[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 160 (Thursday, August 19, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45222-45224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21317]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-6422-6]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete Lackawanna Refuse site from the
National Priorities List; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces
its intent to delete the Lackawanna Refuse Superfund Site (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 EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection (PADEP) have determined that all
appropriate CERCLA response actions have been implemented and that no
further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate. Moreover, EPA
and the Commonwealth have determined that remedial activities conducted
at the Site have been protective of public health, welfare, and the
environment.
DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of this Site from the
NPL may be submitted on or before September 20, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to: Ms. Andrea Lord, (3HS21),
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103 (215) 814-5053.
Comprehensive information on this Site is available for viewing at
the Site information repositories at the following locations:
Regional Center for Environmental Information, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 814-5364; Old Forge Borough Hall, 312 South Main Street, Old
Forge, PA 18518.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Andrea Lord (3HS21), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 814-5053.
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, Region III announces its
intent to delete the Lackawanna Refuse Superfund Site, Old Forge,
Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List (NPL), appendix B of
the National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan
(NCP), and requests public comments on this proposed action. 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. EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have
determined that remedial activities conducted at the Site have been
successfully executed.
EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this Site for
thirty calendar days after publication of this document in the Federal
Register.
Section II of this document 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 Lackawanna Refuse
Superfund Site and explains how the Site meets the deletion criteria.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
The NCP establishes the criteria that the Agency uses to delete
sites from the NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be
deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In
making this determination, EPA shall consider whether any of the
following criteria have been met:
(i) EPA, in consultation with PADEP, has determined that the
responsible parties or other parties have implemented all appropriate
response actions required; or
(ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have been
implemented, and EPA, in consultation with PADEP, has determined that
no further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate; or
(iii) The remedial investigation has shown that the release at the
Site poses no significant threat to public health or the environment
and, therefore, 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 site above levels that allow
for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, EPA's policy is that a
review of the site will be conducted 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. If new
information becomes available which indicates a need for further
action, EPA may initiate additional remedial actions. Whenever there is
a significant release from a deleted site from the NPL, the site may be
restored to the NPL without application of the Hazard Ranking System.
In the case of the Lackawanna Refuse Site, EPA has determined that
the selected remedy is protective of human health and the environment.
Consistent with the State Superfund Contract, between EPA and PADEP,
PADEP has agreed to take over operation and maintenance of the Site and
conduct an annual inspection. EPA has conducted the first two five-year
reviews of the final remedy, and will also perform future five-year
reviews.
III. Deletion Procedures
The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of
this site:
(i) EPA Region III has recommended deletion and has prepared the
relevant documents.
(ii) The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has concurred with the
deletion decision. Concurrent with this National Notice of Intent to
Delete, local notice will be published in local newspapers and
distributed to appropriate federal, state, and local officials and
other interested parties. This local notice presents information on the
Site and announces the commencement of the thirty (30) day public
comment period on the deletion package.
(iii) The Region has made all relevant documents available for
public review in the Regional Office and the local Site information
repository.
Deletion of the Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. The
[[Page 45223]]
NPL is designed primarily for informational purposes and to assist
Agency management.
Comments received during this Notice and comment period will be
evaluated before the final decision to delete. If necessary, the Agency
will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public
comments received.
A deletion will occur when the Regional Administrator places a
final notice 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 Region III.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The Lackawanna Refuse Site (Site) is located along a section of the
north-south border between Old Forge Borough and Ransom Township, in
Lackawanna County, PA. The Site consists of five strip mine pits
excavated in the nineteenth century and used in the 1970's as a
permitted municipal refuse landfill. The Site is closely bordered by
several houses to the east and by the Villa Corporation Trailer Park to
the south. Austin Heights, a residential section of Old Forge Borough,
is northeast of the Site. The area west of the Site is forested steep
hills. Approximately 9000 persons live within one mile of the Site. The
local residents do not depend on groundwater as a source of drinking
water, but obtain water through a public system derived from reservoirs
several miles to the north.
The Site is located above the flood plains of St. Johns Creek and
the Lackawanna River. St. Johns Creek, flowing along the lower
(eastern) edge of the Site, is an intermittent stream that is a
tributary of the Lackawanna River, which flows into the Susquehanna
River.
In 1973, a permit was issued by PADEP (then known as the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources) to the Lackawanna
Refuse landfill property for the disposal of solid wastes with the
condition that a leachate collection system be installed within sixty
days. In 1978 the permit was modified by PADER to allow disposal of
sludges. Pits 2 and 3 were used for the disposal of municipal refuse,
until 1976 when they were filled to capacity and disposal began in Pit
5. All three pits were unlined. Boreholes, air shafts, and rock
fractures allowed wastes to migrate via seeps and shallow groundwater
from the pits. The leachate collection system was never installed.
In March 1979, PADER issued an order to Lackawanna Refuse
suspending the solid waste permit and requiring immediate cessation of
the landfill after discovering evidence of the dumping of industrial
wastes and pollutants into Pit 5. The order also required Lackawanna
Refuse to dig up and dispose of buried drums containing hazardous
wastes and all contaminated soil. PADER issued a second order in 1979
requiring Lackawanna Refuse to construct and operate a leachate
collection system. Lackawanna Refuse failed to comply with these
orders, and the owner was brought to trial in 1982 in the Commonwealth
court on criminal charges and subsequently found guilty of illegal
dumping.
