Isaac’s Tire NC DEQ UST Incident
The site of Incident #13526 was formerly operated as an automobile filing station and is currently operated as a used car lot and retail tire store. An underground storage tank (UST) system was removed in January 2005 along with approximately 260 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil. The groundwater on the subject property was impacted by the release and is migrating west towards an adjoining mobile home park.
In the 1990s, a groundwater interceptor trench was installed at the toe of slope on the western adjoining property (mobile home community). The trench was installed to capture/control petroleum-impacted groundwater and free product that was daylighting through springs in the toe of the slope. The petroleum-impacted groundwater was treated using an oil/water separator, air stripper, particulate filters, and carbon filtration. The treated effluent is discharged to a stream that borders the mobile home community to the south.
At the time of S&ME’s initial involvement in early 2014, the system had not been in operation since 2009. The system was an eyesore to the community and needed to be replaced. S&ME worked with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) and Product Recovery Management to remove the existing system and to design and install a new groundwater treatment system. The new system was placed in operation in September 2016.
The new groundwater system is comprised of an oil-water separator, an air stripper, a bag filtration system, a carbon filtration system, and an underground batch tank. The current system is completely enclosed, with a safe and secure means of protecting the equipment from freezing conditions. The system also contains telemetry that notifies S&ME and NC DEQ if the system became inoperable to power failure, pump failure, and/or clogged filtration system. The system operation can be monitored using a computer or smart phone.