Mid-Atlantic Corrective Action

Pennzoil-Quaker State Company
Rouseville Plants 1 and 2
(Shell Lubricants Company)

On This Page

• Status
• Background
• Contaminants and Risks
• Institutional Controls
• Documents and Reports
• Photos, Maps and Diagrams
• Reuse Information
• Questions

EPA ID:PAD004329835
Location:
2 Main Street
Rouseville, PA 16301
Property Area: Plant 1 - 76 Acres,
Plant 2 - 60 Acres
Congressional District: 5
Other Names: Shell Lubricants
LAST UPDATE: April 2013

Contacts

Bulletin Board

Status

The Pennzoil Facility in Rouseville, PA consists of two physically separate portions; Plant 1 and Plant 2. Corrective Action at the Pennzoil-Rouseville Plant is being conducted primarily under the supervision of PADEP with assistance and concurrence by EPA.


Plant 1
An initial Remedial Action Plan/Clean-up Plan (RAP) was submitted during September, 2006. The RAP was approved with modifications in March 2007. The Cleanup Plan involved institutional controls (deed & use restrictions) and an enhancement and continuation of the existing engineering controls (groundwater recovery) in addition to some soil excavation and recovery trench extensions. In addition, documentation of long-term post remediation care and financial assurance were requested to be submitted. Since the initial RAP, several addendums due to changing site conditions and remedial technologies have been submitted and approved by PADEP.
Shell Oil recently submitted a RAP in April 2010 proposing to implement an alternative remedial approach. This RAP is currently under review by PADEP and EPA. A Final Act 2 Report is anticipated to be submitted by the end of the 2011 fiscal year.
In the area of beneficial reuse, during 2006 Plant 1 ownership was transferred from Calumet Lubricants Co., LP to the Borough of Rouseville under the three-party Consent Order & Agrement (CO&A). The Borough of Rouseville has subsequently been working with the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Development Corporation to redevelop a portion of the site to
construct a Biodiesel Plant. In 2007, a portion of Plant 1 was sold to a sandblasting company. A specialty steel company is looking at another 5 acre parcel. Another company is also looking at another area at the south end of Plant 1.


Plant 1
Established and enforceable under the June 8, 2006 CO&A with PADEP, the following institutional controls are established at this portion of the facility:
Deed restrictions:
(1) limiting the use of the Property to commercial or industrial activity, excluding schools, nursing homes and other residential style facilities, and recreational areas;
(2) prohibiting the use of groundwater at the Property; and,
(3) prohibiting the construction of basements or underground storage on the Property.
Use restrictions:
(1) any persons using the property shall avoid disturbing surface soils at the Property, except as necessary to install improvements at the Property. If such a disturbance is proposed, a work plan must be submitted and approved prior to commencing work;
(2) excavation in areas where identified contamination exists below "original grade" shall require a written health and safety plan that addresses all known contamination, and;
(3) excavations or improvements shall not disrupt the approved remedial actions


Plant 2
A "Site Characterization Report/Remedial Investigation Report (SCR/RIR), Former Rouseville Refinery - Plant 2" was submitted in April 2009. An addendum to this report was submitted in December 2009 to address previously unaddressed soil gas concentration related to potential indoor air pathway exposures. EPA had a conference call with the Plant 2 Project Manager on 5/13/2010 to receive an update to the site status. It was discovered that a RAP for Plant 2 was submitted recently to PADEP and deemed administratively complete. EPA has not received a copy and is expected to have a copy forwarded this week. This RAP will be reviewed concurrently with PADEP.


Plant 2
There are currently no institutional controls established at this portion of the facility. However, based on the conversation on 5/13/2010, Shell is expecting to rely on institutional controls as part of the RAP. A draft version will either be submitted with the RAP or with a Final Act 2 Report anticipated to be submitted in August 2010.