During pre-trial hearings, operators of trucking firms testified
that they brought drums of hazardous waste to the Site and dumped them
into Pit 5. Estimates ranged between 10,000-20,000 drums. There were
also allegations that radioactive waste was disposed of at the Site in
heavy drums that were lined with thick material. Other information
included allegations that bulk liquid wastes were disposed of in a
depression on the hillside known as the ``borehole pit,'' and that some
amount of liquids were sprayed on the site access road for dust
control.
In 1980, PADER requested EPA assistance to further excavate and
analyze the drums in Pit 5. Seven test areas in Pit 5 were excavated,
uncovering 200 drums at depths of five to thirty feet below the surface
of the pit. Approximately 90% of the drums were found to be broken or
crushed when they were excavated.
Samples were taken from drums containing liquids or sludges and the
results showed high concentrations of solvents and paint waste material
with high metal and solvent contents. Metals found included cadmium,
chromium, copper, lead, and mercury. Organics included benzene,
toluene, methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride, and ethylbenzene. No
evidence of the disposal of radioactive waste was observed in these or
any subsequent investigations at the Site. A Site investigation by
EPA's Environmental Response Team (ERT) in 1982 revealed volatile
organic vapors being released from Pit 5. These gases included vinyl
chloride, a known carcinogen.
The Site was scored using the Hazard Ranking System (HRS),
resulting in an overall score of 36.57. The Site was proposed for the
NPL on December 12, 1982, with a final listing on September 8, 1983.
EPA prepared a Remedial Action Master Plan (RAMP) in June 1983, and
subsequently prepared a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/
FS) workplan in August 1983. Work on the RI began the same month and
was completed in November 1984. Removal activities were conducted at
the Site in September, 1983 when EPA installed a chainlink gate at the
beginning of the access road to control vehicular traffic, and a
chainlink fence around all three pit areas to prevent unauthorized
access to the Site. The Record of Decision (ROD) describing the
selected remedy for the Site was signed by the EPA Regional
Administrator on March 22, 1985.
The ROD selected the following remedy for the Site: Removal of all
drums and highly contaminated municipal refuse from Pit 5 for offsite
disposal at a qualifying Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
facility; Construction of a clay cap over Pits 2, 3, and 5 that meets
RCRA subtitle C requirements; Installation of surface water drainage
diversion around all three pits and construction of a leachate
collection and treatment system for Pits 2, 3 and 5; Construction of a
gas venting system through the caps of all three pits; Removal of the
top layer of contaminated soil from the borehole pit for offsite
disposal at a qualifying RCRA facility and returning to grade with a
soil cover; Removal of the top layer of contaminated soil from the
access road and reconstruction of the road with appropriate drainage
and sedimentation controls; Removal of dried paint and contaminated
soil in the paint spill area for offsite disposal at a qualifying RCRA
facility; Development of a monitoring program during the remedial
action, which would include monitoring of the existing wells onsite,
the gas venting system, and the leachate treatment system; and
operation and maintenance (O&M) of the cap and the leachate collection
and treatment system to be implemented by the State.
EPA entered into an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers (USACE) to perform the Remedial Action at the Site. All
components of the Remedial Action were constructed with the exception
of the leachate treatment plant. EPA and PADEP found the levels of
contamination in the leachate to be lower than expected, and in
September 1993 EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences
(ESD) Report which set forth EPA and PADEP's decision not to implement
the leachate treatment component of the remedy. From 1989 until 1992,
EPA and PADEP monitored Site conditions on a regular basis by checking
for leachate ``break outs'; that is, evidence that the level of
leachate was building up within the
[[Page 45224]]
landfill and ``breaking out'' along the cap perimeter. There were no
such breakouts during that time period.
EPA developed a monitoring program during the Remedial Action to
monitor the existing groundwater wells onsite and the gas venting
system. All drums and highly contaminated solid wastes were removed,
and approximately 40,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were
excavated and disposed offsite. The leachate collection system and the
synthetic cover were installed in 1989. The final grading and seeding
of the Site were completed in 1990.
On May 7, 1991, PADEP commenced operation and maintenance of the
Remedial Action at the Site. On March 28, 1994, EPA issued a Final Site
Close Out Report. Pursuant to section 121 (c) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9621
(c) EPA conducted the first five-year review of the Site in 1995 and
the report was subsequently issued on September 28, 1995. EPA conducted
a second five-year review of the Site in February 1999, and
subsequently issued a report on March 5, 1999. Both five-year reviews
found the site to be protective of human health and the environment.
The remedy selected for this Site has been implemented in
accordance with the Record of Decision. The remedy has resulted in the
significant reduction of the long-term potential for release of
hazardous substances. Human health threats and potential environmental
impacts have been minimized. EPA and PADEP have determined that the
remedy implemented at the Site continues to provide adequate protection
of human health and the environment.
EPA, with concurrence of the PADEP, believes that the criteria for
deletion of this Site have been met. Therefore, EPA is proposing
deletion of the Lackawanna Refuse Site from the NPL.
Dated: August 9, 1999.
Thomas Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 99-21317 Filed 8-18-99; 8:45 am]
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