A History of the Paulsboro Terminal
Over 70 Years of Industrial Use
The Paulsboro Terminal has had a long history as a petroleum and chemical storage and distribution facility. During World War I, tanks were built on the property to support the war effort. In 1929, Patterson Oil used those tanks to create an oil storage and fueling Terminal at the site. Eastern Gas & Fuels took over in 1954, selling the Terminal in 1960 to the Sinclair Refining Company, later known as Sinclair Oil Corporations. In 1969 Atlantic Richfield Corporation (ARCO) leased the Terminal from Sinclair, but later that year, BP Oil Company (BP) bought Sinclair and took over operations.
Under BP's ownership, the Terminal was active for approximately 27 years. Environmental cleanup activities were initiated in 1981, while the Terminal was still in operation. From 1989 until 1992, chemical storage and distribution was phased out, then in May 1996 Terminal operations ceased. Environmental investigations and remediation have been on going and are the primary activities conducted at the facility today.
Site Features
The former Terminal property occupies approximately 130 acres. To the north, it is bordered by the Delaware River, which is one of the major rivers of the eastern U.S. and is navigable by large oceangoing vessels. Residential properties are located to the south and west of the site, while industrial properties, a railroad, wetlands, and an additional vacant piece of property owned by BP lie east and southeast of the Terminal property.
Several parcels of land that abut the Terminal are either owned by BP or may be relevant to long-term property reuse. An 8-acre parcel to the northwest, known as the Scanlan property, was purchased by BP in 1976 and is occupied by a 22,000-square foot warehouse and a 1.5-acre yard currently leased to a marine spill emergency response company. An additional 23 acres to the southeast of the Terminal, also owned by BP, was the former site of a battery processing plant and ink manufacturing facility. This property is bordered by Mantua Creek, which is navigable for recreational craft. In addition, there is a 3-acre vacant parcel to the south of the Terminal, which BP maintains as a grass field and where several groundwater monitoring wells have been installed.
A former chemical plant on a 60-acre parcel adjoins the Terminal to the east. This property was used by Essex Chemicals as a chemical processing plant. Part of that parcel includes a 17-acre landfill consisting primarily of gypsum, a material used to make plaster and wall board. In 2003, the largest solar field on the East coast was constructed on the former landfill.
The site currently houses a groundwater treatment facility, a soil vapor extraction system, and an administrative building, in addition, to the solar power facility.
Paulsboro Today
Although Terminal operations were halted in 1996, considerable on-going environmental activity takes place there today. A groundwater treatment facility that occupies about one acre on the west side of the property was constructed in 1991 to recover and treat impacted groundwater. In 1999, the system was overhauled and computerized to better contain and prevent migration of contaminated groundwater off site. There are also:
- 182 groundwater monitoring wells, plus 40 third-party groundwater monitoring wells that BP monitors.
- Six active groundwater pumping wells.
A soil treatment system (soil vapor extraction or SVE) was installed in 1997 and upgraded in 2001 and 2002. This system includes:
- 56 active soil vapor extraction wells (15 of which are off site) to address impacts above the water.
- 15 air sparge wells.
During the process of investigation and remediation, BP's goal is to act as a catalyst in stimulating redevelopment of the site. In 2005, BP leased all but 6 acres of the former Terminal to the Borough at $1 per year for 90 years. The Borough and the South Jersey Port Corporation formally agreed in February 2006 to create a deepwater port at the site. Click here for more on Site redevelopment progress.
