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Site Report: Petro Marine Ketchikan

Site Name: Petro Marine Ketchikan
Address: 1100 Stedman Street, near Coast Guard Base, Ketchikan, AK 99901
File Number: 1516.38.026
Hazard ID: 3888
Status: Cleanup Complete - Institutional Controls
Staff: IC Unit, 9074655229 dec.icunit@alaska.gov
Latitude: 55.334639
Longitude: -131.627972
Horizontal Datum:WGS84

We make every effort to ensure the data presented here is accurate based on the best available information currently on file with DEC. It is therefore subject to change as new information becomes available. We recommend contacting the assigned project staff prior to making decisions based on this information.

Problems/Comments

Historical leakage has contaminated soil and groundwater at the facility. Fuel products stored at the facility include gasoline and a range of diesels including jet fuel with lead. Bedrock and a hard pan soil layer have been observed in subsurface excavations during interim removal actions to remove hot spots of soil contamination. Seeps at the Tongass Narrows seawall periodically produce sheen that requires spill response boom and sorbent pad control measures. Some areas have been paved with asphalt following interim removal actions and a liner was recently placed around the tanks. A follow up site assessment was required after DEC-approved interim removal actions and a landfarming soil remediation plan were implemented by Petro Marine consultants in 2011 and 2012. DEC and Petro Marine coordinated development of a long term monitoring sampling and analysis plan for the surface water-groundwater interface discharge at the seawall. Results show petroleum concentrations in periodic seepage water are too high for a cleanup complete determination without additional monitoring and property restrictions.

