[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49528-49529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20426]
[[Page 49528]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-6849-7]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan; National
Priorities List Update
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the release from the Route 940 Drum
Dump from the National Priorities List (NPL).
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces
its intent to delete the release from the Route 940 Drum Dump (Site)
from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on
this action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is
the National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Continency Plan
(NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of
1980 (CERCLA), as amended, EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (PADEP) have determined that the Site poses no
significant threat to public health or the environment and, therefore,
further remedial measures pursuant to CERCLA are not appropriate.
DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before
September 13, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Donna Santiago, (3HS22), Remedial
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650
Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-814-3222, Fax 215-814-3002, e-
mail santiago.donna@epa.gov. Comprehensive information on this Site is
available through the public docket which is available for viewing at
the Site information repositories at the following locations: U.S. EPA
Region III, Administrative Records, 1650 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA
19103, 215-566-3157; and Tobyhanna Township Municipal Building, State
Ave, Pocono Pines, PA 15065.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Santiago (3HS22), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-814-3222, Fax 215-814-3002, e-mail
santiago.donna@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis of Intended Site Deletion
I. Introduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces
its intent to delete the release from the Route 940 Drum Dump, Pocono
Summit, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List
(NPL), Appendix B of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR part 300, and requests
comments on the deletion. EPA identifies sites that appear to present a
significant risk to public health, welfare, or the environment and
maintains the NPL as the list of these sites. As described in
Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the NPL remain
eligible for remedial actions in the unlikely event that conditions at
the site warrant action.
EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have determined that the
remedial action for the Site has been successfully executed. EPA will
accept comments on the proposal to delete the release from the NPL for
thirty days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Section II of this notice explains the criteria for deleting sites
from the NPL. Section III discusses the procedures that EPA is using
for this action. Section IV discusses the Route 940 Drum Dump and
explains how the Site meets the deletion criteria.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that releases may be deleted
from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In making a
determination to delete a release from the NPL, EPA shall consider, in
consultation with PADEP, whether any of the following criteria has been
met:
(i) Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all
appropriate response actions required;
(ii) All appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA has been
implemented, and no further response action by responsible parties is
appropriate; or
(iii) The remedial investigation has shown that the release poses
no significant threat to public health or the environment and,
therefore, taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
Even when the release is deleted from the NPL, where hazardous
substances, pollutants, or contaminants remain at the site above levels
that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, EPA is
required, by statue or policy, to conduct a subsequent review of the
site at least every five years after the initiation of the remedial
action at the site to ensure that the site remains protective of public
health and the environment. In the case of this Site, EPA conducted a
five year review in 1997. Based on this review, EPA determined that
conditions at the Site remain protective of public health and the
environment. If new information becomes available which indicates a
need for further action, EPA may initiate remedial actions. Whenever
there is a significant release from a site deleted from the NPL, the
site shall be restored to the NPL without the application of the Hazard
Ranking System (HRS).
III. Deletion Procedures
The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of the
Site:
(1) All appropriate response under CERCLA has been implemented and
no further action by EPA is appropriate; (2) The Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) concurred with the
proposed deletion; (3) A notice has been published in the local
newspaper and has been distributed to appropriate Federal, State, and
local officials and other interested parties announcing the
commencement of a 30-day public comment period on EPA's Notice of
Intent to Delete; and, (4) All relevant documents have been made
available for public review in the local Site information repository.
For deletion of the release from the NPL, EPA's Regional Office
will accept and evaluate public comments on EPA's Notice of Intent to
Delete before making a final decision to delete. If necessary, the
Agency will prepare a Responsiveness Summary, responding to each
significant comment submitted during the public comment period.
Deletion of the release from the NPL does not itself create, alter,
or revoke any individual's rights or obligations. The NPL is designed
primarily for informational purposes and to assist Agency management.
As mentioned in Section II of this document, Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the
NCP states that the deletion of a release from a site from the NPL does
not preclude eligibility for future response actions.
A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a final
action in the Federal Register. Generally, the NPL will reflect
deletions in the final update following the notice. Public notices and
copies of the Responsiveness Summary will be made available to local
residents by the Regional Office.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The following summary provides the Agency's rationale for the
proposal to delete this release from the NPL.
