Much has changed at the former Jackpot Food Mart located at 1518 Main Street since the building was purchased by Jim Newton and turned into a restaurant. The Department of Ecology listed the one time gas station and convenience store as a Hazardous Site,
OROVILLE – The state Department of Ecology has proposed the removal of the Jackpot Food Mart Site from the Hazardous Sites List because of clean-up that took place four years ago.
The site was operated as a gasoline station and convenience store and owned by Time Oil Company (TOC). Sampling at the site after removal of underground storage tanks in 2002 showed gasoline and diesel-type petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil and groundwater and led to its listing on Ecology’s Hazardous Sites List. TOC had to pay for the removal of approximately 125 tons of soil that was excavated and disposed of at REMTECH in Spokane in order to help clean up the site. In December 2006, groundwater treatment by chemical injection also took place, according to Ecology.
“This oxidized the petroleum contamination and constituents remaining in groundwater to below Model Toxics Control Act cleanup levels,” according to a notice sent to all Oroville residents informing them of the proposal to remove the site from the list and its availability for review and public comment.
“Based on the completed cleanup and the confirmation sampling results, Ecology has determined the site no longer poses a threat to human health or the environment,” reads the notice. “Therefore, Ecology has issued a determination of No Further Action and proposes to remove the site from the Hazardous Sites List.”
The former Jackpot Food Mart, located at 1518 Main Street in Oroville, is now FB’s Family Grill, although there’s little resemblance to the former gas station and convenience store any more, accept maybe the old garage doors out back.
Jim Newton, owner of the restaurant, said, “I’d say this location is probably cleaner than most of Oroville, there were about a dozen monitoring wells located here since we’ve owned the building… all the tests have been coming back clean. And since then the monitoring wells have been filled with dolomite and sealed up with concrete caps.”
Newton said he’s happy that the site is being proposed for removal from the Hazardous Sites List and jokes that he wants to make sure everyone knows he hasn’t been serving toxic hamburgers.
Ecology is asking for written comments on the proposed removal of the site. The Site Characterization and groundwater monitoring reports and No Further Action Letter are available for review at the Oroville Public Library, 1276 Main, Oroville and at the Washington Department of Ecology Central Regional Office at 15 W. Yakima Ave., Ste 200, Yakima. They can also be found at Ecology’s Toxic Cleanup Website at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites/sites_information.html, Facility Site #437. Written comments and technical comments can be address to the Norm Hepner – Site Manager, WA Dept. of Ecology, Toxic Cleanup Program, 15 W. Yakima, Ave., Ste. 200, Yakima, WA. 98902-3452 or email Norm.Hepner@ecy.wa.gov. Comments are accepted Jan. 13, 2011 through Feb. 14, 2011.
