[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5949-5950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2993]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-5685-5]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Sealand, Limited Site from the
National Priorities List.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 announces
its intent to delete the Sealand, Limited Site from the National
Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this proposed
action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR Part 300 which is the
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP),
which the EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as
amended (CERCLA). EPA has determined that the Site poses no significant
threat to public health or the environment, as defined by CERCLA, and,
therefore, further remedial measures pursuant to CERCLA are not
appropriate.
DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before
March 12, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Lesley Brunker, Remedial
Project Manager, 3HW23, Environmental Protection Agency Region 3, 841
Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107, (215) 566-3239.
Comprehensive information on this Site is available for viewing at
the Site information repositories at the following locations: U.S. EPA
Region 3, Hazardous Waste Technical Information Center, 841 Chestnut
Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, (215) 566-5363 Appoquinimink Public
Library, 118 Silver Lake Road, Middletown, DE 19709, (302) 378-5290.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lesley Brunker (3HW23), EPA Region 3,
841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, (215) 566-3239.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria.
III. Deletion Procedures.
IV. Basis of Intended Site Deletion.
I. Introduction
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3 announces its
intent to delete the Sealand, Limited Site located in Mount Pleasant,
New Castle County, Delaware 19709 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 this 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 such action.
EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this Site 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 Sealand, Limited Site 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, or recategorized on 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 parties have implemented all
appropriate response actions required;
(ii) All appropriate response under CERCLA has 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.
Sites may not be deleted from the NPL until the state in which the
site is located has concurred on the proposed deletion. EPA is required
to provide the state with 30 working days for review of the deletion
notice prior to its publication in the Federal Register.
Pursuant to the NCP, 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3), all sites deleted from
the NPL are eligible for further Fund-financed remedial action should
future conditions warrant such action. When there is a significant
release from a site deleted from the NPL, the site may be restored to
the NPL without the application of the Hazard Ranking System.
III. Deletion Procedures
Section 300.425(e)(4) of the NCP sets forth requirements for site
deletions to assure public involvement in the decision. During the
proposal to delete a site from the NPL, EPA is required to conduct the
following activities:
(i) Publish a notice of intent to delete in the Federal Register
and solicit comment through a public comment period of a minimum of 30
calendar days;
(ii) Publish a notice of availability of the notice of intent to
delete in a major local newspaper of general circulation at or near the
site that is proposed for deletion;
(iii) Place copies of information supporting the proposed deletion
in the information repository at or near the site proposed for
deletion; and,
[[Page 5950]]
(iv) Respond to each significant comment and any significant new
data submitted during the comment period in a Responsiveness Summary.
If appropriate after consideration of comments received during the
public comment period, EPA then publishes a notice of deletion in the
Federal Register and places the final deletion package, including the
Responsiveness Summary, in the Site repositories.
Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. As stated in Section II
of this Notice, Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP provides that the
deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility for
future response actions.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The following site summary provides EPA's rationale for the
proposal to delete the Sealand, Limited Site from the NPL.
The Site is a former waste oil recycling facility operated between
August of 1982 until August of 1983 by Sealand, Limited, Incorporated
(Inc.). It is located in Mt. Pleasant, Delaware, approximately two
miles south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and several hundred
feet east of the intersection of Routes 896 and 71/301. Land use in the
area surrounding the site is a mix of residential and industrial. The
Site is bordered on the west by an active Conrail spur, to the south by
Route 71/301, and to the north and east by a 15-acre parcel of land
owned by Tilcon Minerals, Inc.
During its operation, Sealand, Limited accepted a variety of waste
oil products for treatment and recycling. The facility was abandoned in
August of 1983. Twenty-one steel tanks or hoppers, one 10,000 gallon
wooden storage tank, approximately 300 55-gallon drums, and various
mixing chambers and pressure vessels were left onsite. An inspection by
the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
(DNREC) revealed that the wooden storage tank and numerous 55-gallon
drums were leaking hazardous substances onto the ground.
