Hazardous Substance Research Centers/South & Southwest

Site description

The Florida Petroleum Reprocessors Site (FPR) is a 1.25-acre property in Davie, Florida. The site was in operation from 1979 through 1992 under various names including Barry's Waste Oil, Oil Conservationist, Inc., Florida Petroleum Reprocessors, and South Florida Fuels. Site operations included the collection of waste oils (used motor oil, surplus fuels, marine oils, hydraulic oils, etc.) that were filtered, graded, and stored on-site in large bulk oil storage tanks. During the period of operation, millions of gallons of waste oil were processed. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in groundwater in 1984, and the FPR site is believed to be the source of contamination of the Peele-Dixie Wellfield. The site was added to the National Priorities List in March 1997. The site sits atop the Biscayne Aquifer, which is the sole source of drinking water for most of the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami areas.

Organization requesting assistance

SW Coalition of Civic Associations

Summary of TOSC assistance

TOSC has attended and participated in several public meetings in Davie, an addition to providing technical review of numerous documents. In October 1999, TOSC presented a workshop on the general issues at the site, basic issues in groundwater and geology related to the site, and an overview of the remediation options. TOSC has reviewed the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Studies for this site (June 1998), reviewed and commented on the workplan for the removal of shallow source contamination (September 1999), reviewed the removal action plan for deep soil source contamination (April 2000), and reviewed and commented on the Record of Decision (ROD) for the site (March 2001).

In November 2001, TOSC attended a community meeting in Davie to hear from Brad Jackson, EPA Remedial Program Manager at the site, about the latest progress in the negotiations over the ROD. The community has asked TOSC to evaluate the most recent (early 2000) groundwater sampling data from around the contaminant plume and to provide information on where additional sampling may be necessary to further delineate the plume and to track any recent movement. TOSC will provide the report to the community in March 2002 and will present the report at a future community meeting.