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EPA Plans to Approve Closing Two Haz Waste Units at Port Mobil; Seeks Public Comment on Plan for One of S.I.'s Largest Industrial Facilities

Release Date: 11/01/2000
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(#00203B) New York, N.Y. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it intends to approve Mobil Oil’s plan to close down two constructed "ponds" that have been used to store hazardous waste generated at the Port Mobil petroleum storage and transfer facility, located at 4101 Arthur Kill Road on Staten Island. The agency welcomes comments from the public about the potential closure, which would be the next step toward fully cleaning up this contaminated property. Comments from the public must be postmarked by November 24, 2000. Due to the company’s past practices and releases of petroleum over the years, the soil and groundwater in some areas of Port Mobil’s 200-acre facility are contaminated with chemical components of petroleum. Some of these contaminated areas, which are currently being cleaned up by Mobil under EPA oversight, could pose a threat to the Arthur Kill bordering the property to the west. The two "ponds" to be closed (technically called "surface impoundments") had been used by Mobil to hold wastewater containing benzene from its operations. Benzene is a carcinogenic chemical component of petroleum that poses risks to groundwater and may evaporate into the air. After determining in 1993 that Mobil did not have a permit to manage and treat hazardous wastes in these impoundments, EPA initiated a federal lawsuit against the company that is ongoing at this time. After extensive discussions with EPA, Mobil submitted its final plan for closing the two impoundments in October 2000. The agency is now ready to approve the plan. The closure plan requires Mobil to remove all the hazardous waste left in the ponds including liquids and sediments, and to clean any contamination from their liners. The company will also inspect the liners to determine whether at any time, hazardous waste was released through them into the soil and groundwater underlying Port Mobil. If so, the company will clean up the contamination as part of the larger ongoing remediation of other contaminated areas of the facility. EPA will review the work performed by Mobil. Those interested in reading the closure plan should call Mr. Wilfredo Palomino of EPA at (212) 637-4179 or the Staten Island Borough President’s Office at (718) 816-2058.