Sinclair Casper Refining pays $655K in past costs for cleanup at former Thermopolis, Wyo. refinery
12/12/2016
Contact Information:
Richard Mylott (mylott.richard@epa.gov)
303-312-6654
DENVER- Sinclair Casper Refining Company has paid $655,000 to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for response costs incurred at the Empire State Oil Company Refinery Site in Thermopolis, Wyoming. The company entered into a settlement agreement with EPA for the recovery of past costs associated with the cleanup of the site, including the removal of asbestos, in September. EPA received payment last week.
The Thermopolis refinery site operated as an oil refinery from 1920 until 1969. Beginning in 1974, the refinery was razed and equipment was sold and removed from the site by various entities, including Sinclair’s predecessor, Little America Refining Company. During demolition activities, a significant amount of asbestos-contaminated pipe insulation was stripped from equipment and disposed at the site.
EPA assessed the property in 2011 and identified significant asbestos contamination on the ground surface. In November 2013, EPA removed approximately 4,000 cubic yards of asbestos-containing materials and soils from the site. Excavated areas were backfilled with clean native soil from a property near the site and were re-seeded the following spring.
The agreement with Sinclair Casper Refining was entered into under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act, also known as Superfund. Funds recovered as part of this settlement agreement will be deposited into the Superfund account used to address cleanup needs at contaminated sites across the United States.
The administrative settlement published in the Federal Register on September 20, 2016 and became effective following a 30-day public comment period.