Action Information

Action Date Action Description DEC Staff
3/8/2002 Update or Other Action Email approval to transport 3 or 4 drums of soil to Ketchikan Landfill for disposal sent to Barry Hogarty, consultant for Petro Marine.Site status will be "inactive" until Petro Marine either upgrades the facility or closes, at which time a more complete site characterization may be required. Bill Janes
3/19/2002 Site Added to Database Historical petroleum spill. Bruce Wanstall
3/19/2002 Site Ranked Using the AHRM Preliminary ranking. Bruce Wanstall
12/20/2004 Update or Other Action Discussion with facility manager Bob Bloom at Petro Marine regarding the soil from the North Residence that is stockpiled on the facility. Discussed biotreating and incorporating around the perimeter of the tank berms once cleanup levels have been met. Petro to submit work plan in the spring. Bill Janes
5/10/2005 Update or Other Action Site visit and meeting with Bob Blume. Petro Marine has started spreading North residence soil on-site and will biotreat at DEC's direction from earlier this year. Bill Janes
9/7/2005 Update or Other Action Approval given to Petro to spread the first half of the North Residence soil against the hillside below the tanks. Soil has been undergoing bio treatment since May. Avg of three composit samples collected recently is 557 ppm DRO. Cleanup level is 230 but active treatment can now be terminated. Bill Janes
4/11/2006 Update or Other Action Four discrete samples collected from second batch. Bill Janes
5/4/2006 Update or Other Action Results received on four discrete samples. Results are 534,440,530,439 ppm. QC within acceptable parameters. Email clearance given to Petro Marine to place the material along the hillside and seed. If material is moved from the site and used elsewhere it must meet the most restrictive cleanup level (230 ppm) Bill Janes
2/26/2008 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking Initial ranking with ETM completed. Bill Janes
5/1/2008 Update or Other Action ADEC Project Management transfer from Janes to Wanstall; evaluate historical correspondence and the recent oil spill report for site status. Bruce Wanstall
5/5/2008 Update or Other Action ADEC and Petro Marine updated on the status of oil leakage from a retaining wall beneath the marine head and truck rack piping. Seepage was stopped and the piping was plugged. The historical pipeline that is the spill source has no current function. Bruce Wanstall
5/4/2010 Meeting or Teleconference Held CS provided technical assistance to the Southeast Area Response Team (SART) project manager overseeing a minor petroleum release from a seep in the facility seawall. Seawall piping system to drain phreatic water adds to complexity of finding the source of the petroleum release to marine waters. SART observed 2 pipes approx. 2-3” diameter on the North and West portion of the concrete seawall that are heavily corroded and releasing an unknown petroleum product. The substance is black and with a very pungent fuel odor (diesel/gas). Manager Bob Bloom added that there are 20 or so of these pipes along the West wall that leads down their property, but the two they reported were the only ones leaking; it is unknown where they lead to. SART requested Petro Marine conduct an investigation and install control measures; simply patching the leak like was done in 2008 is no longer acceptable to the DEC. Bruce Wanstall
4/26/2011 Spill Transferred from Prevention Preparedness and Response Program Spill transferred by PERP staff Bob Fultz. Spill no. 10119912101; spill date = 5/1/10; substance = diesel; quantity = unknown. Description: Oily water mix was reported to have discharged through two pipes within the sea wall at Petro Marine Services. Oil boom was deployed and a cleanup occurred. Petro Marine was advised to install coupling on the ends of the pipes so future substances could be recovered via pump. They were also advised to coordinate with an environmental consultant and have samples colected and tested. Two monitor wells were installed near the seawall that did not prove to be benefitial. A second relese occurred through several other pipes in the same seawall. Those pipes were retrofitted as well in order to pump as necessary. All oil/water was was pumped into holding tanks and allowed to separate. Oil was then pumped into an oil tanker and disposed of at an approved facility. Water was discharged into the oil water seperator. A new monitor well was installed near the sea wall on the North end and a large amount of oil/water mix was recovered for a considerable time. By pumping from pipes that contained product and the monitor well, it apears the plume has been recovered as the flows have all but ended. Mitzi Read
4/26/2011 Spill Transferred from Prevention Preparedness and Response Program Spill transferred by PERP staff Bob Fultz. Spill no. 10119930201; spill date = 10/29/10; substance = diesel; quantity = unknown. Description: It is speculated that the oil discovered is from a diesel fuel spill that occurred in 2002 when oil was being pumped from a fuel barge and into bulk storage tanks. A filter broke that allowed several thousand gallons to spill inside of the filter room and into their oil water separator. A large cleanup occurred at that time and appeared that all oil was recovered and accounted for. A full report was prepared by R&M Engineering in Ketchikan for the recent oil discovery documenting the actions taken while installing the cathode protection on October 29, 2010. R&M's report will be forwarded to the contaminated sites project manager. Mitzi Read
