R&H Oil/Tropicana Energy Site
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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN R & H OIL/TROPICANA ENERGY SITE San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas April 2011 U. S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 6 R & H Oil/Tropicana 1 April 2011 Community Involvement Plan . The U.S. Environmental Projection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund Community Involvement Program is committed to Promoting communication between citizens and the Agency. Active public involvement is crucial to the success of any public project. EPA’s Community Involvement activities at the R & H Oil/Tropicana Energy Site San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas are designed to inform the public of the nature of the environmental issues associated with the site, involve the public in the decision-making process that will affect them, involve the public in the responses under consideration to remedy these issues, and inform the public of the progress being made to implement the remedy. R & H Oil/Tropicana 2 April 2011 Community Involvement Plan . TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE 1.0 Overview of the Community Involvement Plan …………………… 4 2.0 Capsule Site Description …………………………………………… 4 2.1 Site History ………………………………………………… 4 2.2 Site Description/Location…………………………………… 5 2.3 Site Inspections and Cleanup Activities …………………… 5 3.0 Community Background …………………………………………… 5 3.1 Community Profile………………………………………….. 5 3.2 History of Community Involvement ……………………….. 5 3.3 Key Community Concerns………………………………….. 6 3.4 Response to Community Concerns………………………….. 6 3.5 Summary of Communication Needs………………………… 6 4.0 EPA’s Community Involvement Program…………………………... 6 4.1 The Plan……………………………………………………... 6 4.2 Time Frame Summary for Community Involvement Activities ……………………………10 APPENDICES: A EPA Region Contacts …………………………………………… 12 B Local Officials………………………………………………………13 C County Officials…………………………………………………… 14 D State Officials……………………………………………………… 15 E Federal Elected Officials……………………………………………16 F Environment and Active Citizens Groups………………………… 17 G Respondents……………………………………………………….. 18 H Media Contacts…………………………………………………… 19 I Meeting Locations ………………………………………………… 20 J Repository Locations……………………………………………… 21 K Other Local Resources…………………………………………… 22 R & H Oil/Tropicana 3 April 2011 Community Involvement Plan . SECTION 1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PLAN The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this Community Involvement Plan to facilitate two-way communication between the community surrounding the R & H Oil/Tropicana Energy Site and EPA and to encourage community involvement in Site activities. EPA will utilize the community involvement activities outlined in this plan to ensure that residents are continuously informed and provided opportunities to be involved. This Community Involvement Plan addresses the R&H Oil/Tropicana Energy Site’s relationship to the community and EPA (Section 2.0), provides a background of the community (Section 3.0), presents EPA’s community involvement program (Section 4.0), and provides a listing of resources available (Appendices). EPA drew upon several information sources to develop this plan, including community interviews and site files. The EPA’s Regional Office will oversee the implementation of the community involvement activities outlined in this Plan. SECTION 2.0 CAPSULE SITE DESCRIPTION 2.1 Site History The R&H Oil/Tropicana Energy Site was used for various petroleum-refining operations since approximately 1934. The northern tract previously housed oil refineries and most recently a waste oil recycling facility. The southern tract previously housed oil refineries, a petroleum distribution facility, and most recently fuel/gasoline blending operations. The waste oil recycling activities on the northern tract and the fuel/gasoline blending operations on the southern tract ceased in approximately the late 1980’s or early 1990’s. The site is presently inactive. 2.2 Site Description/Location The site area totals approximately six to seven acres and is composed of two tracts: a northern tract located at 403 Somerset Road and a southern tract located at 507 (formerly 419 in proposed listing documentation) Somerset Road in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The site is located approximately five miles southwest of downtown San Antonio. The site is bordered by an auto service center to the north, the Union Pacific Railroad line, an auto repair and parts establishment, and Kelly Air Force Base to the west, residential, commercial, and industrial development to the south and east and Somerset Road to the east. The site is located in a densely populated area of San Antonio with ten schools in a one-mile radius. Petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated ground water has been identified in the shallow ground water beneath the site. Various substances have been detected in the ground water beneath the property, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, 2-methyl naphthalene, naphthalene, xylenes, arsenic, barium, and zinc. R & H Oil/Tropicana 4 April 2011 Community Involvement Plan . 