A Chevron spokesperson said Tuesday that the company is continuing with its plans to clean up a former refinery site in northeast Ardmore. The 130-acre site contains homes as well as property Habitat for Humanity hopes to develop as a housing addition.
Habitat for Humanity’s Executive Director Jack Scott said the organization hopes to build 26 homes on the property once all the risks have been eliminated and the site receives federal Environmental Protection Agency endorsement.
“We are going to the nth degree to make sure everything is safe,” he said.
Chevron participates in the state’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, which gives it the means to investigate, and, if warranted, clean up sites that may be polluted. Once the cleanup is completed, the property can be reused or developed.
The former Pure Oil Ardmore Refinery is located on the east and west sides of Refinery Road southwest of Valero Refinery. The former refinery and associated tank farm operated from about 1915 until 1936, when it closed and Pure Oil sold the property. Union Oil Company of California purchased Pure Oil Company in 1965. Chevron Corporation (then ChevronTexaco Corporation) bought Unocal Corporation 10 years later.
Unocal volunteered to remediate the site in 2002, and Chevron has continued to operate under that agreement.
Since 2002, the oil companies have removed contaminated soils, solidified petroleum oil material, piping, concrete sumps and wooden tanks from the site. Working under a state Department of Environmental Quality-approved work plan, in 2008 Chevron took soil and groundwater samples to further assess the site, which includes property owned by Habitat for Humanity.
Soil tests determined that pollutants released from crude oil storage tanks in the area are high enough that the contaminants need to be removed. Natalie Woodard, Chevron’s project manager, said the cleanup on the northwest side of the site will include 19 separate spots. She said tests showed the groundwater in the area is free of pollutants.
The company will pay the costs of removing any tainted soil, conducting confirmation soil sampling and backfilling with clean soil.
DEQ assessed the site in 1997 for the EPA and concluded any pollutants on the site did not appear to pose an immediate threat to human health or the environment. Chevron and DEQ will jointly investigate the property that was developed prior to 2002 to ensure the environmental risks to residents are minimal. Chevron will also continue to work with property owners to clean up land on the east side of Refinery Road.
Steve Biehn, 221-6546
steve.biehn@ardmoreite.com