[[Page 49529]]
Site Background and History
The Route 940 Drum Dump (Site) is located in Tobyhanna Township
near Pocono Summit, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The Site consists of a
grass-covered open clearing consisting of approximately 2.5 acres.
Landmark International purchased the property in 1976 from the J.E.M.
Partnership, which had owned the property since 1974. Between 1974 and
1978, approximately 600 drums of unknown contents from an unknown
source were stored on the site. In 1978 the property owner arranged for
removal of the drums. However in 1983 it was discovered that some of
the drums had been buried on site and the contents of some of the drums
were dumped on the surface of the ground on Site. The US EPA and PADEP
initiated investigations and discovered rusted remains of several
crushed 55-gallon drums in shallow trenches. Following EPA and PADEP
response actions at the Site, Landmark conducted further investigations
and actions at the Site in 1983. Contaminated soils were excavated and
approximately 3000 tons of contaminated soil were removed from the
Site. In 1987 an additional 4,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were
removed from the Site. In 1985 the Site was proposed for inclusion on
the National Priorities List, 40 CFR part 300, and was finalized in
July 1987.
In 1987, Landmark entered into a Consent Order with PADEP to
undertake an RI/FS for the Site. In 1990, Landmark's performance of the
RI/FS pursuant to the consent order was suspended due to non-
compliance. The Site was subsequently turned back to EPA and a fund
lead RI/FS was initiated. EPA's goals for Site investigation were to
identify risks posed by the Site, to develop remedial alternatives to
address those risks, and to protect human health and the environment.
There were no principal threats identified at this Site based on the
EPA criteria. As part of the RI a risk assessment was conducted to
evaluate the potential impacts of the Site on human health and the
environment. Upon review of the baseline risk assessment, it was
determined that under the various risk scenarios evaluated for
contaminants of concern at the Site, the Site contaminants did not pose
any risks or threat to human health or the environment which would
warrant EPA undertaking a remedial action. It should be noted that
while there are naturally occurring metals, which at the concentrations
detected in groundwater samples could potentially pose a health threat
to those who use it as a drinking water source, EPA can take no action.
Under the Superfund Law, EPA is unable to address any risks that are
posed by naturally occurring elements within an area except in
conjunction with the remediation of any Site related contamination that
is not naturally occurring. The Record of Decision (ROD) for the Site
was signed in 1992. The selected remedial action in the ROD was, No
Action. Under this alternative EPA will not undertake any type of
remedial action since there were no site related risks which would
warrant EPA to implement a remedial action.
Response Actions
The 1992 ROD which identifies No Action as the selected remedy
indicates that EPA will not undertake any type of remedial action since
there were no site related risks which would warrant EPA to implement a
remedial action. It has been determined that the previous actions which
were completed by EPA, PADEP and Landmark have remediated the Site to
the point where the residual risks posed by the Site are below health-
based standards and therefore do not warrant any further remedial
action.
Monitoring
The 1992 ROD for the Site required that ground water monitoring be
conducted for a period of at least five years to assure that changes
have not occurred which would pose a risk to human health or the
environment. Five years of annual ground water monitoring activities
have been conducted at the Site. Monitoring results at the Site
indicate that the selected alternative identified in the 1992 ROD
remains protective of human health and the environment.
Five-Year Review
EPA completed a five-year review report in 1997, where it evaluated
the results of the monitoring activities at the Site. This report
concluded that the Route 940 Site is protective of human health and the
environment. Specifically, the 1997 five-year review recommended to
continue monitoring activities at the Site for an additional year as
required in the ROD to assess the continued effectiveness of the
remedial action.
Applicable Deletion Criteria
The remedy selected for this Site has been implemented in
accordance with the Record of Decision. Therefore, no further response
action is necessary. The remedy has resulted in the significant
reduction of the long-term potential for release of contaminants,
therefore, human health and potential environmental impacts have been
minimized. EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania find that the
remedy implemented continues to provide adequate protection of human
health and the environment.
Dated: August 3, 2000.
Thomas C. Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 3.
[FR Doc. 00-20426 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
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