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Background

Both Pennzoil Facility Plants 1 and 2 are located in Verango County in the western portion of Pennsylvania. Plant 1 is located in Rouseville Borough and Plant 2 is located in Cornplanter Township. Both Plants are located along Oil Creek. Plant 1 had storage tanks which received
crude oil. This oil was refined into various motor oils, lubricants, and fuels. Plant 2 had storage tanks that received product from Plant 1 via a pipeline. There have been various releases of products from both plants which have been found in the groundwater and which have seeped into nearby streams.
Pennzoil entered a Consent Order with PADEP in April of 1990 for releases to the environment from the Rouseville Facility Plants 1 and 2. The Order has since expired but Pennzoil has continued to remediate the sites under the conditions of the Order.
Pennzoil was also under an EPA Corrective Action Permit issued later in 1990 to investigate specific solid waste management units and areas of concern. Since the PADEP Order was more comprehensive, in 1993 EPA created a worksharing arrangement with PADEP. Under this arrangement, PADEP oversees remediation activities at Pennzoil and EPA receives copies of quarterly reports and other correspondences. The EPA Corrective Action Permit issued to Pennzoil in 1990 expired in 2000. According to 40 CFR ' 270.30(b), a permitee must apply for and obtain a new permit to continue activities regulated by this permit after the expiration date. Since Pennzoil no longer manages hazardous waste storage areas, they did not renew the EPA permit and EPA considers the permit to be expired. However, the obligation to address hazardous waste releases under RCRA remains in effect until EPA makes a final decision on an appropriate remedy. Given the recent various changes in ownership, the fact that the permit is expired, and that Pennzoil has been conducting remediation activities under supervision of PADEP since 1993, EPA believes the most practical approach to complete site remediation is to allow each area of concern (AOC) identified in the permit and any AOC=s identified by PADEP to be addressed by PADEP=s Land Recycling Program (Act 2). EPA believes that upon completion of the Act 2 Program all conditions of the original permit and all portions of corrective action will be satisfied.
A petroleum hydrocarbon recovery system was installed during 1991 at Plant 1 and Plant 2 and is currently in operation. The recovery system is designed to control migration of SPL to Oil Creek and Cherry Run. Over time, releases to the environment of petroleum hydrocarbons have decreased as measured by such parameters as the amount of oily sheens on the local streams and the amount of free product floating on the groundwater. Pennzoil accomplished these reductions by repairing leaking equipment and actively removing free product. PQS submits quarterly remedial action progress reports to the PADEP that documents the progress of the recovery systems. Remediation activities are continuing.
PQS initiated a comprehensive site characterization of Plant 1 and Plant 2 during 2000/2001 in accordance with the requirements of the Storage Tank Act and Land recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act.
In April, 2000, Plant 1 was sold to Calumet Lubricants Co., L.P. and Pennzoil had retained the environmental liability. Calumet has decommissioned Plant 1 and prepared a site-wide evaluation report under the PADEP Land Recycling Program (Act 2). Environmental liability for Plant 1 is now shared between Calumet and Shell. Plant 2 was acquired by Shell lubricants on October 1, 2002 during the acquisition of Pennzoil-Quaker State by the Shell Oil Company. Pennzoil has decommissioned Plant 2 and prepared a site-wide evaluation report under the
PADEP Land Recycling Program (Act 2).
In the January 2003 Conceptual Site Model submitted by TolTest, a Toluene plume was identified on the Pant 1 property. The source was reportedly a former MEK-Toluene unit. A pilot test was performed and Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) was chosen as the remedial action to address the plume. The SVE unit is currently active and treating the plume through the existing groundwater treatment system with some modifications.
A source area for occasional outbreaks of sheens and separate phase liquids (SPLs) located near the railroad bridge that crosses Oil Creek was addressed. During January and February 2005 a sheet pile wall (Waterloo Barrier7) was installed adjacent to oil Creek to physically contain the SPLs. Three containment wells were also installed upgradient to recover SPL from the area and to contain sheen outbreaks.
PADEP received and reviewed the March 20, 2006 document titled "Site Characterization Report/Remedial Investigation Report (SCR/RIR), Former PQS Refinery Plant 1." The report included a Risk Assessment Report (RAR), which has been reviewed by PADEP. The SCR/RIR and RAR was submitted to PADEP in accordance with the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2). PADEP approved the RIR and RAR in accordance with the provisions of Act 2 on June 2, 2006.

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