronic leakers so the appropriate maintenance can be performed for consent decree compliance. The Update Chronic Leakers tool also evaluates for good performance and automatically removes components from the list that no longer qualify as chronic leakers. An option is available to enter repair data and manually remove a component from the list on the Chronic Leaker form.
The Chronic Leaker Report provides data for current chronic leakers, repaired chronic leakers, or chronic leakers removed from the Chronic Leakers List during a specified date range for one or more entities.
For instruction on chronic leakers, click the following links or use the scroll bar to scan the page.
The Update Chronic Leakers tool evaluates chronic leak definitions and component monitoring results to determine chronic leaker status. The following fields in the Chronic Leaker Criteria section on the Consent Decree form contain the chronic leak conditions:
Equipment Category (and optionally Equipment Type)
Chronic Leak Definition
Number of quarters with 1 or more exceedances (Exceeding Quarters)
Number of Consecutive Quarters in Chronic Leaker Evaluation Period
Number of Consecutive Calendar Quarters with No Exceedances
An entity and a Calendar Quarter Date are required to begin the chronic leak evaluation. The Calendar Quarter Date represents the "end quarter" which is included when evaluating chronic leaker status and excluded when evaluating removal status. For example, assume the following chronic leaker conditions apply:
Number of Consecutive Quarters in Chronic Leaker Evaluation Period = 3
Number of Consecutive Calendar Quarters with No Exceedances = 4
When evaluating for chronic leaker status, evaluation quarters include the "end quarter" represented by the Calendar Quarter Date.
Calendar Quarter Date |
End Quarter |
Evaluation Quarters |
July 18, 2011 |
3Q 2011 |
3Q 2011, 2Q 2011, 1Q 2011 |
March 31, 2011 |
1Q 2011 |
1Q 2011, 4Q 2010, 3Q 2010 |
When evaluating for chronic leaker removal status, evaluation quarters exclude the "end quarter" represented by the Calendar Quarter Date.
Calendar Quarter Date |
End Quarter |
Evaluation Quarters |
July 18, 2011 |
3Q 2011 |
2Q 2011, 1Q 2011, 4Q 2010, 3Q 2010 |
March 31, 2011 |
1Q 2011 |
4Q 2010, 3Q 2010, 2Q 2010, 1Q 2010 |
When a component is determined to be a chronic leaker, a start date is assigned. The start date is the date of the monitoring result that qualified the component as a chronic leaker. When a chronic leaker qualifies for removal status, an end date is assigned. The end date is the Calendar Quarter Date—July 18, 2011, March 31, 2011 in the above examples. The end date can be changed on the Chronic Leaker form when necessary. You can also manually enter an end date for any chronic leaker on the Chronic Leaker form. Start and end dates are maintained for historical purposes.
There must be at least one reading in each quarter for the quarter to be included in the evaluation period. If a quarter contains no reading, evaluation starts over with next quarter during which a reading was recorded.
Just the first reading in a monitor run is used for evaluation.
Once a reading for a component in a quarter exceeds the chronic leak definition, the quarter is flagged as an Exceeding Quarter and no further readings in that quarter are evaluated for the component.
When a component qualifies for removal status, it is assigned an end date. If the component begins leaking again within the same quarter, the chronic leaker evaluation includes the quarter with the end date.
The Update Chronic Leakers tool evaluates chronic leak definitions and component monitoring results to determine chronic leaker status. Results update the Chronic Leaker List. An entity and a Calendar Quarter Date are required to begin the chronic leak evaluation. The Calendar Quarter Date represents the "end quarter" which is included when evaluating chronic leaker status and excluded when evaluating removal status. The Calendar Quarter Date is also used for the end date when a chronic leaker qualifies for removal status.
An entry is added to the Job Log for each request to run the Update Chronic Leakers tool. The start and finish date/time, the run status, and the results are provided for each log entry. Any errors are displayed as results. Jobs are processed according to a pre-configured priority in a managed, queue-based environment to minimize system contention. Use the Job Log to determine your job's position among all the jobs scheduled to run and to determine the current/final run status. The Refresh link can be used at any time to update the log. For notification purposes, a Loading... message appears when the Job Log is being refreshed. Entries can be deleted from the log when no longer needed on the Purge APE Log form.
To update the Chronic Leaker
List
Click Tools
> Chronic Leakers > Update Chronic Leakers List in the
Navigation Tree.
The Update Chronic Leakers
form is displayed.
Select an Enterprise Entity from the list.
Enter a Calendar
Quarter Date. The Calendar
button is available to select the date.
The Calendar Quarter Date represents the "end quarter" which
is included when evaluating chronic leaker status and excluded when
evaluating removal status. This date is also used as the end date
when a chronic leaker is assigned the removal status. Refer to Chronic Leaker Evaluation for
additional information.
Click Update Chronic Leakers.
Repeat steps 2 through 4 to update chronic leaker statuses for another entity.
Refer to Viewing the Chronic Leaker List.
The Chronic Leakers List shows the components identified as chronic leakers so the appropriate maintenance can be performed for consent decree compliance. The list includes the entity, tag name, equipment category/type, consent decree, chronic leaker start/end date, and the type of removal:
Automatic - by the Update Chronic Leakers tool
Manually - by entering repair/end date information on the Chronic Leaker form
The list can to filtered to show the chronic leakers that were automatically and/or manually removed.
The Chronic Leaker List provides access to the Chronic Leaker form where repair information can be added, an end date that manually removes the component from the list can be specified, and an automatically applied end date can be edited. A Removal Reason is required when specifying an end date.
To view the Chronic Leaker
List
Ensure chronic leaker statuses are current using the Update Chronic Leaker tool. Refer to Updating the Chronic Leaker List for additional information.
Click Data
Entry > Tag Information > Chronic Leakers in the Navigation Tree.
The Chronic Leakers List is
displayed.
Include removed chronic leakers by clicking the Auto Removed and/or Manual Removed Chronic Leaker check box. Click Select All or Select None to quickly add or remove these filters.
To enter repair/removal date information
Access the Chronic
Leakers List and click the entity or tag name link.
The Chronic Leaker form is
displayed with Chronic Leakers List
information and chronic leak criteria.
Enter a Removal
Date. The Calendar
button is available to select the date.
When a repair date is entered, the removal date is automatically populated
with the repair date and "Repaired" is entered in the Removal Reason field.
Enter a Removal Reason.
Expand the Repair Information section and use the guidelines below to enter repair data. Otherwise, skip to step 5.
For date-related fields, type the date or use the Calendar button next to the field to select a date.
Select a Repair Method from the list. If the applicable method is not listed, click the Ellipsis button to add it.
Click Save.
