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Precision Machine and Supply

This Former Chrome Plating and Machine Shop in Odessa, Ector County is in the Operation and Maintenance Phase of the state Superfund Program.

Site Background

The Precision Machine & Supply site (the site) is located at 500 West Olive Street in Odessa. This site was operated from 1952 until December 1980 as a machine and chrome-plating shop. The 0.75-acre site consists of a metal building, an alley, and a fenced yard. Operations at the site generated chromic acid rinsate, which was stored in a 1,500-gallon fiberglass underground tank, prior to disposal off site. Two concrete slabs, equipped with drains leading to the tank, were used as wash racks for rinsing chrome parts.

Superfund Actions Taken to Date

  • October 16, 1987, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (12 TexReg 3858) describing the site, proposing the site to the state Superfund registry, and announcing that a public meeting to receive citizen comments would be held at Odessa City Hall on October 29, 1987, in Odessa.
  • January 22, 1988, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (13 TexReg 427) listing the site on the state Superfund registry.
  • September 25, 1990, a legal notice was published by the Texas Water Commission in the Texas Register (15 TexReg 5624) soliciting services of a consultant to perform the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) at the site.
  • October 1991, TWC initiated work to determine the nature and extent of contamination (remedial investigation/feasibility study).
  • September 1, 1993, effective date of the creation of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission from the joining of the Texas Water Commission and the Texas Air Control Board and a portion of the Texas Department of Health.
  • In October 1995, the TNRCC divided the site into two operable units, groundwater and soil, with separate remedies to be proposed for each unit.
  • May 24, 1996, the final report was approved, marking completion of the remedial investigation/feasibility study phase.
  • May 31, 1996, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (21 TexReg 4911) announcing a public meeting would be held at Odessa City Council Chamber on July 16, 1996, to present to the community the best choice among cleanup remedies for the soil unit, and to receive citizen comments to be considered in the final recommended remedy.
  • July 16, 1996, a public meeting was held at Odessa City Council Chambers to present to the community the proposed remedy for the soil unit, which was excavation, off-site transport, and disposal. Groundwater recovery and treatment was proposed for the groundwater unit.
  • November 28, 1997, a legal notice was published in the Texas Register (22 TexReg 11850) and the Odessa American. A public meeting was to be held at the Ector County Library on January 8, 1998, to present to the community the amendments to the recommended cleanup remedy.
  • January 8, 1998, a public meeting was held at the Ector County Library to present to the community the amendments to the recommended cleanup remedies for the soil and groundwater units.
  • May 20, 1998, an administrative order was issued for remediation of the soil and the groundwater units.
  • January 1998, TNRCC initiated the remedial design phase.
  • June 1, 1998, TNRCC issued an administrative order, directing the potentially responsible party to perform or fund the remedial design and remedial action for the cleanup. The order set cleanup levels, selected the remedy for cleanup, and established rules, responsibilities and enforcement options for remedial design/remedial action under state Superfund process.
  • June 11, 1998, effective date for the administrative order for the remedial design and remedial action for the site.
  • August 31, 1998, a contract was awarded for the soil remedial action.
  • February 1999, the contractor reported the soil unit remedial action was substantially complete.
  • November 1, 1999, an amendment to the agreed administrative order for the remedial design of the groundwater unit was accepted.
  • October 25, 2000, a contract was issued for oversight of the remedial action.
  • October 31, 2000, remedial design was completed for the groundwater remediation.
  • March 13, 2001, an affidavit of lien payable to the commission was filed in the Ector County real property records by the TNRCC. The lien was filed pursuant to the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, Texas Health and Safety Code §361.194, to recover the state's remediation expenses.
  • April 2001, the extraction and injection wells for the groundwater treatment system were installed. Trenches were completed for the water lines and electrical lines.
  • August 30, 2001, TNRCC approved the groundwater remedial action report, that marked the end of the remedial action, and the commissioning of the groundwater treatment system at the site, which initiated the operation and maintenance phase of the project.
  • September 2001-August 2002, TNRCC continued operation and maintenance of the groundwater treatment system that was recovering contaminated groundwater, treating it by removing chromium contamination, then re-injecting the treated water.
  • September 1, 2002, effective date of the name change from Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
  • September 2002-August 2003, TCEQ continued the operation and maintenance of the groundwater treatment system.
  • August 3, 2003, additional pumping wells were installed to facilitate removal of chromium from the groundwater.
  • August 2004, TCEQ continued operations and maintenance of the groundwater treatment system.
  • September 2004-January 2005, the remediation of the groundwater continued with operation of the treatment plant.
  • January 2007, TCEQ continued operations and maintenance of the groundwater treatment system that recovers contaminated groundwater, treats it by removing the chromium, and then re-injects the cleaned water.
  • August 28, 2009, TCEQ approved the Engineering Review and Evaluation Report. This Report provided a history of the Operation and Maintenance activities and provided recommendations for optimizing the groundwater remediation system.
  • March 4, 2010, TCEQ approved the Drinking Water Survey Report which identified affected or potentially affected drinking water wells near the site.
  • June 2010 - August 2010, The TCEQ is evaluating the groundwater treatment system in order to optimize its use.
  • February - March 2011, TCEQ conducted groundwater sampling of five private water wells to the east of the groundwater plume area of the Precision Machine & Supply Superfund Site. All of the samples showed chromium concentrations were not detected above levels of health concern.
  • February 7, 2011, TCEQ approved the Bench Scale Treatability Study Work Plan which will evaluate whether another treatment method may be more effective in removing the remaining chromium in the groundwater.
  • May 20, 2011, TCEQ obtained soils borings in the City of Odessa right-of-way and collected groundwater samples as part of the Bench Scale Treatability Study.
  • February 2013, the TCEQ continues the operations and maintenance of the groundwater treatment system.

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