falcon refinery

FM 2725 AT BISHOP ROAD

The Falcon Refinery Superfund Site (hereinafter “the Site”) is located near the city of Ingleside, Texas. It occupies approximately 104 acres in San Patricio County and is located 1.7 miles southeast of State Highway 361 on FM 2725 at the north and south corners of the intersection of FM 2725 and Bishop Road (see the “Site Map” section of this summary). The Site consists of a refinery that operated intermittently and is currently inactive, except for a crude oil storage operation being conducted by Superior. When in operation the refinery had a capacity of 40,000 barrels per day and the primary products consisted of naphtha, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel, and fuel oil. The refinery also historically transferred and stored vinyl acetate, a substance not excluded under the petroleum exclusion. Surface water drainage from the Site enters the wetlands along the southeastern section of the abandoned refinery. The wetlands then connect to the Intracoastal Waterway and Redfish Bay, which connects Corpus Christi Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. The Site is bordered by wetlands to the northeast and southeast, residential areas to the north and northwest, Plains Marketing (a crude oil storage facility) to the north, and several construction companies to the west and south. Other portions of the Site include above-ground and buried piping leading from the Site to dock facilities, owned by Lazarus Texas Incorporated, at Redfish Bay. The potentially responsible party (PRP) for the Site, National Oil Recovery Corporation (NORCO), entered into an “Administrative Order on Consent” (AOC) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on June 9, 2004. The PRP agreed to perform and finance the Removal Action and Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the Site. The purpose of the Removal Action is to address the wastes from the abandoned tanks, equipment, and piping. The Removal Action currently is ongoing. The purpose of the RI/FS is to determine the nature and extent of contamination and to gather sufficient information about the Site to support an informed risk management decision regarding which remedy is the most appropriate for the Site. The EPA approved the RI/FS Work Plan, Field Sampling Plan, and Quality Assurance Project Plan on October 22, 2007; and Addendum 1 on May 8, 2009. On February 16, 2010, in response to the EPA’s 2009 request for reimbursement of the RI/FS Special Account under the terms of the AOC, NORCO notified the EPA that it was financially unable to perform the remaining RI/FS work. On March 28, 2011, the EPA notified NORCO of the takeover of the performance of the remaining work under the AOC for the RI/FS. The EPA invoked the takeover provisions of the AOC because NORCO failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the AOC. On December 16, 2011, after providing NORCO another opportunity to resume the remaining work under the terms of the AOC and an “Agreed Order for Resumption (Agreed Order) of RI/FS Work,” the EPA again notified NORCO of the takeover of the performance of the remaining work under the AOC for the RI/FS for failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the AOC and Agreed Order.