Document Ev0oydMm161kkR4MqrVDxVZEj
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 8
RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT
BASIC INFORMATION
Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100
RCRA ID: WYR000212175
Mailing Address: 715 Grand Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070
Notification Status: Non-notifier
Facility Contact: Deidre Boysen 307-742-5156
Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Lead Inspector: Annette Maxwell, U.S. EPA
Arrival Time: 10:35 a.m. Departure Time: 11:11 a.m.
Other Attendees: 1. Dennis Lamb, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) 2. Christy Hutchinson, WDEQ 3. John Heinzen, Polar Bear
Type and Purpose of Inspection: Compliance Evaluation Inspection
Facility Type: Commercial Oilfield Waste Disposal Facility (COWDF)
Applicable Statute to Inspection: RCRA Section 7003
Inspection Type: Unannounced Inspection Joint: U.S. EPA and WDEQ
OPENING CONFERENCE
Company Ownership: Polar Bear Water Treatment, LLC
General Facility and Process Description: The Polar Bear facility (Facility) is a COWDF that receives non-hazardous RCRA Subtitle C-exempt E&P oilfield waste for storage, treatment and/or disposal. The Facility has been issued a permit to operate a COWDF by WDEQ. The Facility includes 13 evaporation ponds, a netted slop pit, storage tanks and a tanker truck offload area.
TOUR INFORMATION
Upon arrival at the Facility, an opening conference was conducted with Facility representative John Heinzen, followed by a walk-through of the Facility.
Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023
During the opening conference, Mr. Heinzen stated that there was oil on a pond and that the tanks were not currently in use due to an issue, which might involve the presence of paraffins in the middle tank.
Areas of the Facility toured: x slop/skim pits, x evaporation ponds, x tank battery, and x tanker offload area.
Data Collected and Observations: During the walk-through, I observed that slop/skim pit 1 (see Attachment 1 - Site Map) was netted, but that two additional slop/skim pits, which Mr. Heinzen identified as slop pits 2 and 3, also identified on the Site Map, were not netted. At slop pit 2, I observed that it was 100% covered in floating oil and was not netted. See Attachment 2 - Photo Log, photos 1986 and 1987. All additional photos described below are also included in Attachment 2.
At slop pit 3, I observed that approximately 50% of the surface was covered in floating oil and that it was not netted.
On evaporation pond 8, approximately 70% of the pond surface was covered with a layer of floating oil. See Attachment 2 - Photo Log, photos 1990-1995. I observed an object in the pond that could potentially have been a bird carcass but was unable to confirm.
Mr. Heinzen stated that a raptor had recently been found to have been killed due to contact with oil in one of the ponds. Mr. Lamb informed him that he thought this type of incident should be reported to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Oily waste that is not physically restricted from access by birds and other wildlife is a concern because of the potential for injury or mortality. Specifically, the large amount of oil on evaporation pond 8 and slop pits 2 and 3 poses a potentially serious threat to birds and other wildlife.
CLOSING CONFERENCE
A closing conference was conducted with Mr. Heinzen in which we relayed concerns about the oil on the un-netted slop/skim pits and Pond 8. I also stated that I would be writing an inspection report, which should be provided to the facility within 70 days.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 SIGNATURE & DATE
Digitally signed by ANNETTE
ANNETTE MAXWELL MAXWELL
Lead Inspector: _________________________D_a_t_e:_2_0_23_._07_.1_1_0_6_:0_1_:4_6_-0_6_'0_0_' __ Annette Maxwell, RCRA Inspector
JANICE PEARSON Date: 2023.07.11 16:10:19 -06'00' Digitally signed by JANICE PEARSON
Supervisor: ___________________________________________________ Janice A. Pearson, Manager RCRA & OPA Enforcement Branch Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023
ATTACHMENT 1 - SITE MAP
Polar Bear COWDF
Number denotes evaporation pond number
1 11
12
13
3 2
7 6
9
10
5
4
8
Slop/skim pit 3 Slop/skim pit 2 Slop/skim pit 1
Imagery source: bing.com/maps
Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023
ATTACHMENT 2 - PHOTO LOG
Photographer: Annette Maxwell Camera Model and ID: Nikon Coolpix, B00228
Photo 1986: DSCN1986.jpg - photo of slop/skim pit 2, with oil on 100% of the surface.
Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1987: DSCN1987.jpg - photo of the same area shown in photo 1986, panned left.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1988: DSCN1988.jpg - photo of slop/skim pit 3, with oil on 50% of the surface.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1989: DSCN1989.jpg - photo of the same area shown in photo 1988, panned right.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1990: DSCN1990.jpg - photo of evaporation pond 8, with oil on approximately 70% of the surface. Photo taken from the southeast corner of the pond facing northwest.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1991: DSCN1991.jpg - photo of the same area shown in photo 1990, panned left.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1992: DSCN1992.jpg - photo of evaporation pond 8 taken near the center of the pond on the south side facing west.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1993: DSCN1993.jpg - photo of the same area shown in photo 1992, panned right.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1994: DSCN1994.jpg - photo of the same area shown in photos 1992 and 1993, panned right.
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Facility Name: Polar Bear Water Treatment Facility Location: 41.755800, -107.585100 Date of Inspection: May 15, 2023 Photo 1995 DSCN1995.jpg - photo of the same area shown in photos 1992-1994, panned right.
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