2.3 Site Inspections and Cleanup Activities In August 2001, EPA began Superfund time-critical removal actions at the site. Removal actions on the northern portion of the site included the removal of asbestos containing materials from on-site containers, equipment, piping, and within buildings; removal of contaminated materials from within on-site containers, equipment, and piping; removal (demolition) of on-site containers, equipment, piping and other contaminated items and removal of contaminated soils. Removal actions on the southern portion of the site included the removal of contaminated materials from within on-site containers, equipment, and piping, including an underground storage tank; removal (demolition) of on-site containers, equipment, piping and other contaminated items; and removal of contaminated soils. In June 2001, the EPA proposed the site to the National Priorities List (NPL), but to date, the site has not been listed. In March and April 2004, some of the Respondents voluntarily conducted a preliminary investigation at the site to gain a better understanding of the current site conditions. This investigation, the scope of which was not approved by EPA in advance, involved collection of soil and groundwater samples. The data collected from this investigation have not been validated by or formally approved by EPA. SECTION 3.0 COMMUNITY BACKGROUND 3.1 Community Profile San Antonio, occupying approximately 407.56 square miles, is the county seat of Bexar County, Texas. San Antonio is in South-Central Texas, approximately 140 miles northwest of the Gulf of Mexico. According to a 2005 population estimate, the population of San Antonio was 1,256,509. Of that number, 58.66 % are Hispanic. San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the United States. The median age in the San Antonio is 31.5 years. The 2005 medium family income in San Antonio was $46,484. 3.2 History of Community Involvement The EPA worked closely with the impacted community to ensure that they were involved in the Superfund process. Numerous telephone contacts were made with the Southwest Workers Union, the Kelly Air Force Base TAP and other local community leaders. The EPA invited various community leaders and groups to multiple small meetings and also made EPA staff available to attend any and all meetings held by community groups and the Union. During the summer national Community Involvement Coordinator’s conference, the Southwest Workers Union held a listening session as part of the conference. Several local groups showed interest in applying for a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) for the site, but none followed through and actually made an application. R & H Oil/Tropicana 5 April 2011 Community Involvement Plan . 3.3 Key Community Concerns Because of the site’s proximity to Kelly Air Force Base, there was some misunderstanding regarding contamination at the site. In the communication efforts, Superfund staff and the Kelly Air Force Base tried to ensure that the community was aware of the differences between Kelly AFB and the R&H Oil/Tropicana Energy Site. 3.4 Responses to Community Concern See above. 3.5 Summary of Community Needs The EPA proactively canvassed the local neighborhood to provide information about the removal operations. During the removal activities, a website was established to provide updated information which was also provided on fact sheets. Spanish translation was provided on written materials, meetings, and phone conversations. SECTION 4.0 EPA’S COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PROGRAM The overall goal of EPA’s community involvement program is to promote two-way communication between citizens and EPA and to provide opportunities for meaningful and active involvement by the community in the cleanup process. The EPA will implement the community involvement activities described below. The following plan is based on the results of the community interviews described earlier; it addresses each issue that was identified as being important to the community. 4.1 The Plan Issue 1: Keeping the public informed and up to date. Activity 1A: Designate a Community Involvement Coordinator (CIC) Objective: To provide a primary liaison between the community and the EPA, and to ensure prompt, accurate, and consistent responses and information dissemination about the site In those instances where EPA’s CIC may be unable to provide adequate information (such as on technical issues), inquiries will be directed to the appropriate EPA contact. Method: EPA will designate an EPA CIC to handle site inquiries and serve as a point of contact for community members.