Inland Empire Paper

The Inland Empire Paper (IEP) newsprint manufacturing plant has operated since 1911. On January 31, 2001, a small pool of oil was observed in a pipe tunnel beneath a 20,000-gallon fuel oil storage tank. The tank was located in a concrete vault at the IEP plant. In February 2001, sludge was removed from the tank, and the tank was removed. 

Contaminated soil was removed as deep as 14 feet. About 100 cubic yards of soil were removed. Additional contaminated soil was found next to the boiler house building that could not be removed due to potential damage to the building.

Three monitoring wells were installed near the tank. Two groundwater sampling events were conducted, and samples were analyzed for diesel and heavy-oil range petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH-D and TPH-O, respectively). Results from both events indicated that samples collected from monitoring wells MW-1, MW-2, and MW-3 did not contain detectable concentrations of TPH-D or TPH-O.

A restrictive covenant was filed on the property in 2003 because of the remaining soil contamination. The covenant shows the type and location of contamination and limits activities such as digging, drilling, or other actions that could create exposure pathways to the remaining contaminants. The restriction provides long-term protection for the cleanup and was necessary for the site to receive a no further action determination in 2003.