[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 145 (Friday, July 26, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39104-39107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18838]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-5541-5]
Deletion of a Site from the National Priorities List for
Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the AMP Site in Glen Rock, PA, from
the National Priorities List; Request for Comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') announces its
intent to delete the AMP Site (``Site''), located in Glen Rock,
Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List (``NPL'') and requests
public comment. The NPL, a list of sites EPA evaluates for priority
cleanup of hazardous wastes, is found in Appendix B of the National Oil
and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR
part 300, Appendix B. EPA promulgated the NCP pursuant to section 105
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'').
EPA proposes this deletion under the terms of a policy published in
the Federal Register on March 20, 1995. In this policy EPA announced
that, consistent with NCP criteria for deletion of sites from the NPL,
the Agency would delete sites if corrective action was proceeding
pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA''). EPA,
in consultation with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has determined
that this deferral to RCRA authorities is appropriate.
DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before August 26, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Frank Vavra, Remedial Project
Manager, Superfund Branch--3HW22, 841 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19107.
The Deletion Docket is available for inspection at the following
locations and times: 1) U.S. EPA Region III, Hazardous Waste Management
Division, 841 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. during Monday through Friday; 2) Martin Library, 159 East Market
Street, York, PA, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday,
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
on Saturdays during the summer (contact Ms. Rebecca Shives, Head of
Reference).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on the AMP
Site, contact Frank Vavra at the above address or phone 215-566-3221.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
I. Introduction
The Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') Region III announces
its intent to delete the AMP Site from the National Priorities List
(``NPL''), 40 CFR part 300, and requests comments on this deletion. EPA
will accept comments on the deletion of this Site for thirty days after
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
The NPL is a list of sites that EPA evaluates for priority cleanup
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9601, et seq. Listing of a site
on the NPL does not, itself, create, alter or revoke any individual
rights or obligations under CERCLA, or any other law. The NPL is
designed primarily for information purposes and to assist Agency
management. Sites on the NPL may be remediated using the Hazardous
Substances Superfund (``Superfund'' or ``Fund'') established by section
9507 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Use of this fund for cleanup
of hazardous substances is governed by section 111 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C.
9611, and implementing regulations.
[[Page 39105]]
As a general matter, deletion of the AMP Site from the NPL will
clarify that EPA Region III's Office of Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (``RCRA'') Programs will have primary responsibility for
ensuring that the hazardous wastes released at the Site are
appropriately remediated. Notwithstanding any such deletion of this
Site from the NPL, in the event that conditions at this Site warrant
additional remedial corrective action, this Site remains eligible for
Fund-financed remedial action. Pursuant to Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the
NCP, 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3): ``All releases deleted from the NPL are
eligible for further Fund-financed remedial actions should future
conditions warrant such action. Whenever there is a significant release
from a site deleted from the NPL, the site shall be restored to the NPL
without application of the [Hazard Ranking System].'' Therefore,
deletion of this, or any other, site from the NPL does not preclude
eligibility for subsequent Fund-financed remedial action if future
conditions warrant such action.
Section II of this notice summarizes the criteria for deleting
sites from the NPL. Section III summarizes the procedural steps EPA
takes prior to deleting a site from the NPL. Section IV discusses the
AMP Site and explains how the AMP Site meets the deletion criteria.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency
Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR part 300, establishes the criteria the Agency
uses to delete sites from the NPL. Section 300.425(e) of the NCP, 40
CFR 300.425(e), provides that sites may be deleted from the NPL where
no further response is appropriate. In making a determination to delete
a site from the NPL, EPA shall consider, in consultation with the
appropriate state, whether the following criteria have been met:
(i) Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all
appropriate response actions required;
(ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have been
implemented and no further 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.
