DEQ's Voluntary Cleanup Program

The Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) allows private parties and government entities to voluntarily investigate and, if warranted, clean up potentially contaminated properties. Remediation activities are negotiated and overseen by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and carried out by the applicant. VCP sites may apply to enter the  Brownfields Program  if the participant requests. VCP contains a broad range of sites, ranging from large-scale projects such as old oil refineries to small sites such as personal property with a single source of contamination.

For more information about each site and how to view site documents, visit DEQ's Voluntary Cleanup Program website  here. 

The Boynton oil refinery operated from 1917 to 1933, producing over 2,500 barrels per day before its closing. While process equipment and tanks were removed from the site when it was shut down, significant amounts of refinery waste products were left behind. A massive pit containing almost half a million cubic feet of tar, seen in the above image, existed at the site for decades after closure, along with contaminated soil and pond water, and old concrete structures from the refinery.

In 2006, Marathon Oil Company purchased the site and entered it into the VCP. Remediation measures included removal of existing structures from the refinery, the removal of contaminated water and soil, and replacement with healthy soil to industrial standards. Finished in 2012, the cleanup resulted in the removal of over 50,000 tons of tar and over 6.5 million gallons of contaminated sludgewater.

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The old Tulsa Welding School site in Tulsa's Market District was also formerly an auto dealership. Operations on the site resulted in soil contamination with Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs), preventing further use on the site. This contamination was identified in 2016, when ITulsa LLC purchased the property and underwent a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment. The company entered the site into the VCP in 2020. Contaminated soils were removed via excavation and a vapor barrier was installed for further mitigation.

Remediation work on the property allowed for new development to swiftly take place. A $65 million mixed-use development containing over 250 apartments and commercial entities like restaurants was constructed on the former site and opened in 2024. What was once an empty lot projects to be a thriving social and economic center. For details on the new development, click  here. 

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The former Empire Refinery site occupies 62 acres near Cushing, OK. The refinery closed in the 1940s, but large amounts of refinery waste, old equipment and contaminated soil persisted. The site entered into the VCP program in 2006 and was remediated until 2016, meeting satisfactory requirements for residential development. The area currently has residents and is also home to a small trucking business.

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Southeast Oklahoma City is home to two VCP success stories- Cesar Chavez Elementary School, and the Educare Center preschool. Located on SE Grand Blvd, this site once held abandoned oil wells and pits that contained hazardous materials. Groundwater collected at the site had large concentrations of chloride and TPHs, and soil was contaminated with refinery chemicals. MAPS funding from Oklahoma City pushed forward new development on the site, and it was entered into the VCP.

Remediation work was completed from 2004-2011, and the schools opened shortly after. Oil wells were plugged, old equipment was removed, and the contaminated soils were removed and replaced with a protective soil cover. Thanks to the remediation work overseen by DEQ at these two sites, the two schools are in a safe environment.

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Just off Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City, a strip mall property was owned by Stratford Holdings LLC. Via multiple subleases, the property became home to a small dry cleaning operation, $1.75 Cleaners. This operation allowed perchloroethylene (PCE), a common chemical used in dry cleaning, to leach into the building foundation, as well as the surrounding soil and groundwater. Despite being less toxic than other chlorinated solvents, the PCE was found to be at a level considered imminently dangerous to human life and health, and the site was closed down.

DEQ has been involved with the site since 2012 and work continues on the site today. This is the pilot site for the Soil Vapor Extraction method of decontamination, where harmful chemical vapors are extracted from below ground via a vacuum force. So far, this method has been successful, and plans to expand the project are underway.

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