January 16, 2024
William C. Hartley
Hartley Motors
450 SW Cedar Ave.
Warrenton, OR 97146
RE: No Further Action Determination
for Hartley Motors in Warrenton
LUST #04-04-0813
William C. Hartley:
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has completed a review of available file information for the Hartley Motors site/property in Warrenton, including the Environmental Site Assessment Report prepared by Alpha Environmental Services on November 18, 2021 on your behalf. The Hartley Motors site address is 120 Harbor Street, Tax Lots 81021AD-3100, -2803 & -2804.
DEQ has determined that remedial action to address environmental contamination at Hartley Motors is complete, and no further action is required. This determination is a result of our evaluation and judgment based on the DEQ regulations and the facts as we now understand them including the following:
• The 0.16-acre site is located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Harbor Street and Anchor Avenue in Warrenton. The site is developed with a former service station building that was constructed in 1958.
• The site was raised 3-4 feet with fill soils in the 1980s. The original paved surface appears to have been left in-place, as concrete and asphalt were consistently encountered 3½-4 feet below ground surface (bgs).
• Two gasoline underground storage tanks (USTs), with capacities of 4,000 gallons and 5,000 gallons, were decommissioned by removal from the site in April 2004.
• Sixteen (16) post-removal confirmation soil samples were collected from the combined UST excavation pit and from beneath pipelines and dispensers.
• Heavy oils were identified in the west sidewall of the excavation pit at a concentration of 19,200 parts per million (ppm), along with low concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Groundwater entered the excavation pit, and two grab groundwater samples were collected. Heavy oils were identified at a concentration of 5,420,000 parts per billion (ppb), along with gasoline (680 ppb) and VOCs.
• Five borings were advanced at the site in July 2021 to determine the nature and extent of residual soil and groundwater contamination.
• Two borings were advanced adjacent to the location where 19,200 ppm heavy oils had been detected in 2004. Soil samples from the two borings identified up to 17.1 ppm gasoline, 75.9 ppm diesel, and 320 ppm heavy oils. No petroleum products were detected in the groundwater.
• Gasoline (171 ppm), diesel (286 ppm), and heavy oils (22,800 ppm) were detected in a soil sample from a boring to the east of the excavation pit, along with low concentrations of PAHs. Diesel (1,390 ppb) was detected in the groundwater in the same location.
• The concentrations of gasoline, diesel, PAHs, PCBs, and VOCs remaining in soils at the site are below DEQ’s risk-based concentrations (RBCs) for occupational exposures and for construction and excavation workers.
• Alpha Environmental Services described the heavy oil detection in the east boring as likely being due to asphalt from the original paved surface.
• The residual concentration of diesel in the groundwater is below applicable RBCs for occupational exposures and for construction and excavation workers.
• The site and surrounding properties receive a municipal water supply from the City of Warrenton. A search of well logs on file with the Oregon Water Resources Department did not identify any water wells in the same township/range/section as the site.
• The Skipanon River, which is listed as Essential Salmonid Habitat, is approximately 330 feet east of the site, and wetlands on the west bank of the river are about 150 feet east of the site. However, there is no indication that residual groundwater contamination from the site is impacting the river or wetlands.
Based on the available information, soil and groundwater conditions at the Hartley Motors site are currently protective of public health and the environment in accordance with Oregon Administrative Rules 340-122-0205 through 340-122-0360. The site requires no further action unless new or previously undisclosed information becomes available, or there are changes in site development or land and water uses, or more contamination is discovered. DEQ will update the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) database to reflect this decision.
This letter only applies to the release(s) discussed above. If any contaminated media is encountered in the future, it must be handled and disposed of in accordance with local, state and federal regulations.
A copy of the Environmental Site Assessment Report from Alpha Environmental Services supporting this No Further Action decision can be viewed on DEQ's LUST database. DEQ recommends keeping a copy of all of the documentation associated with this remedial action with the permanent facility records. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Dana at 503-229-5369, or via email at kevin.dana@deq.oregon.gov.
Sincerely,
Kevin Parrett, Manager
Northwest Region Cleanup Section
Attachments: Site Maps
cc: Jim Cooper, Alpha Environmental
LUST #04-04-0813 File