[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28099-28102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12707]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-6957-8]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Direct Final Deletion of the Brodhead Creek Superfund Site from
the National Priorities List.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III is
publishing a direct final deletion of the Brodhead Creek Superfund Site
(Site) located in the Borough of Stroudsburg, Monroe County,
Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List (NPL).
The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of
1980, as amended, is Appendix B of 40 CFR Part 300, which is the
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).
This direct final deletion is being published by EPA with the
concurrence of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) because EPA
has determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have
been completed and, therefore, further remedial action pursuant to
CERCLA is not appropriate.
DATES: This direct final deletion will be effective July 23, 2001,
unless EPA receives adverse comments by June 21, 2001. If adverse
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the
direct final deletion in the Federal Register informing the public that
the deletion will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: William Hudson, Community
Involvement Coordinator, (3HS43), U.S. EPA Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 814-5532.
Information Repositories: Comprehensive information about the Site
is available for viewing and copying at the Site Information
Repositories at the following locations: U.S. EPA Region III, Regional
Center for Environmental Information (RCEI), 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 814-5364, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m.; the Stroudsburg Borough Building, Seventh and Sarah
Streets, Stroudsburg, PA 18360, (570) 421-5444, Monday through Friday
8:00 to 5:00 p.m.; and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection, Northeast Regional Office, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre,
PA 18711-0790, (570) 826-2511, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00
p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Banks, Remedial Project Manager
(3HS22), U.S. EPA Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103,
(215) 814-3214, Fax (215) 814-3002, e-mail banks.john-d@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Site Deletion
I. Deletion Action
I. Introduction
EPA Region III is publishing this direct final deletion of the
Brodhead Creek Superfund Site from the NPL.
The EPA identifies sites that appear to present a significant risk
to public health or the environment and maintains the NPL as the list
of those sites. As described in Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites
deleted from the NPL remain eligible for remedial actions if conditions
at a deleted site warrant such action.
Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of
intent to delete. This action will be effective July 23, 2001 unless
EPA receives adverse comments by June 21, 2001. If adverse comments are
received within the 30-day public comment period on this document, EPA
will publish a timely withdrawal of this direct final deletion before
the effective date of the deletion and the deletion will not take
effect. EPA will, as appropriate, prepare a response to comments and
continue with the deletion process on the basis of the notice of intent
to delete and the comments already received. There will be no
additional opportunity to comment.
Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using
for this action. Section IV discusses the Brodhead Creek Superfund Site
and demonstrates how it meets the deletion criteria. Section V
[[Page 28100]]
discusses EPA's action to delete the Site from the NPL unless adverse
comments are received during the public comment period.
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 the State, whether any of the following criteria have
been met:
i. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all
appropriate response actions required;
ii. All appropriate Fund-financed (Hazardous Substance Superfund
Response Trust Fund) 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,
the taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
Even if a site is deleted from the NPL, where hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants remain at the deleted site above levels
that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, CERCLA Section
121(c), 42 U.S.C. 9621(c) requires that a subsequent review of the site
be conducted at least every five years after the initiation of the
remedial action at the deleted site to ensure that the action remains
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 deleted site may be restored to the
NPL without application of the hazard ranking system.
III. Deletion Procedures
The following procedures apply to deletion of the Site:
(1) The EPA consulted with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on the
deletion of the Site from the NPL prior to developing this direct final
deletion.
(2) The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania concurred with the deletion of
the Site from the NPL.
(3) Concurrently with the publication of this direct final
deletion, a notice of the availability of the parallel notice of intent
to delete published today in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of the
Federal Register is being published in a major local newspaper of
general circulation at or near the Site and is being distributed to the
appropriate federal, state, and local government officials and other
interested parties; the newspaper notice announces the 30-day public
comment period concerning the notice of intent to delete the Site from
the NPL.
(4) The EPA placed copies of documents supporting the deletion in
the Site information repositories identified above.
(5) If adverse comments are received within the 30-day public
comment period on this document, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal
of this direct final deletion before its effective date and will
prepare a response to comments and continue with the deletion process
on the basis of the notice of intent to delete and the comments already
received.
Deletion of a Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. Deletion of a site from
the NPL does not in any way alter EPA's right to take enforcement
actions, as appropriate. The NPL is designed primarily for
informational purposes and to assist EPA management. Section
300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states that the deletion of a site from the
NPL does not preclude eligibility for future response actions, should
future conditions warrant such action.
