EPA RCRA ID: PAD046761763
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 EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
Remedial investigations at the facility began in 1984. LNAPL skimming was implemented in smaller-diameter monitoring wells in the impacted area of the Main Plant in 1994. Dual-phase recovery wells were initially installed in 1995 to recover LNAPL and impacted groundwater beneath the Main Plant Area; expansions to the recovery system (installation of additional recovery wells) occurred in 2009 and 2010.
In August 2004, the facility submitted a Notice of Intent to Remediate under PADEP’s Act 2 program. Remediation has been completed for the former Coal Ash Disposal Area and the Area South of Cole Creek; final reports for these areas were approved in September 2009 and November 2010, respectively. The Remedial Investigation and Risk Assessment (RIRA) and Cleanup Plan (CUP) reports for the Main Plant Area were approved in April 2013 and May 2014, respectively.
As proposed in the Main Plant Area Cleanup Plan, a one-year monitored shut-down of the LNAPL recovery system began in June 2014 to evaluate dissolved-phase constituents and LNAPL footprint stability under static groundwater conditions. Small sheens contained between a partially submerged pipe and the creek bank (i.e., the sheen did not reach the open water of the creek) occurred intermittently from 2015 until 2017, when the streambank was rehabilitated to eliminate sheen occurrence. Since completion of this work, no sheen or signs of erosion or destabilization have occurred in the area.
EPA proposed a cleanup remedy for the facility in August 2018, consisting of the establishment of a Technical Impracticability (TI) zone and long-term surface water monitoring program, in addition to implementing land and groundwater use restrictions summarized below and described in more detail in the proposed Statement of Basis.
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 International Waxes facility (Facility) is located at the intersection of Routes 46 and 446 in Farmers Valley, McKean County, Pennsylvania. The Facility is divided into three separate areas for remedial purposes: the Main Plant Area located west of Potato Creek and north of Cole Creek, the Area South of Cole Creek, and the Former Coal Ash Disposal Area located east of Potato Creek.
Refinery operations started on the site in 1923. The Facility was originally a petroleum crude oil refinery facility. In 1981, under Quaker State ownership, the Facility was converted from a petroleum refinery to a wax processing plant. The Facility no longer manufactures gasoline, fuel oils, or lubricant. Any materials removed during the de-oiling process were sold to a petroleum refinery in 1981. In 1990 the Facility was sold to Petrowax, who was acquired by Astor Corporation in 1995. Allied Signal acquired Astor and the Facility in 1997, and in 1999 Allied Signal merged with Honeywell, who divested the wax business to International Group in 2005 while retaining ownership of the property.
The plant’s principal operation is to remove the oil from the wax. The plant processes waxy feed stocks into finished waxes. The wax produced at the plant is used in waterproof cups and paper plates, as well as in the manufacture of automobile tires and candles.
Contaminants at this Facility
Primary contaminants at the facility include petroleum constituents and metals. A plume of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) is present in shallow groundwater underneath the Main Plant Area and, to a lesser extent, the Area South of Cole Creek. The LNAPL plume does not appear to affect the deep aquifer and appears to be relatively stable (i.e., the plume is not migrating appreciably). The potential for vapors from this plume to impact workers inside buildings in certain areas of the Facility may be significant; therefore, an institutional control prohibiting building construction in these areas is required. All other potential exposure routes to contamination at the Facility are being controlled by either institutional controls (e.g., shallow groundwater use prohibited and land use restricted) or engineering controls (e.g., sheet pile wall to prevent plume infiltration to surface water bodies).
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Several institutional controls have been implemented at the facility:
- Land use restricted to non-residential purposes only
- Groundwater use prohibition (except for deep aquifer)
- No withdrawal of groundwater within shallow or intermediate aquifer underneath facility
- Maintain integrity of capped portions of Coal Ash Disposal Area 1 and 2 and former Tank Bottoms Area
- Prohibition of building structures within former Gasoline Platforming Area and specific areas within Main Plant
More detailed information on these institutional and other engineering controls are discussed in the environmental covenant.
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: |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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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
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.