Problem

The site is a retail petroleum facility located on Bardin Road in Palatka, Florida. The site currently operates as an active retail fuel station, tire repair, grocery and feed store (Picture #1).

In 2004, the owner scheduled replacement of his underground storage tanks (USTs) and fuel dispenser canopy. At the time, the soil and groundwater contamination at the site had been investigated but had not been fully assessed. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) was requesting more assessment be performed prior to conducting any remedial effort. However, if the tanks and canopy were replaced (Picture #2), the soil contamination in this area would then be inaccessible to any future source removal effort and would likely require remediation with a mechanical or biological system at a later date. This approach would extend the site cleanup timeframe significantly.

Solution

TERRA-COM worked with FDEP and reached an agreement to move forward with the excavation of contaminated soil in the UST and canopy areas. The tanks and canopy were replaced in January and February 2004 (Picture #3) and a total of 548 tons of contaminated soil were removed during this effort (Picture #4). The site construction and environmental cleanup efforts were 'dove-tailed' together through TERRA-COM's negotiations with FDEP.

FDEP would not allow excavation of contaminated soils beyond the boundaries of the tank excavation. Therefore, assessment work at the site is ongoing. However, the pro-active removal of the contaminated soil provided financial benefit to both the owner and FDEP at the time of the tank upgrade.

Ongoing work at the site includes the installation of intermediate and deep wells using rotosonic drilling (Picture #5). This work will define the extent of the groundwater contamination (Picture #6), determine if the groundwater contamination has affected neighboring properties (Picture #7), and be used to determine the most cost-effective cleanup strategy while considering the business needs of the property owner.