IV. Basis for Site Deletion
The following information provides EPA's rationale for deleting the
Site from the NPL:
A. Site Location
The Brodhead Creek Site occupies approximately 12 acres of a flood
plain area on the western bank of Brodhead Creek at the confluence of
Brodhead Creek and McMichael Creek in the Borough of Stroudsburg in
Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
B. Site History
The Site is the former location of a coal gasification plant which
operated from approximately 1888 to 1944. A waste product from these
operations was a black tar-like liquid (``coal tar'') which has a
density greater than water and which is principally composed of
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (``PAHs''). The coal tar was placed
in an open pit located on the Site. This practice continued to the mid-
1940s when the plant was abandoned.
On October 7, 1980, during construction repairs to the flood
control levee at the Site, materials identified as coal tar were
observed seeping into Brodhead Creek. As a result, several
investigations and emergency response measures were initiated by EPA,
PADEP, and Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PP&L) from 1981
through 1984, including: (1) Installation of temporary filter fences
and underflow dams to intercept coal tar seepage; (2) installation of a
temporary coal tar recovery pit on the west bank of Brodhead Creek; (3)
construction of a slurry wall by EPA to mitigate coal tar migration
from the Site toward Brodhead Creek; (4) excavation of a backwater
channel area where coal tar seepage appeared to be particularly
significant; and (5) installation of recovery wells in the main coal
tar pool by PP&L, with the subsequent recovery of approximately 8,000
gallons of coal tar.
The Site was placed on the NPL in December 1982, with a Hazard
Ranking Score of 31.09.
Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
On August 20, 1987, PP&L and Union Gas Company (UGC) entered into a
Consent Order and Agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to
conduct the original remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/
FS) for the Brodhead Creek Site. The original RI/FS was completed in
1991.
The results of the original RI indicated that coal tar from the
former coal gasification operations had migrated vertically through the
unsaturated and saturated portions of the stream gravel unit underlying
the Site to the interface with the silty sand. The silty sand prevents
further downward movement of the coal tar because of the higher
capillary pressures within that unit. Approximately 4.28 acres of the
gravel unit at the Site were contaminated with free and residual coal
tar. The free coal tar (i.e., coal tar at 100% pore volume saturation)
is limited to a small area of a stratigraphic depression east of the
slurry wall near monitoring well MW-2 (the MW-2 Area) and to the lowest
portion of the stratigraphic depression located west of the slurry wall
(the RCC Area). Both of these free coal tar accumulations are confined
from further downward migration by the top of the silty sand unit.
Residual coal tar (i.e., coal tar at less than 100% pore volume
saturation) can be found throughout the remainder of the 4.28 acres.
The total volume of free coal tar at the Site was estimated to be
9,000 gallons, 8,715 gallons at the RCC Area and 338 gallons at the MW-
2 Area. The extent of residual coal tar contamination at the Site was
estimated to be from 303,000 gallons to 409,000 gallons.
Characterization of Risk
The risk assessment in the original RI identified PAHs, benzene,
and arsenic
[[Page 28101]]
as the primary contaminants of concern at the Site. Federal Maximum
Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for drinking water established pursuant to
the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq., were exceeded for
arsenic, benzene, and benzo(a)pyrene in the subsurface gravel unit.
Proposed MCLs were exceeded in the ground water in the gravel unit for
the following PAHs: benzo(a)anthracene; benzo(b)fluoranthene;
benzo(k)fluoranthene; chrysene, dibenz(a,h)anthracene; and
indenopyrene. These PAHs, as well as arsenic and benzene, are
``hazardous substances'' as defined in Section 101(14) of CERCLA.
After reviewing the results of the original RI/FS, EPA divided the
remedial work to be undertaken at the Site into two operable units
(``OUs''). These were as follows:
OU-1: Contaminated subsurface soils containing free coal tar in the
stream gravel unit
OU-2: Ground water in the stream gravel unit to and including bedrock
EPA determined that an interim remedial action should be taken for
OU-1 to initiate reduction of the toxicity, mobility, and volume of
contaminants in the stream gravel unit at the Site. The interim
remedial action would entail the removal of the free coal tar from the
stream gravel unit. The free coal tar was a principal threat to human
health and the environment since it imparted high levels of
contaminants to the ground water in the stream gravel unit and could
serve as a potential source of release of contamination to the ground
water in bedrock. Implementation of an interim remedial action would
remove the source of the highest level of contamination and would
reduce further leaching of contaminants into the ground water. Data
generated during the implementation of the interim action and further
investigations for OU-2 would provide the information necessary to
assist EPA in determining whether (and where) restoration of ground
water to beneficial use was feasible. This in turn would enable EPA to
issue a final Record of Decision for the Brodhead Creek Site.