Consistent with Sec. 300.425(e) of the NCP, 40 CFR 300.425(e), EPA
proposes deletion of the AMP Site because, as explained further below,
no further CERCLA response is appropriate. This determination is based
on a new policy that EPA has adopted for implementation of the NPL
deletion criteria. This new policy, entitled ``The National Priorities
List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites; Deletion Policy for
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Facilities'', was published in
the Federal Register on March 20, 1995 (60 FR 14641). This new policy
sets forth the following criteria and their general application for
deleting RCRA facilities from the NPL:
1. If evaluated under EPA's current RCRA/NPL deferral policy 1,
the site would be eligible for deferral from listing on the NPL;
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\1\ The term ``current RCRA/NPL deferral policy'' refers to the
policy in effect at the time the deletion decision is made. As past
Federal Register notices demonstrate, the RCRA/NCP deferral policy
has changed, and may continue to change based upon the Agency's
continued evaluation of how best to implement the statutory
authority of RCRA and CERCLA.
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2. The CERCLA site is currently being addressed by RCRA corrective
action authorities under an existing enforceable order or permit
containing corrective action provisions;
3. Response under RCRA is progressing adequately; and
4. Deletion would not disrupt an ongoing CERCLA action.
Under this new policy, two types of sites may be eligible for
deletion: (1) Sites that would be eligible for deferral under current
deferral criteria, but were not deferred because the deferral policy at
the time of listing was different; and (2) sites that were not eligible
for deferral when listed, but now may be eligible because of changed
conditions at the site (e.g., the site is now in compliance with a
corrective action order). For facilities within the second category,
the Agency reviews the original listing rationale together with current
information to ascertain whether conditions at the site have changed
sufficiently to warrant deletion from the NPL.
III. Deletion Procedures
Prior to deleting a site from the NPL, 40 CFR 300.425(e) requires
that EPA provide the appropriate state with thirty (30) working days to
review the proposed notice of intent to delete. After providing the
appropriate state authorities with such opportunity for review, EPA
must next provide the public with a minimum of thirty (30) calendar
days to provide comments to the appropriate EPA Region. Prior to
deleting a site from the NPL, EPA must receive concurrence from the
appropriate state authorities. Additionally, EPA must respond to each
significant comment and any significant new data submitted during the
public comment period. A deletion occurs when the Regional
Administrator places a notice of final deletion in the Federal
Register. Generally, the NPL will reflect deletion in the final update
following deletion. After the notice of final deletion is published,
EPA is required to place the final deletion package in a local
information repository. As mentioned in Section I (Introduction) of
this document, 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) states that deletion of a site from
the NPL does not preclude eligibility for future Fund-financed response
actions.
With respect to this notice of intent to delete, EPA has provided
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
(``PADEP'') with a thirty (30) working day period for review and
comment. PADEP has provided EPA Region III with its concurrence on this
notice of intent to delete. Before making the final decision as to
whether to delete the AMP Site from the NPL, EPA Region III will
respond to each significant comment and any significant new data
submitted during the public comment period in a Responsiveness Summary.
In addition to this notice of intent to delete, EPA Region III has
published a notice of availability of this notice of intent to delete
in a major local newspaper and has placed copies of documents
supporting this notice in an information repository at or near the AMP
Site. After the public comment period has closed, copies of the
Responsiveness Summary will be made available to interested parties by
the EPA Region III. In the event that EPA issues a notice of final
deletion for the AMP Site, EPA Region III will place the final deletion
package in the local repository.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The following summary provides the EPA's rationale for the
intention to delete the AMP Site (``Site'') from the NPL.
A. Site Background
The Site, which is owned and operated by AMP, Incorporated
(``AMP''), consists of approximately twenty (20) acres and is located
in southern York County in central Pennsylvania, approximately five
miles north of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, in the City of Glen
Rock. AMP's Materials Development Laboratory (``MDL'') facility is
located on the Site. The MDL facility is a combined
[[Page 39106]]
manufacturing and research operation which has been active since the
late 1950s. The facility consists of two buildings: the Materials
Development Lab and the Plastics Building.
In the early 1980s, workers at the AMP facility complained about
the taste of the drinking water. In 1984, AMP discovered that a backup
supply well in an adjacent trailer park was contaminated with volatile
organic compounds (``VOCs''). AMP subsequently installed monitoring
wells on the AMP property and had a hydrogeological assessment of the
extent and concentration of contamination performed.
