State Road 114 Ground Water Plume
Levelland, Texas

Site Description

The State Road 114 site is a former refinery that occupied approximately 64 acres of land along State Highway 114, west of Levelland, Hockley County, TX. Refinery operations produced all grades of gasoline, tractor fuels, diesel, distillate products, and fuel oils between 1939 and 1954. The refinery equipment was removed by 1958, and the property has been redeveloped. A ground water contaminant plume, which contains benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane, extends approximately 1.2 miles from the former refinery property. The plume contaminates ground water in the Ogallala Aquifer. The City of Levelland depends on ground water for approximately one-third of its drinking water supply.

Current Site Status and Cleanup Actions to Date

• EPA started a short-term cleanup action to install filtration systems on 17 privately owned wells in 1999. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality operates and maintains the units and has since installed an additional 13 filtration systems in response to continued contaminant migration.
• In March 2008, EPA selected the final cleanup plan that includes a ground water extraction and treatment system combined with soil vapor extraction to reduce the source area concentrations. The plan also includes an off-site ground water extraction system to contain and restore the Ogallala aquifer.
• In September 2008, EPA completed the design for the ground water extraction and injection wells and the soil vapor extraction wells.
• In December 2008, the treatment plant design will be completed for the ground water extraction and soil vapor extraction systems.

Current Funding Status

• In Fiscal Year 2008, EPA obligated approximately $5.2 million for cleanup activities at this site, including the installation of ground water extraction wells and injection wells. This funding represents the total amount obligated by EPA for cleanup activities at this site to date.

For more information, please read the State Road 114 Ground Water Plume site fact sheet (PDF) (3 pp, 461K, http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/pdffiles/0605177.pdf) on the Region 6 Superfund web site.