9/23/2011 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC evaluated the R&M Site Assessment Report for Petro Marine Service Ketchikan facility surface and subsurface soil petroleum contamination found during excavation for the subsurface piping anode upgrade project. The Report suggests that the DRO subsurface soil contamination is weathered petroleum from a release documented in 2002. The PAH soil contamination may have leached from asphalt if it was exposed to gasoline. Elevated concentrations of GRO/BTEX that were detected are not associated with a known recent spill release. The GRO/BTEX soil samples were submitted without methanol preservation and were not analyzed within 48 hours of sampling; as a result those data are biased low and have limited value. In accordance with 18 AAC 75.355 (b), qualified personnel used data collection and field screening methods generally consistent with DEC methodology. A site assessment work plan was not reviewed for approval by the Contaminated Sites Program. The majority of the data meet field and laboratory report quality assurance criteria in Contaminated Sites Program guidance documents and data deficiencies and limitations are properly recognized, therefore the Report is approved in accordance with 18 AAC 75.335(d). Bruce Wanstall
9/28/2011 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 74863 Bulk Fuel Facility. Due to residual soil/groundwater contamination and gaps in available environmental data, the surface and subsurface soil, wild foods and vapor intrusion pathways are controlling exposure. Potential human and ecological receptors have low potential risk of exposure to this source area. Bruce Wanstall
9/29/2011 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Today's DEC letter approves the R&M Monitoring Plan for Petro Marine Ketchikan with comments and changes. DEC requested and received today the R&M Report of soil sampling on 12/1/2011 with data on soil samples collected from an excavation on the north side of the property near the sea wall late in 2010. Contaminated soil excavated during this interim removal action was added to a contaminated soil stockpile located at the upper tank farm. The approval letter requested laboratory sample testing of these contaminated soil stockpiles from past IRAs to facilitate shipment of the soil to an off-site facility for remedial treatment. Bruce Wanstall
10/19/2011 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other DEC letter provides formal approval for work plans titled: Site Monitoring Plan, Petro Marine Ketchikan and Soil Sampling and Cleanup Plan dated October 10, 2011. R&M Engineering-Ketchikan Inc completed the plans to periodically collect analytical samples from the water wells at the north and west seawalls to monitor subsurface water contaminated by historical oil spills at the facility and to collect analytical samples from petroleum contaminated soil treatment biocells located at the upper tank farm containment area on Stedman. Bruce Wanstall
8/9/2012 Potentially Responsible Party/State Interest Letter DEC sent a PRP letter to Petro Marine Services at the Ketchikan facility providing notice that Alaska Statute Title 46 authorizes the State to respond to this pollution incident and to take appropriate action to minimize damages to human health, safety and welfare or to the environment. Under Title 46, the owner or operator may be held financially responsible for any actions taken by the State. Petro Marine has undertaken response actions approved by the Department under Title 18 Alaska Administrative Code (AAC) 75.300 - .396, and the adequacy of those actions is being evaluated by Bruce Wanstall, the Project Manager for this pollution incident. Response actions are adequate if they are in accord with state and federal law, including 18 AAC 75. If Petro Marine continue taking adequate actions, State action will be limited to approving cleanup plans, monitoring the progress of cleanup activities and providing guidance as necessary. Alaska Statute 46.08.070 requires that recovery be sought for certain costs, including oversight activities, incurred by the State in responding to pollution incidents. State expenditures may include the direct costs of staff time and indirect State overhead costs, as well as contractual and material costs. State staff time includes all time spent on activities related to the incident, including site visits, response and report reviews, telephone conversations, meetings, legal services, and interest. Bruce Wanstall
10/4/2012 Site Visit DEC met Petro Marine (Randy) and R&M Engineering Ketchikan (Brett) at the PM tank farm site to inspect the sea wall at the marine shoreline located in the area downhill from South Tongass Highway and the bulk fuel tank farm uphill of South Tongass Highway (former Unocal Ketchikan Tank Farm) where contaminated soil is landspread within the spill containment barriers. DEC and Petro Marine coordinated development of a long term monitoring sampling and analysis plan for the surface water-groundwater interface discharge at the seawall. Results show petroleum concentrations in periodic seepage water are too high for a cleanup complete determination without additional monitoring and property restrictions. Bruce Wanstall
12/10/2013 Exposure Tracking Model Ranking A new updated ranking with ETM has been completed for source area 74863 Bulk Fuel Facility. Bruce Wanstall