Record of Decision Findings for OU-1
In a Record of Decision (ROD) issued on March 29, 1991, EPA
selected an interim remedial action for OU-1 which included the
following major components:
--Recovery of free coal tar from the subsurface soils utilizing the
innovative technology of enhanced recovery (referred to as the
Contained Recovery of Oily Waste (CROW) process);
--Disposal of the recovered coal tar at an off-site permitted facility;
--Imposition of institutional controls to limit future use of the Site;
and
--Monitoring of ground water and biota in Brodhead Creek to ensure
protection of human health and the environment.
Response Actions for OU-1
On September 2, 1992, EPA, PP&L and UGC entered into a Consent
Decree under which the companies agreed to implement the remedial
design/remedial action (RD/RA) for OU-1 at the Site. The original
performance standard in the ROD required that at least 60% of the free
coal tar in the subsurface soils be removed. On July 14, 1994, EPA
issued an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) which revised
the performance standard in the ROD by requiring the operation of the
CROW process until the increase in cumulative recovery of the coal tar
dropped to 0.5% or less per pore volume flushed through the formation.
This revision of the performance standard was based on EPA's
determination that accurate measurement of the removal of 60% of the
free coal tar would not be possible because of the geology of the Site
and the nature of the subsurface coal tar contamination. By June of
1996, approximately 1,500 total gallons of coal tar had been removed
from the RCC Area and the performance standard had been met.
EPA determined during the CROW operational period that it would not
be practical to implement CROW at the MW-2 Area (the area located at
monitoring well MW-2) since the MW-2 Area contained only a small amount
of free coal tar. Instead, EPA determined that the relatively minor
amount of coal tar in the MW-2 Area wells should be removed via
intermittent pumping. Approximately 100.5 gallons of coal tar were
recovered from the MW-2 Area between February 1996 and March 1997.
Because of the variable nature of the coal tar recovery effort at
the MW-2 wells, EPA determined that continued active intermittent
pumping of the MW-2 wells could be suspended. However, as part of
operation and maintenance of the Site, EPA has required that the MW-2
wells, and any wells in the RCC Area that have historically contained
coal tar, be monitored for a free coal tar surface as part of the long-
term ground water monitoring requirement at the Site. If a coal tar
layer greater than six inches is discovered, it will be removed by
pumping at that time.
These changes for the MW-2 Area were documented in a second
Explanation of Significant Differences dated September 30, 1997. This
second ESD also converted the interim remedy in the ROD for OU-1 into
the final remedy for the Site and described the long-term monitoring
strategy for the Site.
Record of Decision Findings for OU-2
On June 3, 1992, EPA, PP&L and UGC entered into a Consent Order
under which the companies agreed to conduct a Focused RI/FS for OU-2 to
further investigate ground water contamination at the Site. On June 30,
1995, EPA issued a ROD for OU-2 at the Brodhead Creek Site. This ROD
addressed ground water contamination and residual coal tar
contamination in the subsurface soils. In the ROD for OU-2, EPA
selected a No Further Action alternative and established a technical
impracticability (``TI'') zone within which the Agency determined it
would be impracticable to remediate ground water and residual coal tar
contamination. EPA waived federal MCLs and Pennsylvania's Applicable or
Relevant and Appropriate Requirement (ARAR) for cleanup to
``background'' levels of contamination on the basis of ``Technical
Impracticability.'' Several Site-specific constraints made the
implementation of engineering solutions to the residual coal tar
contamination impracticable. As stated in the OU-2 ROD, these included:
(1) the need to temporarily reroute Brodhead Creek to access coal tar-
impacted soils beneath the creek bed; (2) the need to reinforce the
existing interstate I-80 bridge abutments in order to protect them from
the increased velocity and height of the creek which would result from
rerouting the creek; and (3) the need to restore wetlands which would
be impacted by any remediation alternative. In addition, the existing
earthen levee which currently bisects the Site, and which protects the
Borough of Stroudsburg and the slurry wall installed by EPA as an
emergency action in the early 1980s, would probably sustain damage from
the implementation of any engineering alternative, and require repair.