Results of the 1984 groundwater sampling indicated that VOCs were
present in the subsurface soils and groundwater beneath parts of the
MDL facility. Total VOC concentrations in the groundwater samples from
Site wells ranged from 12,191 parts per billion (``ppb'') to non-
detectable in several monitoring wells. The two compounds which were
found to exist in highest concentrations in the groundwater at the Site
were 1,1,1-trichloroethane (``1,1,1-TCA'') and 1,1,2-
trichloroethane(``1,1,2-TCA''). Trichloroethylene (``TCE''),
tetrachloroethylene (``PCE'') and their decay products were detected in
lesser amounts in groundwater at the Site.
EPA proposed the inclusion of the AMP Site on the NPL on June 24,
1988 (53 FR 23988). EPA listed the AMP Site on the NPL on October 4,
1989 (54 FR 41015) pursuant to section 105(a)(8)(b) of CERCLA, 42
U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B). At that time, AMP was not addressing the
contamination at the Site pursuant to RCRA corrective action
authorities and EPA determined that the NPL listing was required to
protect human health and the environment.
Pursuant to section 3008(h) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6928(h), EPA and AMP
entered into an Administrative Consent Order (``ACO'') on January 4,
1989. Under the terms of this ACO, AMP completed a RCRA Facility
Investigation (``RFI'') and a Corrective Measures Study (``CMS'').
Subsequent to approving this CMS, EPA prepared a Draft RCRA Record of
Decision (``ROD''), which set forth Corrective Measure Alternative #4
(``CMA #4'') as EPA's preferred corrective measure alternative for this
Site. CMA #4 includes pumping and treating the groundwater, operating
an infiltration trench, and monitoring groundwater and surface water at
the Site.
A public notice soliciting public comment on the Draft RCRA ROD
appeared in the York Daily Record during the week of July 30th--August
3rd, 1990, and was announced on WSBA radio in York, Pennsylvania, on
August 14th and 15th. No public comments were received by EPA regarding
the remedy selection. On January 22, 1991, EPA issued a final ROD
2 for remediation at the Site. The Regional Administrator, EPA
Region III, made a final determination selecting CMA #4 as the
corrective measure to be implemented by AMP.
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\2\ PADEP has informed EPA Region III that representatives of
PADEP have not reviewed, and PADEP has not concurred on, the
corrective measure alternative selected by this RCRA ROD.
Additionally, PADEP has requested that EPA Region III state that
this RCRA ROD did not address statutory or regulatory requirements
promulgated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which may be
applicable or relevant and appropriate to conditions present at the
AMP Site at the time of the ROD's issuance. Neither RCRA statutory
provisions nor the regulatory requirements promulgated pursuant to
RCRA require that: (1) EPA obtain concurrence from any state
representatives prior to issuing a RCRA ROD; or (2) such state
promulgated requirements be considered prior to selecting a RCRA
corrective measure alternative.
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On January 22, 1991, EPA and AMP entered into an ACO to perform
Corrective Measure Implementation (``CMI'') of CMA #4. Corrective
action at the Site is currently being performed pursuant to this ACO.
By letter dated September 10, 1991, EPA conditionally approved the
Final CMI Report. The conditions of such approval have been satisfied
and, therefore, EPA has approved this Final CMI Report. In accordance
with the RCRA CMI ACO, such approval indicated EPA's determination (as
of that time) that the constructed project is consistent with the
design specifications and that CMA #4 is progressing towards the clean-
up goals set forth in the RCRA ROD.
In accordance with the Final CMI Report, eight recovery wells are
used on the Site to pump and treat groundwater containing VOCs. The
captured groundwater is treated by passing it through a series of two
air stripping towers. Air emission control devices have been installed
on the air stripping towers. The treated water is discharged to a small
pond to the southeast of the Site known as Larkin Pond. Groundwater
samples and one surface water sample are being collected on and off-
site on a quarterly basis.
