Department of Environmental Quality

Waste and Underground Tank Management Bureau

Montana Refining Company, Inc.
Great Falls, Montana

FACILITY FACT SHEET

Location Map
 

SITE LOCATION AND HISTORY

Montana Refining Company, Inc. (MRCI) is located at 1900 10th Street N.E., Great Falls, Montana.  The facility’s legal location is NE ¼, Section 1, T20N, R3E, Cascade County, Montana.

MRCI is an operating refinery that produces approximately 10,000 barrels per day of various petroleum products.  The active petroleum refinery occupies approximately 56 acres.  The refinery is bounded by the Missouri River to the south and Smelter Avenue to the north.  The topography generally slopes to the south towards the Missouri River.

The facility has one permitted regulated unit which is a land treatment unit (LTU).  The LTU is in post-closure care status and no longer receives any waste.  MRCI operated the LTU from 1979 to 1985 to treat and dispose of hazardous and non-hazardous waste.  Operation ceased in 1985, and the LTU was certified closed in 1989.  MRC was required to obtain a hazardous waste permit under the Montana Hazardous Waste Act and federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

The facility was issued a hazardous waste permit #MTHWP-95-02 on September 22, 1995.  The permit was issued jointly by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and EPA.  The permit includes requirements for post-closure care of the LTU and for facility-wide corrective action.  

    Top

CORRECTIVE ACTION

EPA and the Department approved the Current Conditions Report (CCR) in a letter dated August 28, 1998.  The CCR is a background report describing, to the extent known, the current refinery environmental setting, waste management activities, and previous investigations.  The information in the CCR is used to help guide the RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI).

RCRA Facility Investigation Report (RFI)

The purpose of the RFI is to fully determine the nature, concentration, rate, and extent of migration of any release of hazardous waste or hazardous constituents at or from the refinery that might pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.  MRCI was required to submit a draft RCRA Facility Investigation Report (RFI) pursuant to the permit.  MRCI has submitted a Phase 1 and Phase 2 RFI Work Plan and Reports.  The draft RFI Reports have not yet been approved by the Department.

The Department and MRCI continue to work to determine the path forward for the identified Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and Areas of Concern (AOCs).  The SWMUs and AOCs currently being evaluated in the corrective action process include the following:

        Study Area 1 – Wastewater Treatment Area

        Study Area #2 – Wastewater Pond Area

        Study Area #3 – TEL Building Area

        Other SWMUs and AOCs

SWMUs/AOCs #1 through #27 were included in the facility-wide RFI Process.  AOC #28, SWMU #30, and AOC #31 are newly discovered units.

Interim Measures (IM)

Several units have undergone Interim Measures (IM) to address actual or potential releases.  Interim Measures are short-term actions taken to respond to immediate threats to human health or prevent damage or contaminant migration to the environment.  Interim or stabilization measures may be taken at any time in the corrective action process.  These units include AOC #16 and SWMU #20.

In 1995 and 2001 releases of LNAPL to the Missouri River prompted MRCI to install recovery trenches south of AOC #16 Gasoline and Light Oil Loading Rack.  AOC #16 is located on the east side of 10th Street NE, east of the refinery process units and storage tanks.  

     Top

FOR MORE INFORMATION

DEQ Contact: 
Denise A. Kirkpatrick, Solid & Hazardous Waste Specialist
Montana Department of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 200901
Helena, Montana 59620-0901
406-444-3983
e-mail: dkirkpatrick@mt.gov