Inside the Greenpoint Remediation Project

Petroleum refining in Greenpoint of Brooklyn goes back to the 19th century, when five oil companies that would later be rolled up into Standard Oil operated in the area. In 1966, Mobil, which by then owned the land, ceased refinery operations, selling part of the property off to Amoco in 1968. In 1978, with ExxonMobil now the owner of record, it was discovered that petroleum products were leaking into Newtown Creek and began some remediation. In 1993, ExxonMobil stopped all oil-related operations on the site at that point. In 2007, the company removed the above-ground tanks and started removing the underground pipes. Last year, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website, 26,500 gallons of product was recovered from underground. Here’s how the DEC describes the current set up:

The current ExxonMobil Terminal product recovery system includes 5 dual phase recovery wells located on or near the Terminal property. Groundwater from these 5 wells, as well as 5 of the new off-site recovery wells, is pumped to a treatment system located on the former ExxonMobil Terminal property. The effluent is discharged to Newtown Creek through an outfall located off the terminal property.

Last week, a Brownstoner reporter, Thomas Santella, was given access to the remediation facilities at 400 Kingsland Avenue. Below, you can find a pictorial tour of the site along with explanations of remediation activities.

A map of the ExxonMobil Plume area shows a total of 21 on-site and off-site recovery well locations (one well located outside of map area).

Each recovery well is connected to control center, where the system is monitored. The well can be monitored remotely and is active 24 hours a day.

A look inside a recovery well control center.

Touch screen computers allow easy monitoring of the system.

Among the controls is a water flow meter that displays the volume of water pumping through the well and to the treatment facility.

On site at the ExxonMobile Terminal in Greenpoint, the Project Manager describes the dual-pump recovery well system.

The mock up shows that each well has two pumps, one which pulls in water to create a cone of depression and a second, which extracts the petroleum product or free product, floating on the water’s surface.

The samples above show recovered petroleum product, recovered groundwater and its treated result.

Doors on one of the recovery wells are opened to view the top of the dual-pump well, which depending on the particular well go approximately 30′ to 70′ below the ground.

A closer look at the top of a recovery well. While active, the well is surprisingly silent.

Extracted petroleum product is pumped to tanks like these for removal off site.

The top of a typical monitoring well, which can be located throughout the neighborhood. The monitoring wells are used to determine the status and area of the underground contamination.

On site at the ExxonMobile Terminal, one of two Groundwater Treatment buildings.

Up close at the Groundwater Treatment Building.

Up close at the Groundwater Treatment Building.

A look inside the treatment facility at the water filtration system.

A closer look at the air stripping units, which are used for the treatment of groundwater containing volatile organic compounds. As the water descends in a tank, air is forced up through the column, stripping off the volatile organic compounds.

A new air stripping unit installed into the facility.

Inside the treatment facility control center, we look over the system-wide status.

A look at the status of a single recovery well.