5/29/2014 Institutional Control Record Established Institutional Controls established and entered into the database. IC compliance task order is established for DEC to follow up to ensure that a qualified third party consultant for Petro Marine Services submits an annual monitoring report of quarterly analytical sample monitoring of seawall tidal discharge for COCs TAH and TAqH to protect water quality of Tongass Narrows. In addition, Petro Marine shall report to DEC every five years to document land use is unchanged, or report as soon as Petro Marine becomes aware of any change in land ownership and/or use, if earlier, with a written description and photographs of the condition of ground surfaces overlying the contamination with notation of any changes since the last report. Non-compliance by the RP may result in a Notice of Violation for the Ketchikan facility. Bruce Wanstall
6/3/2014 Cleanup Complete Determination Issued With information currently available, DEC has determined there is no unacceptable risk to human health or the environment as long as any remaining contamination is properly managed. Contamination remains in the groundwater surface water interface at levels exceeding State Water Quality Criteria. However, the contamination is in pockets and inaccessible behind a seawall, and in-situ treatment is not appropriate or feasible due to the proximity of sensitive marine receptors. As a result, long term monitoring is required to ensure that levels are declining over time, as a condition of this closure determination. A list of Institutional Control conditions are necessary for this site closure determination and must be closely adhered to by Petro Marine Ketchikan. This determination is in accordance with 18 AAC 75.380 and does not preclude DEC from requiring additional assessment and/or cleanup action if future information indicates that this site may pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. Bruce Wanstall
6/5/2014 Enforcement Agreement or Order Petro Marine Services has signed and returned the agreement page regarding the terms of the Institutional Controls in the Cleanup Complete Determination. By signing the closure determination agreement, it is the responsibility of the owner/operator/land manager to maintain the terms of the Institutional Controls as stipulated in the signed agreement. If land use and/or ownership changes, the management conditions stated in the closure determination document may not be protective and DEC may require additional remediation and revised conditions. Therefore the Petro Marine Services Ketchikan facility shall report to DEC every five years to document land use, or report as soon as the Petro Marine Services becomes aware of any change in land ownership and/or use, if earlier. The report can be sent to the local DEC office or electronically to DEC.ICUnit@alaska.gov Bruce Wanstall
10/9/2014 Institutional Control Compliance Review IC compliance review conducted and staff changed from Bruce Wanstall to IC Unit. Reminder system set to follow-up with the responsible party in 2015 for annual monitoring and again in 2017 for five-year review of land use conditions. Kristin Thompson
7/6/2015 Institutional Control Update An IC reminder letter was issued to the responsible party on this date. Kristin Thompson
7/14/2015 Institutional Control Update In response to the IC reminder letter, the environmental compliance manager at Petro Marine contacted ADEC. They are currently in the process of verifying that the site is in compliance with institutional control requirements. Reminder system is reset to follow-up in one month from now. There is also a new contact and information has been updated in the Affiliates. Kristin Thompson
7/23/2015 Institutional Control Update Tongass Engineering LLC contacted ADEC regarding IC compliance at this site. Monitoring is occurring, with the latest sampling event taking place on 7/20/2015. Reminder system reset for one month from now to follow-up on the sampling results. Kristin Thompson
12/23/2015 Institutional Control Compliance Review Tongass Engineering contacted ADEC regarding the quarterly monitoring required on this site. At this time the monitoring results for 1st and 2nd quarter of 2015 cannot be found therefore the report to be sent to ADEC in the near future will include 4th quarter 2014 and third and fourth quarter 2015. Evonne Reese
2/28/2017 Institutional Control Compliance Review IC compliance review conducted. Closure/IC Details and Affiliates information updated. We have not received any of the required monitoring reports. Institutional controls verification & request for 2015 and 2016 quarterly monitoring results letter issued. Reminder system set to follow-up in one month. Kristin Thompson
4/19/2017 Institutional Control Update Multiple letters issued by ADEC have elicited no response from Petro Marine Services in regards to their compliance with the institutional controls placed on the site, as outlined in the 2014 Decision Document. A letter was issued this date letting Petro Marine Services know the site will be reopened and subject to cost recovery if we do not hear from them within one month. Reminder system re-set. Kristin Thompson
5/9/2017 Institutional Control Periodic Reporting Received email correspondence from the responsible party regarding compliance with ICs at this site. In response to the ADEC-issued ICs Verification letter, Petro Marine contacted Tongass Engineering and was assured that quarterly samples had been taken, analyzed, and the results submitted to ADEC. However, ADEC has not been contacted by Tongass Engineering and has no record of receiving any sampling results since the 2014 Cleanup Complete with Institutional Controls Determination was applied to the site. ADEC informed Petro Marine of this and requested the past sampling results be submitted to update the site record and show that Petro Marine is in compliance with ICs. Kristin Thompson
5/15/2017 Institutional Control Update We received the surface water sampling results for 2014 - 2016. TAH and TAqH have continued to decrease but are still quite elevated above the Water Quality Standards. Evonne Reese
