cleanup · Chautauqua County
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Station 224
French Creek / Clymer
Natural-gas compressor station where PCB-containing compressor oil affected defined soil, drainage, and tributary-sediment areas. Excavation and containment were completed in 1997; caps, erosion controls, sediment sampling, and annual certification continue.
The documented story
What happened here?
Station 224 has operated along Ravlin Hill Road since 1959 as part of a natural-gas transmission system. Historic starting-air compressors used PCB-containing oil that entered building drains and defined outdoor areas.
DEC lists the 116.3-acre controlled property as State Superfund site 907014, Class 4. Only defined portions of the larger station property contained the documented contamination.
Pipeline equipment carried PCBs into a rural drainage system
Station 224 connects compressor oil to defined soil and tributary-sediment areas
1997year the principal PCB excavation and containment were completed
1959 onward
Rural energy infrastructure had industrial waste pathways
Large compressors, oil systems, drains, scrap areas, and maintenance practices supported regional gas transmission. Historic starting-air equipment used PCB-containing oil.
1997 remedy
Cleanup followed the oil from drains to outdoor areas
PCB-affected soil and sediment were excavated, a drain line was grouted, defined residual areas were capped, and tributary banks received erosion controls.
Present operation
An active station maintains a completed remedy
Monitoring, sediment sampling, land restrictions, excavation procedures, cap care, and annual certification continue while the compressor station operates.
Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Chronology
Timeline
- 1959 onward
The property operated as a natural-gas compressor station.
- Historic operating period
PCB-containing starting-air-compressor oil entered building drains and several defined outdoor management areas.
- 1997
PCB-affected soil and sediment were excavated, a drainline was grouted, and covers and erosion controls were installed.
- 2025 review
Annual inspection, sediment sampling, and certification found the controls functioning as designed.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- PCB-containing oil affected drainline material, localized soil, burn-pit and scrap-yard areas, and sediment in an on-site tributary.
- The remedy record does not support treating the entire 206-acre operating station or surrounding farms as one contamination area.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- The remedy removed material above cleanup thresholds, capped defined residual areas, stabilized tributary banks, and established groundwater and sediment monitoring.
- Land-use restrictions, excavation procedures, cap maintenance, access controls, and annual certification remain required.
Then and now
The site today
Station 224 is an operating industrial property with a completed remedy under continuing Class 4 management.
Continuing operation does not remove the obligation to protect capped areas, follow excavation procedures, and certify the remedy each year.