Paramount Petroleum Group

Stratus was retained by Paramount Petroleum Corporation to perform site assessment and remediation services at one of their refineries in southern California. The operator of the facility has been required to address petroleum hydrocarbon conditions by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board under a Cleanup and Abatement Order. 

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The site is set within an 18-acre parcel with the refinery pass-through of approximately 30,000 barrels per day. Based on assessment work performed at the facility to date, there are a number of subsurface conditions at the facility which require treatment to reduce current impacts to groundwater and potential future impacts to off-site receptors. These conditions include high concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbon volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and light nonaqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) in shallow soil and groundwater (less than 25 feet below ground surface [bgs]) in the central part of the refinery and in the crude unit, and the presence of elevated concentrations of dissolved-phase petroleum hydrocarbons in deeper groundwater (greater than 25 feet bgs) below the southwestern portion of the refinery and beyond the property boundary to the southwest.

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A network of 47 groundwater monitoring wells have been installed in the shallow aquifer generally delineating the extent of the on- and off-site dissolved-phase impacts and partially delineating the impacted soils and source areas.  Based on the nature and extent of the hydrocarbons and VOCs present in the subsurface, preliminary soil vapor extraction (SVE) test using cryogenic recovery technology and air-sparge (AS) pilot tests were executed. The SVE test demonstrated efficient recovery of high concentrations of vapor-phase hydrocarbons from the subsurface, a relatively high radius of influence, that should facilitate the recovery of volatile compounds. During SVE testing, approximately 12,600 gallons (79,000 pounds) of LNAPL was recovered and reprocessed through the refinery. The AS testing suggested a strong piezometricresponse and a limited dissolved oxygen and oxidation reduction potential response.

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SVE remediation is currently being utilized at the site.

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