A Contaminated, Abandoned
Gas Station Finds New Life in the Sale
of Cutting-Edge Biofuels
Lane County, Oregon
time that a brownfield is cleaned up and reused, it is a good
thing—a change that usually benefits the environment, the redeveloper,
and the surrounding community. For brownfields assessed and cleaned
up through EPA grants, sustainability in reuse plans is an essential part of
a project. Better still is when a once-contaminated brownfield is reused
to promote cutting-edge technology with the potential to reduce pollutants
on a global scale, and at the forefront of efforts to reduce fossil fuel
dependency. Such is the case of a brownfield in Lane County, Oregon,
that had sat idle for nearly 14 years.
Located along McVay Highway in the City of Eugene, the 0.6-acre site
seemed destined to remain unused, an eyesore to passing drivers and a
hazard to the community. From 1986 through 1991, the site had operated
as a gas station—an activity that had gradually contaminated soil and
ground water on the property and beyond. The extent of this
contamination from leaky undeground storage tank (UST) systems was
discovered in 1991, when utility excavation work along McVay Highway
uncovered petroleum that had migrated from the property.
In response to the state's request to clean up the property, the station's
owners ceased operations and declared bankruptcy. Another company
purchased the site in 1996, but was eventually fined by the state for not
following through with a promised cleanup. The company hired a third
firm that removed the property's five underground storage tanks and
installed ground water monitoring wells. The firm was not paid for this
work, and was awarded the property in a legal settlement. However,
these new owners in turn failed to pay property taxes, and the site's
ownership was transferred to Lane County through foreclosure in 2004.
Lane County had inherited a property rife with problems. In addition to
its remaining contamination issues, the site had been used for drug
activity and illegal dumping since the gas station's closure more than a
decade earlier. Hundreds of tires and piles of random debris now
covered the site.
But it would not be long before the property's outlook improved
dramatically. Even before the county took ownership of the site,
SeQuential Biofuels LLC, an Oregon-based biofuel marketing and
distribution company, expressed interest in purchasing and redeveloping
the site. The company had already found success in other areas of the
state through distribution of their biofuels at operating stations. Bioethanol
is a blend of 15 percent petroleum gasoline and 85 percent alternative
fuels such as "E85ethanol," which is derived from renewable, natural
products such as corn and sugar cane and produces lower emissions.
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SeQuential Biofuels' new station, with
photovoltaic arrays that gather solar energy.
JUST THE FACTS:
The 0.6-acre site had operated as a
gas station for 15 years—an activity
that had gradually contaminated soil
and ground water on the property
and beyond.
• After Lane County took ownership
through foreclosure in 2004,
SeQuential Biofuels expressed
interest in redeveloping the property
as a biofuel service station.
The site was assessed and
cleaned through efforts of multiple
partners including Lane County, the
Oregon DEQ, EPA, and
SeQuential Biofuels.
• The Oregon Brownfields Awards
described the project as "... a pivotal
representation of what tomorrow's
brownfields will encompass... and
the challenges we face as society
progresses towards alternative
energy options."
This project has created
the first station of its kind in the country-
selling all of the company's biofuel blends
and featuring solar panels that provide as
much as half the station's electricity.
The main building includes a natural-foods
convenience store with an "eco-roof that
uses plants and soil to keep the store cool
during summers. The property also features
"bioswales" in which plants filter rainwater
before it runs off site.
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CONTACTS:
U.S. EfMEQON 1 0-(206)553-1 200
WlheEf^BrcwfeldsVtebsilecit;
In March 2005, the property became one of six sites assessed through an EPA
Brownfields Site-Specific Assessment grant awarded to the Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality (DEQ). With areas of contamination defined, the
County removed more than 400 discarded tires, 15 drums of waste material,
and hundreds of items of illegal drug paraphernalia. A further cleanup effort
was funded by a $197,520 EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant awarded to Lane
County in May 2005; and $50,000 from SeQuential Biofuels, through a loan
from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. More
than 620 cubic yards of contaminated soil were removed and a deeper aquifer
ground water remediation system was installed, along with ground water
monitoring wells to ensure the cleanup's effectiveness. SeQuential Biofuels then
leased the property from Lane County and began redevelopment in the Spring of
2006, under an agreement that ownership would be transferred to SeQuential at the
end of the remediation monitoring phase (likely during Summer 2007). "The Oregon DEQ
deserves a huge amount of credit for this project," explains Brooks Stanfield, Brownfields Grant Manager for
EPA Region 10 (covering Oregon, Washington, and Idaho). "DEQ's project managers were the ones that
dealt directly with contractors, they were very involved in balancing a tight project budget, and they had to
dovetail site work with an aggressive redevelopment schedule... they were heroic in getting this project
completed."
The result of redevelopment, completed in August 2006, is the first station of its kind in the country—selling
every SeQuential biofuel (including ethanol and biodiesel blends), and featuring photovoltaic panels above the
pump stations that provide as much as half the station's electricity needs through solar power. The main
building includes a convenience store that carries natural foods and drinks, most of which are produced by
regional companies. A seasonal, fresh produce stand at the station is stocked by local farmers. The
convenience store has an "eco-roof' with soil and thousands of plants that keep
the store cool during the summer. The property also features stormwater
retention "bioswales" in which plants filter rainwater before it runs off
the site.
The new facility has become SeQuential Biofuels' base of operations
in Lane County, and is staffed by 15 part-time and four full-time
employees. Cleanup of the site removed any community fears of
migrating ground water contamination, in addition to eliminating a
long-standing roadside eyesore. The project is seen as a win-win
scenario for all of the partners involved. As said by Jeff Turk, Property
Management Officer with Lane County, "This is a case where a site
gets cleaned up, and the potential contamination issues are taken care of,
and the site goes back to being productive. It now has a business on it
where taxes are generated, and it's a good situation overall."
The former gas station along McVay Highway,
prior to cleanup.
The project is already serving as a model for a regional "Brownfields to Biofuels" effort that EPA hopes will
produce similar results on other idle properties in the Northwest. As described by Brooks Stanfield, "The
impact of this project reaches beyond this one site and community... we're now looking at how this idea can
be expanded and applied in other states."
In March 2007, the site's cleanup and redevelopment was recognized by the Oregon Brownfields Awards, as
one of three winning proj ects. The Awards described the proj ect as "... a pivotal representation of what
tomorrow's brownfields will encompass, and the challenges we face as society progresses towards
alternative energy options." Cleaning up an idle, abandoned gas station site and placing it on the front lines of
the renewable energy revolution is indeed an exemplary reuse of a brownfield—one that exceeds the already
high standard of sustainable redevelopment.
Brownfields Success Story
Lane County, Oregon
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-07-216
June 2007
www.epa.gov/
brownfields/
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