Page Content
Pennzoil-Quaker State Co., doing business as SOPUS Products (PQS), has entered into a voluntary remediation agreement with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to clean up undeveloped property in Hancock County, W.Va. The site is located at 442 Murray Rd., in New Cumberland.
PQS is working with the DEP’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) under the state’s Voluntary Remediation Program to address environmental conditions at the site associated with the historical disposal of materials that occurred prior to the creation of environmental regulations.
Chemicals of potential concern are associated with the industrial processing and refining of crude oil which includes wax, catalysts and possibly fertilizers. Remedial actions will include excavation and off-site disposal of refuse related to commercial petroleum sources, decomposed metal debris, and visibly impacted soil. Also, a collection of post remediation samples will be conducted to confirm remediation.
Known contamination at the site includes soils visibly impacted by petroleum-related compounds and buried petroleum debris, including drummed material. Methods to control exposure will involve implementing soil and debris remedial action to remove potential source material, collection of post excavation soil samples, backfill excavations with clean soil and possible restrictions on future land use. The DEP’s voluntary remediation agreement includes provisions for identifying human health and ecological risks associated with current and potential future uses of the site.
The Voluntary Remediation Program encourages voluntary clean-ups of contaminated sites, as well as redevelopments of abandoned and under-utilized properties, in the hope of counteracting the lack of growth on sites with contamination or perceived contamination. The Program seeks to identify and address potential contamination at a given site. It also sets applicable remediation standards and confirms that the site maintains these standards.
As long as an applicant is following the Program’s rules and regulations, typical DEP enforcement actions, as well as liability under environmental laws, will be limited while the applicant cleans up a site. The Voluntary Program also gives applicants the ability to redevelop sites with existing industrial infrastructure at a lower price, and provides financial incentives to invest in Brownfields.
Questions regarding the Program or this application may be directed to James A. Gaston, project manager, WVDEP, DLR/OER, 131-A Peninsula St., Wheeling, WV 26003, (304) 238-1220 ext. 3515; Michael Edelman, Licensed Remediation Specialist, ARCADIS Malcolm Pirnie, 640 Freedom Business Center, Suite 310, King of Prussia, PA 19406, (610) 768-5813; or Mark Himberger, PQS, 910 Louisiana St., Room 687, Houston TX 77002, (713) 241-7035.