WVDEP Approves Cleanup Method Submitted by Cowper Company LLC

ANMOORE, W.Va. – The Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) within the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has approved a cleanup method submitted by Cowper Company LLC. The submission is to address environmental conditions through the Voluntary Remediation Program at the former Matthews Brothers Bulk Plant (VRP 12686) in Harrison County.

The site is located at Route 58 West in Anmoore and includes approximately 7.75 acres. Matthews Brothers Wholesale Inc. (Matthews Brothers) operated the site as Matthews Brothers Bulk Plant from 1968 until 2001. Facility operations consisted of bulk storage and wholesale distribution of petroleum products including leaded and unleaded gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, heating oil, hydraulic fluid, and Varsol solvent.

The site consisted of eight aboveground storage tanks (ASTs), a fuel loading rack connected to the ASTs by aboveground piping, a concrete culvert beneath the loading rack which discharged to an oil/water separator (OWS), an AST remote fill station which was connected to the ASTs by aboveground piping and a large warehouse which housed a kerosene, hydraulic fluid and Varsol solvent dispenser island that was connected to the ASTs by aboveground piping.

The ASTs, along with several site structures, were dismantled and removed when operations ceased in 2001. Cowper Company LLC (Cowper) acquired the site from Matthews Brothers in 2004. The site is currently owned by Woodford Oil Company. Site assessment activities were completed in November 2013, and a Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment was completed in June 2015. The contaminants of concern (COC) identified at the site are arsenic, benzo(a)pyrene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene.

The cleanup method includes the placement of institutional controls on the property. These controls will consist of a land use covenant that will prohibit future residential development of the site. The intended future use of the property is a petroleum bulk plant facility. Upon completion of the remediation, a final report will be submitted to OER for review and approval.

West Virginia’s Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act encourages voluntary cleanups of contaminated sites, as well as redevelopment of abandoned and under-utilized properties, with an objective of counteracting the lack of development on sites with contamination or perceived contamination. The Voluntary Remediation Program identifies and addresses potential contamination at a given site, sets applicable remediation standards, and ensures that the standards are maintained at the site. By providing financial incentives to invest in brownfields, this approach protects communities and the environment while still promoting economic development in West Virginia.

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