EPA RCRA ID: WVD057634776
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility is the West Virginia Department of Environment (DEP).
On February 18, 1994, EPA executed an Administrative Order requiring the former Facility owner Quaker State to complete various Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action activities for the Congo Refinery in Newell, West Virginia.
Quaker State sold the property to Ergon in July 1997, and the operating facility is now known as Ergon West Virginia Inc. Newell Refinery. Pennzoil merged with Quaker State in 1999, and Shell subsequently purchased Pennzoil in October 2002. Shell continues to execute the RCRA Corrective Action activities required by the 1994 EPA Order for the Newell West Virginia Facility. These activities include the conduct of a RFI and the preparation of a Corrective Measures Study to identify cleanup options that are needed to stabilize the site conditions and/or mitigate any unacceptable risks posed by the presence of contamination. Between 1994 and 2009, multiple phases of investigation work were completed to delineate contamination that was present in soil and groundwater at the Facility. Various Interim Measures (IMs) including source removal work and groundwater monitoring were also completed at the Facility. These measures are ongoing to ensure the site conditions are stable, and that no offsite migration of contaminants occurs or unacceptable health risks are posed.
On March 12, 2000, EPA issued a final cleanup remedy which including groundwater and land use restrictions and groundwater monitoring.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, 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 Former Quaker State/Ergon Refinery, Newell West Virginia Facility is located along the south bank of the Ohio River in Hancock County, West Virginia, approximately 1.5 miles southwest of the town of Newell. The approximately 70 acre fenced area of the Facility consists of refining process units, fuel loading racks, tanks, warehouses, office and administration buildings, a wastewater treatment plant, process and storm sewers, a railroad spur entering from the south and pipelines leading to the barge docks on the Ohio River. The area surrounding the Facility is rural and sparsely populated. In the immediate vicinity of the Facility, land use is primarily low density industrial and residential.
Contaminants at this Facility
Contaminants of concern include benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, naphthalene, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, pyrene, arsenic, chromium, iron, lead and manganese.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls include groundwater and land use restrictions and groundwater monitoring.
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) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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) |
|||
|
Governmental Controls (GC) |
||||
|
Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
||||
| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
|
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) |
|||
|
Non-Groundwater |
||||
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
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.