The North Market Street site covers 50 acres in Spokane, Washington, where Phillips Petroleum Company, Tosco Refining Company, and Chevron operated a petroleum refining and distribution complex beginning in the 1980s. Major oil spills in 1985, 1989, and 1990, along with the discharge of hazardous liquid wastes into unlined ponds, contaminated soil and groundwater with petroleum and chemicals. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in August 1990. The site sits directly above the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, the sole drinking water source for more than 200,000 people within 3 miles of the property.
Eleven contaminants have been identified at the site. Both soil and groundwater contain arsenic, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and mixed xylene isomers. Manganese is present in groundwater as well. An old waste oil lagoon on the property also has high lead levels in its soil. These contaminants posed unacceptable risks to human health and the environment and drove the cleanup decisions.
Cleanup was carried out by the potentially responsible parties under a 1992 State Order. A Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study finished in August 1998, and a Cleanup Action Plan was issued in December 1999. Construction work between 2001 and 2002 included shallow soil removal, thermal treatment of contaminated soil, installation of an air sparging groundwater treatment system, and a vadose zone bioventing system to address soil vapors. EPA designated the site construction complete in December 2002. ConocoPhillips Company handles ongoing operation and maintenance, and the Washington State Department of Ecology continues to monitor the site.
Human exposure across the entire site is currently under control, with no unacceptable exposure pathways identified. Contaminated groundwater has been stabilized within its original area, and EPA continues to monitor it to make sure it stays in place. The site achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in September 2009. Holly Energy Partners now operates an industrial fuel distribution facility on the property, and commercial businesses occupy portions of the site. As of December 2024, one on-site business employed 6 people and generated roughly $71.2 million in annual sales revenue.
Community members with questions about the site can contact EPA staff directly. Beth Clemons serves as the Community Involvement Coordinator. Dustan Bott is the Remedial Project Manager and can be reached by email or phone. Public records related to cleanup are available at the Washington State Department of Ecology's Eastern Regional Office at 4601 North Monroe Street, Suite 202 in Spokane, and at the Hillyard Public Library at 4005 North Cook Street in Spokane.
