Hudson Refinery Site
(Payne County)
Oklahoma

EPA REGION 6

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 03

EPA ID# OKD082471	

Site ID: 0601160

Contact:
Laura Stankosky 214-665-7525

Last Updated: July 2015

Current Status

•	The first Five-Year Review for the Hudson Refinery Superfund Site (Site) began in April 2014. The
site inspection was held May 15, 2014. The purpose of a five-year review is to evaluate the implementation
and performance of a remedy in order to determine if the remedy remains protective of human health and
the environment. The review was completed
February 27, 2015. The remedy was
determined to be protective of human health
and the environment.

•	A pre-final inspection was conducted
at the site on December 19, 2013. Based on
the inspection the Remedial Action appears
to be constructed per the approved Remedial
Design. No additional pre-final inspections
are anticipated at this time. Based on the
conditions of the site at the time of the
December 19, 2013, pre-final inspection, this
inspection also serves as the final inspection
per the UAO.

•	Excavation work was completed in
November 2012 on an area of potential
concern identified August 2011. A small area
of coke tar waste and a surface level pipeline
were identified in the northeast area of the
South Refinery. Land O'Lakes submitted a cleanup approach in amended work plans for the waste and
pipeline. Clean up for these areas was completed in October 2012. The excavation has been backfilled.
Work was coordinated with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the City of Cushing to address
coke tar waste that extended north of the property boundary of the South Refinery onto the right-of-way for
SH33. The former refinery coke tar waste also extended to a City of Cushing water line located in the
highway right-of-way.

•	Work to establish permanent vegetation cover was conducted during the spring and summer of 2011.
Due to the excessive heat and drought conditions experienced during the 2011 summer additional re-
vegetation work was needed. Site re-vegetation activities continued through the end of the 2012 growing
season.

Background 	

The Site is located in Payne County Oklahoma. The 200-acre site is located on the west side of the City of
Cushing, Oklahoma. The Site is divided by State Highway (SH) 33 with 165 acres north of SH 33 (North

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Refinery) and 35 acres south of SH 33 (South Refinery). The Site is an abandoned refinery that operated
from 1922 until ceasing operation in 1982. The Site historically included aboveground storage tanks,
wastewater treatment impoundments, separators, stained soils, a land treatment unit, and loose and friable
asbestos containing material. Surrounding the site are residential and agricultural lands to the north and
commercial properties to the south. There are approximately 8,371 residents in the City of Gushing. Few
structures currently remain on the site.

Two removal actions took place at the Site. In 1999 emergency cleanup activities were initiated on both the
North and South Refineries. The Removal Action Memorandum documented EPA's determination that the
Site presented an imminent and substantial threat to public health and the environment. Removal activities
included investigation of radiation sources, demolition of structurally unsafe buildings, removal of tetra-ethyl
lead (TEL), asbestos-containing material (ACM) abatement, disposal of waste containing hazardous
substances, excavation of oil-contaminated soils; removal of product from above-ground storage tanks
(ASTs), separators, and sumps; construction of a bioremediation land-treatment unit for biotreatment of Oil
Pollution Act (OPA) wastes; dismantling of hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit with approximately 5,600 gallons
of product, removal of all catwalks from the towers that were left standing, and the removal of TEL ASTs.
From September 2002 through June 2003 EPA conducted a non-time-critical removal action. The areas
addressed in this removal action included superstructures, refinery process units containing potential
hazardous chemicals and substances, miscellaneous items, including unlined collection basins, a sump,
and structurally unsafe buildings. Existing refinery process equipment and structures were dismantled and
removed from the site. Friable ACM was removed from process equipment and piping in coordination with
decontamination and removal activities.

From 2004 through 2007, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality conducted the Remedial
Investigation and Feasibly Study. On November 23, 2007, EPA Region 6 selected the cleanup remedy for
the Site and issued its Record of Decision (ROD). Cleanup construction for this site started in early 2010
and was completed in October 2010.

A Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO), signed January 6, 2009, was sent to the company, Land O'Lakes,
requiring it to implement the Site remedy outlined in the Record of Decision (ROD). It is EPA policy for
parties that were responsible for site contamination to conduct and pay for the cleanup of Site
contamination.

Starting in May 2010, Land O'Lakes began
cleanup of the wastewater ponds on the
portion of the Site north of Highway 33.

Clean-up steps included: removing water
from the ponds, removing pond sediments
that needed to be cleaned up, and filling in
and grading the ponds so they would not hold
water. Land O'Lakes discharged the pond
water into Skull Creek at points along Depot
Street north of Highway 33. The pond water
was tested for pollutants. EPA and the
Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality (ODEQ) reviewed the results of the
testing and determined that it was safe to
discharge the water into Skull Creek.

