Excavator fills in hole at former Chevron site

The gaping hole at the former site of Sisters Chevron has been filled in.

A dump truck poured in a load of fill dirt last week that was spread by a skip loader, closing the excavation that had been open for months. However, the filling of the excavation site does not indicate that the contaminated site has been cleaned up.

Joe Klemz of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) told The Nugget, “Last time I spoke with the consultant for the owner, they were going to do some more sampling and they were going to do some backfilling.”

The back filling helps eliminate the potential safety hazard of an open pit.

American Energy owns the site, which has some contamination from old gas tanks. The site must be cleared (or “closed”) by DEQ before a new owner can take possession and develop the site.

According to Klemz, the site is still “quite a ways” from closure. The owner still has to determine the type and extent of contamination.

“I haven’t received much beyond the original 20-day report,” Klemz said.

Once the extent of contamination is complete, the owners can develop a clean-up plan. Level of clean-up to allow “closure” of a site varies depending on the end use and other factors.

Sisters City Councilors had expressed concern about the appearance of the site at a meeting last month.