Peace Health/Sacred Heart Medical Center RiverBend

Project Description

The Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend complex is located on 181 acres along the McKenzie River in Springfield, Oregon, and opened in August 2008. Two (2) underground storage tanks (USTs), each having a nominal capacity of 40,000 gallons, were installed at the facility for storage of diesel fuel associated with an emergency electrical power supply system for the facility. The hospital facility and USTs are located within the five (5) to 10 year time of travel (TOT) zone of the Sports Way well operated by the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) as part of the municipal water supply for the city of Springfield. A well installed for use under emergency conditions is located approximately 400 feet from the USTs. An active spill of diesel fuel emanating from a UST vent pipe was observed the morning of October 23, 2007, as a result of one (1) of the USTs becoming overfilled with fuel transferred into it from the other UST. The spill occurred after certain testing procedures had been complete and resulted from failure of an electrically operated valve which normally would have allowed the product to freely circulate between the USTs and a nurse tank for the electrical generators. Closure of the valve resulted in one (1) of the USTs becoming overfilled. BB&A Environmental was retained by Turner Construction Company (Turner) to provide environmental consulting services related to assessment of subsurface conditions following the diesel fuel spill. Specific services included completion of push probes, collection and analysis of soil and groundwater samples, preparation of a groundwater monitoring program, installation of groundwater monitoring wells, preparation of an Initial Site Characterization Report as required under Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 340-122-230, preparation of a groundwater monitoring and reporting plan, installation of five (5) permanent groundwater monitoring wells, and quarterly monitoring and reporting. The magnitude and extent of impact to subsurface media were determined during site investigation and cleanup activities, and additional investigation of subsurface conditions involving installation of five (5) groundwater monitoring wells. Based on confirmation sampling results and quarterly groundwater monitoring, BB&A Environmental documented that residual impact to subsurface media by diesel fuel does not pose an unacceptable risk to area groundwater and surface water resources and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued a “no further action” (NFA) determination for the site.