Land O'Lakes completed the construction for
cleanup of contaminated soil, wastewater
pond sediment, coke tar, asbestos containing
debris, and tank and scrap metal from the Site as outlined in the ROD. Contaminated soil, wastewater pond
sediment, and coke tar cleanup took place at various locations across the Site. Debris containing asbestos
and two surface pipes wrapped with asbestos insulation were removed from the Site. The final excavation
of waste and contaminated soil was completed in early October 2010. All waste and contaminated soil and
sediment have been hauled off Site for disposal in an approved commercial landfill. Site excavations have

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been backfilled and graded. Two existing ponds have been modified to moderate the amount of storm water
leaving the Site into Skull Creek.

Need for Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD): On November 19, 2010, the EPA signed an ESD for
the Site. The Superfund Program allows for changes in the remedy presented in the Record of Decision
(ROD) if the remedial action taken differs significantly from the remedy selected in the ROD with respect to
scope, performance, or cost. Significant Changes are those changes that generally involve a change to a
component of the selected remedy, but do not fundamentally alter the overall cleanup approach. Work for
some of the changes has already been completed. The ESD explains the differences between the cleanup
action presented in the ROD and the cleanup action that has or will be completed onsite. The ESD outlined
six significant changes from the ROD; it also documented minor changes. Brief descriptions of the six
significant changes are included below: Wastewater Pond 6, Treatment Pond 8, and Runoff Pond 9 -
Wastewater Pond 6, Treatment Pond 8, and Runoff Pond 9 will remain in service so that during a given
precipitation event, storm water runoff from the Site will not be discharged to Skull Creek at higher flow
rates than would currently occur for a like precipitation event. Ponds that required removal of contaminated
sediment (Aeration Pond 7, Wastewater Ponds 1 through 3, and the Coke Pond) were not completely
backfilled, but backfilled to provide a minimum of 2 ft. of clean cover soils, and then graded to promote
runoff and prevent ponding of storm water runoff during precipitation events. Clean soils contained in the
berms of Aeration Pond 7 and Wastewater Ponds 1-5 were utilized as borrow materials during Site
backfilling and grading operations.

Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM) - ACM volume addressed during remedy construction increased in
volume from the ROD estimate. The ROD estimated the volume of ACM requiring removal as 10 cubic
yards. Additional ACM was found during the RA. 460.82 cubic yards of ACM impacted soil/debris were
removed from the Site and properly disposed. A total of 719 linear feet of ACM wrapped pipe was also
removed; the piping weighed 1.7 tons. Scrap Metal - The volume/weight of tank and scrap metal debris,
along with excavated piping, addressed during RA construction increased from the ROD estimate. The term
"construction debris" was used by the landfill for general debris, building material, and contaminated soil
mixed with concrete chunks, brick, and metal waste. The estimated volume of construction debris removed
during the RA was 3,294 cubic yards calculated at 2.2 tons per cubic yard. Scrap metal, tank metal and
piping weight hauled off-site for recycle or disposal was logged separately. The final weight for scrap metal,
tank metal and piping was 242.62 tons.

Ground Water Monitoring for Thallium - Thallium monitoring has been removed from ground water
monitoring requirements. Thallium monitoring was conducted during the RD and during RA construction.
Thallium was not detected in any of the ground water samples. Laboratory detection levels were well below
the ROD cleanup level of 2.0 |jg/L.

Proper Plugging and Abandoning of Site Wells - Site wells which will not be part of operation and
maintenance activities for ground water monitoring will be required to be properly plugged and abandoned.
Institutional Controls - Site ownership has changed which affects filing of institutional controls required by
the ROD.

The cleanup of the contaminated media at the Hudson Oil Refinery Superfund site will reduce the health
and ecological risks associated with the remaining contamination.

National Priorities Listing (NPL) History

Benefits

NPL Inclusion Proposal Date:
NPL Inclusion Final Date:
NPL Deletion Proposal Date:
NPL Final Deletion Date:

April 23, 1999
July 22, 1999
n/a
n/a

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Location: The Hudson Refinery site is located in Cushing, Payne County, Oklahoma. Surrounding the site
are residential and agricultural lands to the north and commercial properties to the south. Highway 33
(Main Street) separates the site into a "north" and "south" refinery. The "North Refinery" consists of
approximately 165 acres, and the "South Refinery" is approximately 35 acres.