In response, EPA initiated an emergency removal action in December
of 1983. During this action, all of the drums were removed from this
site, as was all of the liquid contained in the various tanks, which
were cleaned and left near the Site. The process area was capped with
one foot of clay and six inches of topsoil.
In December of 1988, EPA and 14 Potentially Responsible Parties
(PRPs) entered into an Administrative Order on Consent to conduct a
Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) at the Site. During
the Remedial Investigation, both ground water and the soil beneath and
near the capped area were sampled. Low levels of volatile organic
compounds and some semivolatile compounds were found in the soil
beneath the cap. Metals were found in Site soil at levels generally
consistent with background levels. Neither volatile nor semivolatile
compounds were found at significant concentrations in the ground water.
One onsite well contained elevated levels of metals, particularly
nickel; however, there was no clear correlation between the Site and
the metals.
During the Risk Assessment, ground water was not considered a
potential contaminant exposure pathway. The most likely exposure
scenarios included children who could be exposed to shallow soil while
trespassing on the Site, and workers who could be exposed to subsurface
soil during construction activities. The Risk Assessment assumed that
the Site, which is zoned for industrial use and is bordered by an
active Conrail freight line and a paving company, would not be rezoned
for residential use. Given this assumption, the risks associated with
the two most likely exposure scenarios were below the lower boundary of
the acceptable risk range. It was determined that the Site did not pose
a threat to human health or the environment, and the Region issued a
Record of Decision (ROD) calling for no further action in September of
1991.
During the preparation of the ROD, DNREC expressed concern about
the proposed remedy. They believed that the contaminants which would be
left in place beneath the cap could pose a future threat to ground
water. In response to this concern, EPA included in the selected remedy
a review of the site five years after the signing of the ROD, even
though a five year review would not ordinarily be required for this
type of remedy. Furthermore, EPA acknowledged in the ROD that although
Federal law did not require action at the site, the State was still
free to act under its own laws. Nonetheless, DNREC did not concur with
the ROD.
Subsequent to the signing of the ROD, DNREC took action pursuant to
the authority of 7 Del. C., Chapter 91, the Delaware Hazardous
Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA). HSCA was not considered an Applicable or
Relevant and Appropriate Requirement (ARAR) during the remedy selection
process, as ARARs are not considered in a no action decision. DNREC
required the PRPs to install additional monitoring wells and to
resample the ground water. The results of the sampling showed no
organic contamination in the wells. However, some metals, including
nickel, were present at elevated levels in some wells. There was no
clear pattern to the wells containing metals; one is apparently
upgradient of the contaminated soil, and adjacent to the active Conrail
tracks.
Using this information, DNREC issued a Proposed Plan of Remedial
Action in October of 1995. The proposed remedial action included five
years of continued ground water monitoring, as well as deed
restrictions to ensure that the property's zoning does not change from
industrial to residential. This plan has since been finalized, and
DNREC is negotiating with the PRPs to conduct this work.
Based on the information presented above, EPA has determined that
the Site does not pose a significant threat to human health or the
environment and that no further action, consistent with CERCLA, is
required. Thus, the required NPL deletion criteria presented in Section
II, above, have been met. DNREC has concurred on this determination.
Correspondence documenting this concurrence is included in the Site
repositories.
The ROD stated that EPA would conduct a review of the Site five
years after the signing of the ROD to reevaluate Site conditions. The
evaluation was completed in September of 1996, and concluded that the
remedy selected in the ROD remained protective of human health and the
environment and that no further action, and no additional site reviews,
will be necessary, particularly in light of DNREC's planned actions.
EPA, with the concurrence of DNREC, believes that the criteria for
deletion of the Site have been met. Therefore, EPA is proposing
deletion of the Site from the NPL. Documents supporting this action are
available in the Site repositories described above.
Dated: January 15, 1997.
Stanley L. Laskowski,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 3.
[FR Doc. 97-2993 Filed 2-7-97; 8:45 am]
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