Cleanup Proposal Made for Former BP Amoco Site Contamination

Philadelphia, PA— The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, announced a proposed remedy to address contaminated soil, sediment, and waste materials at the Giant Yorktown, Inc. (formerly BP Amoco Yorktown Refinery) facility located in Grafton, Virginia, along the York River.

“The proposed cleanup plan will substantially reduce the long-term risks for residents of this Yorktown community. We encourage the public to review the proposed remedy and respond back to us with their comments,” said EPA Regional Administrator Donald S. Welsh.

The cleanup plan sets out to control the source of contamination and manage the migration of contamination by excavating and consolidating contaminated soils, sediment and waste materials, and by capping the materials and providing long-term groundwater monitoring.

In 1991, EPA ordered BP Amoco to investigate environmental contamination resulting from spills and releases of hazardous wastes, and to evaluate remedial technologies that would be most effective for cleaning up the contaminated areas at the facility. The investigation revealed that portions of soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater at the facility are contaminated with organic chemicals such as benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene, methyl tert-butyl ether, and other chemicals.

The document issued, called EPA’s statement of basis, summarizes the environmental conditions at the site over the past 12 years and describes the steps EPA is proposing to manage the contamination.

Copies of site-related documents and the proposed cleanup plan are available for public review on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/ public_notices.htm