In the ROD for OU-2, EPA determined that the No Further Action
alternative, in conjunction with the OU-1 selected remedy, is
protective of human health and the environment. Implementation of the
OU-1 enhanced recovery program for the free coal tar areas on-site
reduced the areas of highest subsurface soil contamination. The OU-1
monitoring program will provide the data required to evaluate the fate
of the coal tar-related constituents,
[[Page 28102]]
the integrity of the slurry wall and the ``health'' of the biological
community in Brodhead Creek. This will provide long term protection
against the unlikely event that Site conditions might change and
potential exposures increase. In addition, the slurry wall installed at
the Site will continue to prevent free coal tar from discharging to
Brodhead Creek.
C. Future Activity
Operation and Maintenance
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) activities, which are performed by
PP&L(now known as PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (PPL)) with EPA
oversight, include periodic inspections, ground water monitoring,
stream sediment and biota monitoring, and the removal of relatively
minor amounts of free coal tar from the two stratigraphically isolated
areas of the Site, as necessary, but no less often than annually, and
any other activities necessary to ensure continued protection of public
health and the environment. The free coal tar removal, in conjunction
with long-term ground water monitoring, will continue to ensure the
effectiveness of the completed remedy at the Brodhead Creek Site.
Five-Year Review
CERCLA requires a five-year review of all sites with hazardous
substances remaining above the health based levels for unrestricted use
of the Site. Since residual coal tar contamination and ground water
contamination remain at the Site, the five-year review process will be
used to ensure that the selected remedy continues to be protective of
human health and the environment. EPA completed the first five-year
review of the Brodhead Creek Site on May 28, 1999. In that five-year
review, EPA determined that the remedy was not completely protective of
human health and the environment because institutional controls on
future land use at the Site had not yet been implemented. On September
22, 2000, institutional controls which limit future land use at the
Brodhead Creek Site were implemented by PPL and UGC (now known as PFG
Gas, Inc.), and recorded at the Monroe County Courthouse, Recorder of
Deeds Office, in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. These controls include
restricting use of ground water at the Site and prohibiting excavation
at the Site unless prior written approval is provided by the property
owner, EPA, and PADEP. These institutional controls will reinforce the
protectiveness of the selected remedy. EPA has determined that all
requirements of the ROD for OU-1, as modified by the ESDs dated July
14, 1994 and September 30, 1997, have been achieved at the Site and the
Site is protective of human health and the environment. EPA plans to
complete the next five year review prior to May 28, 2004.
D. Community Involvement
Public participation activities have been satisfied as required in
CERCLA Section 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and CERCLA Section 117, 42
U.S.C 9617. Documents in the deletion docket which EPA relied on for
recommendation of the deletion from the NPL are available to the public
in the information repositories.
V. Deletion Action
The EPA, with the concurrence of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
has determined that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have been
completed, and that no further response actions, under CERCLA, other
than O&M and five-year reviews, are necessary. Therefore, EPA is
deleting the Site from the NPL.
Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of
intent to delete. This action will be effective July 23, 2001 unless
EPA receives adverse comments by June 21, 2001 on this document. If
adverse comments are received within the 30-day public comment period
on this document to delete, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of
this direct final deletion before the effective date of the deletion
and the deletion will not take effect. EPA will prepare a response to
comments and continue with the deletion process on the basis of the
notice of intent to delete and the comments already received. There
will be no additional opportunity to comment.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals,
Hazardous Substances, Hazardous waste, Intergovernmental relations,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water
pollution control, Water supply.
Dated: March 8, 2001.
Thomas C. Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region III.
For the reasons set out in this document, 40 CFR Part 300 is
amended as follows:
PART 300--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for Part 300 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; E.O.
12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR., 1991 Comp., p.351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR
2923, 3 CFR., 1987 Comp., p. 193.
Appendix B--[Amended]
2. Table 1 of Appendix B to Part 300 is amended by removing the
site for ``Brodhead Creek, Stroudsburg, PA.''
[FR Doc. 01-12707 Filed 5-21-01; 8:45 am]
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