Setting: Historical aerial photographs indicate the site operated as a refinery beginning as early as the
mid-1920s. Refining operations ended in 1982, and the site was abandoned. The site historically included
aboveground storage tanks, wastewater treatment impoundments, separators, stained soils, a land
treatment unit, and loose and friable asbestos containing material. Runoff from the site enters on-site
wetlands and storm water collection ponds. The tanks, piping and most of the refinery superstructure were
removed from the site during the EPA removal actions. Land O'Lakes completed the cleanup of
contaminated soil, wastewater pond sediment, coke tar, asbestos containing debris, and tank and scrap
metal from the Site in October 2010.

Population: There are approximately 8,371 residents in the City of Cushing.

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Health Considerations 	

There was a potential exposure threat to human health through ingestion, dermal contact, or inhalation of
soil or surface water from the site due to hazardous chemicals present at the site prior to completion of
construction of site cleanup in October 2010. These materials presented both a cancer and non-cancer risk
to human health. Some of the more toxic chemicals residuals existing at the site prior to cleanup were TEL,
hydrogen sulfide, benzene, hydrosulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, mercury, arsenic,
chromium, lead, ammonia, and calcium hypochlorite. Asbestos containing material associated with the
piping and vessels at the facility were friable, had weathered and deteriorated overtime posing an
increasing risk of release to the air. All aboveground tanks on the site containing some of the more toxic
chemicals and the asbestos piping were removed during the 1998 and 2002 removals.

Record of Decision (ROD) 	

Soil, waste pond sediment, waste pond surface water, ground water, and other media

ROD signed November 23, 2007

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The ROD was signed on November 23, 2007. The cleanup decision includes:

•	Institutional Controls - The process and tanks areas of the Site will be available for a reasonably
anticipated reuse of commercial/industrial; therefore, Institutional Controls (ICs) will be required to aid in the
management of waste left on-site for each of media listed below. ICs will include deed notices placed on
land parcels that are contained in the Site. The deed notices will identify the reason for the notice, the
affected property, the remedy, engineering controls, land use restrictions, and ground water use restrictions
prohibiting use of the shallow ground water. An easement may also be granted by the landowners for
continued remedial response. The deed notices will be filed by the ODEQ should the property owner
decline. The city currently has an ordinance in place that prohibits Site access with the exception of EPA,
ODEQ, and federal/state remediation contractors until completion of Site cleanup. Current Site zoning is for
industrial use.

•	Other Media - Removal of Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM), Coke Tar, and Scrap Metal -
ACM will be excavated, containerized, and transported to a regulated off-site disposal facility. Coke tar will
be excavated, stabilized, and transported to a regulated off-site disposal facility. Material, including tanks
and metal debris, that remains at the Site will be removed and salvaged. If any of the material is not
salvageable, it will be disposed of at an authorized off-site disposal facility.

•	Soil - Excavation and Off-site Disposal at Permitted Facility - Soil and waste will be excavated
and transported to an off-site disposal facility. These areas include the North Refinery (North Tank Farm
Area) and South Refinery (South-South Tank Farm Area, South Process Area, Northeast-South Tank Farm
Area, North-South Tank Farm Area, and South Refinery Other Areas).

•	Waste Pond Sediment - Excavation, Stabilization and Off-site Disposal at Permitted Facility -
Contaminated sediment from waste ponds and sumps will be excavated, stabilized, and transported to an
off-site disposal facility. These sediments will be excavated from the Aeration Pond 7 and Sumps,
Wastewater Ponds 1 and 2, and the Coke Pond. The ponds will be backfilled, revegetated, and closed.

•	Waste Pond Surface Water - On-site Treatment - Surface water from the ponds with
contaminated sediment and water from ponds that are leveled to ensure proper site drainage will be treated
on-site and discharged or transported off-site for disposal.

•	Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid - Hydrocarbon Belt Skimmers - Light non-aqueous phase liquid
(LNAPL) recovery skimmers and monitoring will be implemented where LNAPL has been observed.
Recovered LNAPL will be contained in drums for off-site disposal or recycling.

•	Ground Water - Ground Water Monitoring - A ground water monitoring plan will be developed
during the remedial design and implemented to further delineate ground water contamination. The ground
water analytical data collected will be evaluated to identify the potential for off-site migration to occur and to
ensure that the areas with contamination are stable and/or decreasing.

Site Contacts 	

EPA Remedial Project Manager:
EPA Community Involvement
EPA Public Liaison
EPA Site Attorney:

ODEQ Oklahoma State Contact:

Laura Stankosky
Stephen Harper
Donn R. Walters
George Malone
Dennis Datin

214-665-7525 or 800-533-3508
214-665-2727 or 800-533-3508
214-665-6483 or 800-533-3508
214-665-8030 or 800-533-3508
405-702-5125

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