Remediation and Demolition at Operating Refinery

Location: Big Spring, Texas
Project Value: $1.6 Million

Lone Wolf has been providing remediation services over the last seven years at this refinery in West Texas. Remediation services at this site have included the following:

• Stabilization/recycling of impacted soils, sediments and concrete debris
• Operation and maintenance of refinery groundwater extraction and treatment systems
• Closure of an inactive hazardous waste land treatment unit
• Excavation/backfilling areas of impacted materials
• Landfarming/stabilization of impacted sediments
• Demolition of two 80,000 barrel aboveground storage tanks
• Pond liner installation and repair services

The refinery contacted LWR to remediate approximately 7,500 cubic yards of oily sediments. As part of the project evaluation process, the LWR Project Manager identified that: 1) the refinery was in need of engineered material for several refinery construction projects, 2) their on-site Class I landfill was reaching capacity and no longer would be able to take on routine refinery waste, and 3) the refinery was generating catalyst fines that also warranted remedial action. LWR proposed and implemented a solution to stabilize and recycle this oily waste that incorporated the other on-site secondary waste materials as feedstock in the recycling mix design in order to generate approximately 22,000 US tons of engineered product to be used for construction projects on-site. Not only was LWR able to provide a cost-effective solution to remediate the oily waste, but it was able to provide the following added value 1) by utilizing waste materials from on-site sources, such as impacted soils from on-site Class I landfill and refinery generated catalyst fines, LWR was able to further reduce future waste disposal and remediation costs and liabilities, and 2) by producing recycled engineered material from these on-site waste, LWR was able to reduce the need to purchase off-site engineered material for construction projects.

LWR has operated and maintained the refinery’s site-wide groundwater treatment system over the last seven years. Since taking over operation of the PSH recovery system since 2007, LWR has implemented modifications that have increased oil recovery rates from 8,000 gallons per month to 16,000 gallons per month. LWR also provides well rehabilitation services on the plants injection and groundwater plume management zone. These activities have included well acidizing and scrubbing, pump repair/replacement and groundwater pump testing. In addition, LWR installed the most recent groundwater air stripper system along with all associated piping and carbon vessels.

LWR was contracted by the refinery to provide services to close two inactive hazardous waste treatment units. This remediation work included excavation and ex situ batch treatment of affected soils with a stabilization agent for the immobilization of lead and the in situ stabilization of affected soils within a deeper zone with this same stabilization agent. A total of over 7,000 cubic yards of material was handled during this cell closure project.