Woodwind Lakes subdivision built on oil and gas field turns on neighbor who pointed out the contamination

In 1991, Shell hired Vazquez Environmental Services, Inc. to conduct a preliminary site assessment on 95 acres, which concluded that no toxic or hazardous wastes existed within one mile. Shell did not bother to explore the area where the processing plant, compressor station and refinery once sat. "This resulted in the acquisition of the property without knowledge of the gas plant activities," Shell explained years later in a letter to the RRC.

Shell ran through numerous environmental consulting firms during the next few years, inviting speculation later on that he was more concerned with getting the site approved by the state than ensuring its safety -- claims strongly supported by the owner of at least one environmental company contracted by Shell at that time.

In 1993, Shell retained Earth Technology Corporation, which notified the RRC that abandoned petroleum pipelines crisscrossed much of the property. Using historical aerial photographs, Earth Technology identified 15 so-called "areas of concern" where contamination most likely occurred.

In a letter dated December 6, 1993, Earth Technology advised Shell to conduct an extensive soil and groundwater assessment "considering the residential development nearby and the intended development of this property." Shell rejected the advice and hired another company.

In early 1994, Shell contracted Espey, Huston & Associates, Inc., which conducted a limited evaluation, approved by the RRC, in which just one soil sample was taken from each "area of concern" and tested for a tiny handful of potentially harmful constituents. The groundwater was not tested at all and no effort was made to delineate the vertical or horizontal extent of any contamination.

Still, test results confirmed six soil samples with levels of chromium and total petroleum hydrocarbons exceeding state health standards.

By early 1995, Shell dropped Espey, Huston and retained Bio-Technologies, Inc. to bio-remediate 2,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil. This entailed excavating the dirt, piling it in an area and exposing it to oxygen and sunlight for several months until contamination levels fell below state protective health standards.

The biomound -- which initially towered 15 feet and covered a 14,000-square-foot area, according to some estimates -- was supposed to be located in a section where no homes would be built. Shell stuck it in what was already planned to become a recreation area adjacent to a playground, tennis courts and a pavilion. With the RRC's blessing, Shell then used remediated layers from the biomound as fill in various backyards. It is unknown where exactly the dirt was dumped.

RRC spokeswoman Ramona Nye declined interview requests for this story. Nye insisted that all questions be submitted in writing, and would provide only written responses.

"At Woodwind Lakes," Nye e-mailed the Press, "the soil remediation 'biomound' was constructed in an area that was originally identified to the Railroad Commission as a 'restricted area.' The 'biomound' area became a recreational area after the soils were remediated. RRC staff is not aware of other similar situations, i.e., where a remediated 'biomound' is subsequently included in a recreational area of a residential development."

No signs were ever posted to either warn or inform homeowners about the biomound, which today is the shared property of all 631 homeowners in Woodwind Lakes since it resides in a communally-owned area.

"I've never heard of putting a biomound in a residential area -- certainly not a recreation area," says Rinehart from the EPA. "You shouldn't expose people to it, especially small children."

The homeowners association at Woodwind Lakes for years has hosted annual Easter egg hunts and fall festivals on the biomound featuring clowns and inflatable moonwalks for kids, says current association president John Oyen. "There's no health risk," insists homeowner Oyen, a trained chemical engineer. "People who think there's a problem are ignorant."

Last Saturday, neighborhood children were invited back on the biomound again to scrounge for plastic eggs filled with candy.

Jerry Nickell, owner of the company that created the biomound at Woodwind Lakes, described Shell and his underlings as doing everything possi- ble to cut corners, meet deadlines and keep matters hush-hush, according to his February 2, 2005 deposition.

"There was a high level of anxiety associated with what they were finding out at the site," Nickell said. "They were in a big hurry to get us done and get us out of there."

Nickell continued: "We were instructed by Lakeland not to convey any information to anyone...[Shell] wanted to keep a tight lid on, as much as he could, on what we were doing."

According to Nickell's deposition, Shell ignored his recommendation against compositing soil samples -- a notoriously easy way to manipulate test results by diluting dirty samples with clean ones.

"The composite sample analysis was not the right approach," Nickell said, "but [Shell's] excuse was expense."