5/18/2017 Institutional Control Update DEC agrees that surface water sampling frequency can go from quarterly to twice-yearly since TAH and TAqH levels have declined considerably between 2011 and 2016. The new schedule will include sampling once in March/April and once in September/October each year, with results submitted to ADEC on or before January 31st of the year following the sampling. Evonne Reese
5/11/2018 Update or Other Action Contacted by a staff member of Petro Marine about 56 super sacks of soil pulled out from the base of tank #11 while upgrading the catholic leak detection equipment. No petroleum contaminated soil was encountered at that time. The soil removed was sampled and analyzed using method SW 846. All concentrations for metals were much lower that the cleanup levels for soil. I informed Petro Marine that the soil was safe to spread on the property. Tank #11 is not in the vicinity of the remaining contamination where the ICs apply. Details about this project are included in the site file. Evonne Reese
5/14/2018 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Reviewed the 2017 Monitoring Report submitted by Tongass Engineering. The 2017 results exceeded applicable water quality standards for TAH and TAqH, although a decreasing trend in concentrations has occurred over the period between 2014 and 2017. Monitoring will continue to occur twice per year until concentrations of TAH and TAqH are below regulatory levels for four sampling events. Kristin Thompson
1/9/2019 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Reviewed the 2018 Monitoring Report submitted by Tongass Engineering. The 2018 results exceeded applicable water quality standards for TAH and TAqH, although a decreasing trend in concentrations continues to occur. Monitoring will continue to occur twice per year until concentrations of TAH and TAqH are below regulatory levels for four sampling events. The responsible party is in compliance with all institutional controls requirement. Evonne Reese
12/27/2019 Institutional Control Update Received the 2019 monitoring report on this date. A review of the data will be completed in the near future. Evonne Reese
2/6/2020 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Reviewed the 2019 Monitoring Report submitted by Tongass Engineering. The 2019 results exceeded applicable water quality standards for TAH and TAqH, although a decreasing trend in concentrations continues to occur. Monitoring will continue to occur twice per year until concentrations of TAH and TAqH are below regulatory levels for four sampling events. The responsible party is in compliance with all institutional controls requirement. Evonne Reese
2/17/2021 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Reviewed the 2020 Monitoring Report submitted by Tongass Engineering. The 2020 sampling results exceeded applicable water quality standards for TAH and TAqH and a slight increase was shown compared to 2019 results, although an overall decreasing trend in concentrations continues to occur. Monitoring will continue twice per year until concentrations of TAH and TAqH are below regulatory levels for four sampling events. The responsible party is in compliance with all institutional controls requirements. Evonne Reese
2/18/2021 Institutional Control Update IC compliance review conducted. All institutional controls are in compliance. Evonne Reese
2/18/2022 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Reviewed the 2021 Monitoring Report submitted by Tongass Engineering. The 2021 sampling results exceeded applicable water quality standards for TAH and TAqH, but the overall decreasing in concentrations continues when compared to prior years. Monitoring will continue twice per year until concentrations of TAH and TAqH are below regulatory levels for four sampling events. The responsible party is in compliance with all institutional controls requirements. Evonne Reese
2/18/2022 Institutional Control Compliance Review IC compliance review conducted including reviewing the monitoring report. All ICs are in compliance. Evonne Reese
5/18/2023 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Reviewed the 2022 Monitoring Report submitted by Tongass Engineering. The 2022 sampling results continue to exceed applicable water quality standards for TAH and TAqH, but the overall decreasing in concentrations continues at a steady rate. Monitoring will continue twice per year until concentrations of TAH and TAqH are below regulatory levels for four sampling events. The responsible party is in compliance with all institutional control requirements. Evonne Reese
11/20/2023 Update or Other Action Received notice from Petro Marine that during a routine inspection a broken discharge valve was discovered. The valve was replaced as soon as the tides and safety allowed. While the valve was broken, the discharge was monitoring for sheen. None was observed. Evonne Reese
5/6/2024 Document, Report, or Work plan Review - other Reviewed the 2023 Monitoring Report submitted by Tongass Engineering. The 2023 sampling results showed a slight uptick in concentrations of BTEX and PAH compounds as water quality standards for TAH and TAqH when compared to 2022, but the overall decreasing in concentrations continues at a steady rate. Monitoring will continue twice per year until concentrations of TAH and TAqH are below regulatory levels for four sampling events. The responsible party is following all institutional control requirements. Evonne Reese
5/6/2024 Institutional Control Compliance Review Annual monitoring report for 2023 received and reviewed. Evonne Reese