In accordance with section VI.C. of the RCRA CMI ACO, AMP is
required to submit a Draft Corrective Measure Two Year Assessment
Report every two years beginning two years from the effective date of
the ACO. The report submitted in January 1995 reflects that final
groundwater remediation goals, as set forth in the RCRA ROD, have not
yet been met, but progress towards such goal has been attained.
Implementation of the approved CMA will continue as planned until the
VOC concentrations in the subsurface are in compliance with the clean-
up criteria set forth in the RCRA ROD.
Additional details on the corrective actions being implemented
under RCRA are available in the Superfund Closeout Report issued on
December 14, 1995, the Administrative Record for this Site deletion,
and in the RCRA Administrative Record for the AMP Record of Decision.
B. Documentation that the AMP Site Meets RCRA Deferral Criteria Set
Forth in EPA's March 20, 1995 Policy
1. If evaluated under EPA's current RCRA/NPL deferral policy, the Site
would be eligible for deferral from listing on the NPL.
At the time of the NPL listing, the Site posed a threat to human
health and the environment that was not being addressed under either
CERCLA or RCRA corrective action authorities. At that time, EPA
determined that the most expeditious way to address the contamination
at the Site was through the use of CERCLA authorities. Since that
determination, AMP has entered into a RCRA RFI/CMS ACO and a RCRA CMI
ACO and has been addressing all of the contamination at the Site
pursuant to section 3008(h) of RCRA. AMP fulfilled the conditions of
the RCRA RFI/CMS ACO and is currently in compliance with the RCRA CMI
ACO. Consequently, if this Site were evaluated for NPL listing under
the current conditions, the Site would qualify for deferral to RCRA.
2. The CERCLA Site is currently being addressed by RCRA corrective
action authorities under an existing enforceable order or permit
containing corrective action provisions.
As described previously, EPA and AMP entered into a RCRA RFI/CMS
ACO, pursuant to section 3008(h) of RCRA, on January 4, 1989. Under the
terms of that ACO, AMP was required to complete an on-site and off-site
investigation of the nature and extent of the release of hazardous
wastes from the Site and to conduct a study to evaluate various cleanup
alternatives. AMP subsequently fulfilled the conditions of this ACO.
As also described previously, EPA and AMP entered into a RCRA CMI
ACO, pursuant to section 3008(h) of RCRA, on January 22, 1991. This
RCRA CMI ACO required AMP to implement the selected corrective action
remedy set forth in EPA's ROD as CMA #4. In September 1991, pursuant to
the 1991
[[Page 39107]]
RCRA CMI ACO, EPA approved the Final CMI Report. AMP is continuing to
implement the selected remedy, which includes pumping and treating
groundwater, operating an infiltration trench, and monitoring
groundwater and surface water. The 1991 RCRA CMI ACO will remain in
effect until such time when EPA determines that the terms of this order
have been satisfied. AMP has been in compliance with the RCRA CMI ACO.
All known groundwater contamination is being addressed through EPA's
exercise of its corrective action authorities pursuant to RCRA.
3. Response under RCRA is progressing adequately.
Corrective action is progressing satisfactorily under the RCRA CMI
ACO, as described above. There has been no history of protracted
negotiations due to lack of cooperation. See 60 FR 14642, 14643 (March
20, 1995).
4. Deletion would not disrupt an ongoing CERCLA action.
Other than completing a CERCLA Site Assessment and listing the Site
on the NPL, no response action has taken place pursuant to CERCLA.
Based upon the continued compliance with the RCRA CMI ACO, no CERCLA
action is planned for the future.
EPA has received the following concurrence from PADEP: ``The
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania concurs in the decision to delete the site
from the NPL, but reserves all of its rights, abilities and authorities
to address contamination at the site and to pursue responsible parties
regarding this contamination.''
EPA concludes that this Site meets the criteria under the new NPL
deletion policy and announces its intention to delete the Site from the
NPL.
Dated: July 9, 1996.
Thomas Maslany,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region III.
[FR Doc. 96-18838 Filed 7-25-96; 8:45 am]
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