Shell Oil Harbor Island Terminal

Shell Harbor Island Petroleum Terminal Site is in compliance with Washington State cleanup requirements.   Shell and neighboring Kinder Morgan Harbor Island Terminal (located East of the Shell facility) are working together on the cleanup of contaminated groundwater beneath a portion of 13th Ave SW situated between the two facilities. The 2019 monitoring results show some wells to contain increasing, but low level concentrations of petroleum at the 13th Ave SW area. However, other wells are non-detect or below cleanup levels. The contamination is at low concentrations, limited in extent and inland.  For long term protection, further work shall be done to determine if the petroleum contamination is migrating further off-site.

Shell had actively remediated petroleum contamination at the TX-03 Area at the Main Tank Farm using a biosparging system that operated from May 2017 to December 2019. It is currently shut down to evaluate if the groundwater contamination rebounds with the system shut off.

Shell's consultant, AECOM Environmental, has prepared a technical memorandum on the Biosparging system operations and the plan for rebound monitoring to determine if continued shutdown, a limited restart or full restart of the bio-sparging system is needed in this portion of the site. for the TX-03A Area. 

Investigation and cleanup work in the form of stormwater system rehabilitation was also completed along Southwest Florida Street that is located north of the Main Tank Farm.  Shell and Ecology worked with the City of Seattle on the stormwater drain system of Southwest Florida Street. This active remediation work began in 2016.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed the Fifth Five-Year Review Report for the Harbor Island Superfund Site. This report presents information for 2015-2019 period for cleanup action progress at the three petroleum terminals on Harbor Island called Operable Unit OU-2. The terminals represent one out of ten Operable Units within the Superfund Site. These results show the three terminals are in compliance with federal and state cleanup requirements. Overall, EPA found the remedies at the Tank Farm OU to be protective of human health and the environment due to the multiple remediation methods that have been treating contamination, site monitoring, and environmental covenants that ensure that there is no exposure to site contaminants.

Ecology is pleased to announce that the EPA’s Fifth Five-Year Review Report for Harbor Island Superfund Site is final after the public comment period held May 12, 2020 through August 31, 2020.  The report highlights the cleanup actions conducted at the Shell Harbor Island Terminal, and former Equilon Enterprises Harbor Island Terminal.  The Shell Terminal is one of three petroleum terminals at Harbor Island and part of the US EPA Harbor Island Superfund Site.  The three terminals make up Operable Unit #2.

The Fifth Five-Year Review Report shows that the Shell Terminal and the two other petroleum terminals at Harbor Island are in compliance with the MTCA requirements and legal agreement called the Consent Decree.  The report shows that the cleanup actions completed appear to be protective of human health and the environment, and some cleanup actions will continue at specific locations with groundwater compliance monitoring.

Based on this periodic review for 2015 – 2019, Ecology has determined that the requirements of the Consent Decree for Shell Oil Harbor Island Terminal are being met and no additional cleanup actions are required other than continued specific cleanup actions that include active remediation and rebound testing at TX-03A Area and compliance monitoring.  Next periodic review is scheduled for 2024. 

On October 1, 2020 a gasoline release occurred from a failed pump inside the Pump House during tanker truck fueling operations. Areas affected by the release include the Pump House interior, Manifold Pit East, and limited areas outside the Pump House on the ground surface at its northern and southern entryways. The estimated release volume is 580 gallons and it appears that most of the fuel was released to the concrete lined Manifold Pit East. The volume of gasoline affecting the ground surface outside the northern and southern entryways of the Pump House is estimated at 45 and 86 gallons, respectively. This was much smaller than initial estimates.

Multiple spill response contractors and agencies were on scene for cleanup operations at the site. Cleanup included removing all the free gasoline/water liquid from the containment area, conducting fine cleaning, and removing areas of gasoline-contaminated gravel and soil from outside of the pump house where the leak occurred. Some additional excavations of gasoline contaminated soil are ongoing in areas immediately north and south of the pump house, as well as investigation of any impacts to groundwater beneath the area of the spill.

In addition, Shell contracted with NRC Environmental Services, Inc. (NRC) to perform emergency response efforts that included pumping a fuel water mixture from the Manifold Pit East, and removing impacted gravel from limited areas outside the Pump House.  GHD was contracted to observe the work and provided a Cleanup Action Work Plan for subsequent soil cleanup.  

Shell also contracted with GHD to perform an initial assessment of the release outside the Pump House on October 2, 2020. The scope of the assessment included (1) field testing soil beneath areas where gravel removal occurred due to gasoline impacts, (2) measuring the depth to groundwater in the closest well to the Pump House, and (3) determining soil texture in the spill area.

Ecology will provide updates once further work proceeds.

Shell Oil Products (previously known as the Equilon Enterprises Terminal) is an industrial site (petroleum bulk storage and distribution facility) located at 2555 13th Avenue SW on Harbor Island in Seattle, King County. The facility includes the main terminal and tank farm, north tank farm, and shoreline manifold/dock area. The facility has been in operation since 1948 under three owners. Soil and groundwater at various areas within the facility were contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Surface soil was contaminated with lead and arsenic from an offsite smelter operation. Cleanup of lead and arsenic contamination was completed. Cleanup of petroleum contamination is ongoing.

Harbor Island is a Superfund site and is on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priorities List. Ecology works with EPA and continues to monitor compliance and cleanup progress.