Contaminant Information

Name Level Description Media Comments
DRO Between Method 2 Migration to Groundwater and Human Health/Ingestion/Inhalation Soil Sample 10A from north end at 2 feet had DRO concentration of 4,030 mg/kg
GRO Between Method 2 Migration to Groundwater and Human Health/Ingestion/Inhalation Soil Sample 4 from mid trench at 3.0 feet had GRO concentration of 637 mg/kg
Benzene Between Method 2 Migration to Groundwater and Human Health/Ingestion/Inhalation Soil Sample 10A from north end at 2 feet had a benzene concentration of 0.245 mg/kg

Control Type

Type Details
Institutional Control Management Plan A monitoring record will be kept, tracking sampling events and the associated laboratory results. A summary of the data will be presented in an annual report which will include comparison of current data with historical data for trends in concentrations of the contaminants of concern. The annual report shall be forwarded to DEC annually to demonstrate compliance with the monitoring plan.
Signed CS Determination Monitoring is required to ensure that contaminants of concern concentrations previously detected above regulatory levels, are not increasing. Once contaminant of concern concentrations are, by sampling and analysis monitoring and trend analysis, determined to be consistently below regulatory levels, monitoring will be reduced to visual observation as a precautionary measure and a cleanup complete determination is possible.
Land Use Plan / Maps / Base Master Plan Petro Marine shall report to DEC every five years to document land use is unchanged, or report as soon as Petro Marine becomes aware of any change in land ownership and/or use, if earlier, with a written description and photographs of the condition of ground surfaces overlying the contamination with notation of any changes since the last report.

Requirements

Description Details
Surface water monitoring Monitoring is required to ensure that contaminant of concern TAH and TAqH concentrations previously detected above regulatory levels in seawall tidal discharge water have declined and are not increasing.
Excavation / Soil Movement Restrictions During a site visit in October 2012, DEC approved PM implementing the land spreading option in the approved Plan on the condition that treated soils will remain inside the AST containment area on the upper tank farm property.
Advance approval required to transport soil or groundwater off-site. Any proposal to transport soil or groundwater off-site requires DEC approval in accordance with 18 AAC 75.325(i). A “site” [as defined by 18 AAC 75.990 (115)] means an area that is contaminated, including areas contaminated by the migration of hazardous substances from a source area, regardless of property ownership. In particular, treated soil from the secondary containment area may need additional sampling if future offsite disposal is proposed.
Restricted to Industrial / Commercial Land Use Petro Marine shall report to DEC every five years to document land use is unchanged, or report as soon as Petro Marine becomes aware of any change in land ownership and/or use, if earlier, with a written description and photographs of the condition of ground surfaces overlying the contamination with notation of any changes since the last report.
Movement or use of contaminated material (including on site) in a manner that results in a violation of the water quality standards is prohibited (18 AAC 70) Standard condition.
Hazard ID Site Name File Number
3138 North Residence 1516.38.004
902 Ketchikan Tank Farm 1516.38.007

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