Draft:Pacific Coast Pipe Lines: Difference between revisions

{{AfC submission|t||ts=20240212090043|u=Monsteramadness|ns=118|demo=}}<!-- Important, do not remove this line before article has been created. -->

== Background ==

The Pacific Coast Pipeline Superfund Site is a 55-acre property located at 67 East Telegraph Road, Fillmore, California <ref name="EPA">{{cite web |title=PACIFIC COAST PIPELINE FILLMORE, CA Cleanup Activities. |url=https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0901841#bkground|website=U.S. EPA|access-date= 9 February 2024}}</ref>. The site is also known as the "Fillmore Texaco Refinery" because from 1928 to 1950, [[Texaco]], then “The Texas Company”, operated an oil refinery here. This site is currently partially operated by [[Chevron Corporation]]. The refinery was dismantled in 1950 but it continued to operate as an oil pumping station until 2002 <ref name="ATSDR 2016">{{cite web| title=Evaluation of Airborne Dust and Site Soils at the Pacific Coast Pipeline Superfund Site|url=https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PacificCoastPipelineSite/PacificCoastPipeline_HC_Final_04-14-2016_508.pdf|website= Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |access-date= 9 February 2024 }}</ref>. According to the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA): “improper disposal practices contaminated soil with lead and [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]] (PAHs) and contaminated groundwater with volatile organic compounds (VOCs)” <ref name="EPA"/>. The site has been posted on the [[National_Priorities_List|National Priorities List]] since 1989. It has only been partially deleted from the list in 2017.

During its time of operation, Texaco Inc. dumped refinery waste down into unlined pits on the west side of the site <ref name="ATSDR 2016"/>. The content of the waste includes tetraethyl lead mixed with oil and gas. In 1986 alone, the EPA oversaw the removal of 38,000 tons of contaminated waste and soil from the former waste pits and smaller disposal areas <ref name="EPA"/>. However, later investigations determined that the soil and groundwater were still contaminated with PAHs and required further remedies. In 2013, Texaco Inc. removed all underground structures, dug out contaminated soil, and disposed of it in two locations on the site, putting a cap over the soil, and a fence surrounding the area <ref name="ATSDR 2016"/>.

In 2012, the [[ATSDR]] surveyed the Fillmore community regarding the health concerns related to dust exposure and possible contact with the contaminated soil during clean-ups and after the site was redeveloped <ref name="ATSDR 2015">{{cite web|title=Health Consultation:Pacific Coast Pipeline Superfund Site|url=https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/PacificCoastPipelineSuperfundSite/Pacific-Coast-Pipeline-Summary_FactSheet_FINAL_508.pdf |website= Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |access-date= 9 February 2024}}</ref>. The ATSDR monitored the dust level and wind speed and direction from 2011 to 2013. They collected soil data from 1980 to 2011. They also oversaw Chevron’s redevelopment plan on the site in 2013. They used real-time dust monitoring and conducted dust control methods to limit the amount of dust due to unearthing activities <ref name="ATSDR 2015"/>. The ATSDR found that the dust level occasionally exceeded the safe limit which may cause short-term health effects to people with pre-existing health complications but is unlikely to cause any long-term health effects <ref name="ATSDR 2015"/>. Lastly, the concern regarding property reuse was addressed by restricting previously contaminated sites to commercial, industrial, and recreational purposes only <ref name="ATSDR 2015"/>. The ATSDR also determined that Fillmore residents are unlikely to come in contact with contaminated soil and be exposed to lead in the dust at unsafe levels (from 2011 to 2013 survey) <ref name="ATSDR 2015"/>.

On December 26, 2017, the EPA proposed a new rule for the Pacific Coast Pipeline Superfund Site. This EPA issued “a Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion of the surface soil portion” from the National Priorities List.<ref name="FR">{{cite web | title=National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List: Partial Deletion of the Pacific Coast Pipe Lines Superfund Site.| url= https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/26/2017-27794/national-oil-and-hazardous-substances-pollution-contingency-plan-national-priorities-list-partial | website=Federal Registrar |access-date= 9 February 2024}}</ref>

The new rule was proposed because the State of California and the EPA had determined that the exposure to contaminated soil was no longer a risk because the appropriate response actions set by [[CERCLA]] and the “Close-Out Procedures for National Priorities List Sites” had been finalized for the top soil.

<ref name="FR" /> <ref name="EPA" /> However, this site still requires “maintenance, monitoring and five-year reviews.” <ref name="FR" />

Only the top soil layer at the site was removed from the NPL, as the groundwater was not considered for deletion on behalf of the petition.

In 2011, the [[Record of Decision]] amendment <ref name= “ROD”>{{cite web |title=EPA Superfund:Record of Decision Amendment Pacific Coast Pipeline| url= https://semspub.epa.gov/work/09/1128589.pdf|website=U.S. EPA|access-date= 9 February 2024}}</ref> for the Pacific Coast Pipeline site stated that [[air sparging]] would be used to continue treating the contaminated groundwater.

However, because of low levels of groundwater due to the drought, the EPA has turned its focus to treating the site's deep soil for benzene and toluene using a [[soil vapor extraction]] (SVE) system.<ref name="EPA" /> The SVE system has removed twenty-four (24) pounds of toluene and thirty-eight (38) pounds of benzene from soil deeper than ten (10) feet at the Pacific Coast Pipeline site since 2015.<ref name="EPA" />[[Bioremediation]] technologies are being considered as future treatment.<ref name="EPA" />