EPA RCRA ID: DED002329738
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Corrective action is a requirement under RCRA that facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes, or did so in the past, investigate and clean up hazardous releases into soil, groundwater, surface water and air. For more information, and for more information on RCRA-specific terms used on this page, please visit EPA’s umbrella RCRA web page or EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action page.
On this page:
- Cleanup Activities
- Facility Description
- Institutional/Engineering Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Activities
The Refinery entered into the EPA Corrective Action program through a permit in November 1988. In September 2003, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) issued a Corrective Action Permit to Motiva and DNREC is the lead agency for Corrective Action for this facility.
Thirty-five Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) were identified and investigated and areas of groundwater contamination were delineated. Contaminates found through the various studies include metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and chlorinated solvents. Environmental work conducted at the Site is summarized in the following Reports, submitted to EPA and DNREC:
- Background Information Survey Report (Dames & Moore, 1991a)
- Identification of the Potential for an Occurring or Past Release Study Report (Dames & Moore,1991b)
- Verification of Release Study (VRS) Report (Dames & Moore, 1995)
- Phase I Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigation (RFI) Report (URS, 2005)
- Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment (URS, 2005)
- Interim Measures Report, Solid Waste Management Units 20B and Portions of 24B (URS, 2006)
- Interim Report – Southern Extent of Dissolved Phase Plume (URS, 2007)
- Interim Report – Dissolved Phase Plume Delineation – Phase II (URS, 2008)
- Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment (URS, 2010)
- Human Health Risk Assessment (URS, 2010)
- Phase II RCRA Facility Investigation SWMU Report (URS, 2010)
- Phase II RCRA Groundwater Report (URS, 2010)
- Guard Basin 4 Interim Measures Report (URS, 2013)
- Oily Sediment Area Interim Measures Report (URS, 2013)
Currently, three SWMUs are under post-closure care, two SWMUs are near closure (Industrial Waste Landfill and Fly ash Ponds) and two others, Guard Basin Four (GB4) and the Oily Sludge Area (OSA) are being remediated through interim measures.
During the Phase I RFI investigation, floating free-phase hydrocarbon was found in groundwater in five areas. In 1994, prior to the RFI, Motiva installed free-phase hydrocarbon recovery systems. Currently, four areas of the facility have free-phase hydrocarbon recovery systems, and with product removal, four of the original eleven systems have been removed.
The groundwater investigations delineated the areas where groundwater is impacted from releases from the refinery. The investigations show that contaminants have not migrated beyond site property boundaries or into surface waters above levels of concern to human health or the environment. Site-wide groundwater monitoring is also performed at approximately 140 monitoring wells to identify potential changes to the location and characteristics of the area of impacted groundwater.
A groundwater remediation pilot project was initiated in two areas at the Facility, but was discontinued in February 2011, after results showed limited effectiveness. Other groundwater clean-up options will be considered in the Corrective Measures Study, to be submitted to DNREC in the near future.
The Environmental Indicator Forms discuss that current human exposure to site contaminants is under control, and that further evaluation of groundwater is nearing completion to determine whether migration of contaminated groundwater is under control.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The Refinery is located on 5,050-acres approximately one-mile northwest of Delaware City, Delaware. The refining operations occupy about 1,000-acres. The facility commenced operation in 1956. The facility processed a variety of crude oils and currently produces about 180,000 barrels of petroleum product a day. Production has included diesel, gasoline, jet, fuel oil, aromatics, and methanol and propane fuels. The areas north and west of the refinery are industrial, and include some RCRA and Superfund sites, and the area south of the refinery is open fields or farmland. The Delaware River lies to the east of the facility.
The refinery has had many owners since going on-line in 1956. On May 1, 2004, ownership of the Motiva Refinery passed to Premcor, Inc., and on September 1, 2005 Valero Energy Corporation acquired Premcor, Inc. In November 2009, Valero discontinued production at the refinery and idled the facility. PBF Energy completed the purchase of the refinery from Valero Energy Corporation on June 1, 2010 and restarted the refinery in 2011. Motiva retains the environmental liability for the permitted waste units and historic contamination.
The main site-related contaminants of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene (BTEX), and other petroleum hydrocarbons compounds —including Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) and naphthalene — and some metals. were found in soil, groundwater and sediments. Chlorinated hydrocarbons were also found in groundwater on-site.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
No institutional controls are currently in place. Institutional controls may be incorporated in the Final Remedy Decision.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | |||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.