[Federal Register: September 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 186)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 57649-57651]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27se04-10]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-7818-1]
National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Direct final notice of partial deletion of the Centre County
Kepone Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region III, is
publishing a direct final notice of deletion of a portion of the Centre
County Kepone Superfund Site (the Site), located in State College,
Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The deletion
affects approximately 8 acres, referred to as the ``Administration
Parcel''.
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 no
manufacturing operations ever occurred on the Administration Parcel and
it is located upgradient from the contaminated portions of the Site.
Therefore, remedial action pursuant to CERCLA is not appropriate.
DATES: This direct final deletion will be effective November 26, 2004,
unless EPA receives adverse comments by October 27, 2004. 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: David Polish, Community
Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA Region III, Mailcode 3HS43, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029, (215) 814-3327 or 1-800-
553-2509, polish.david@epa.gov.
Information Repositories: Repositories have been established to
provide detailed information concerning this decision at the following
addresses: U.S. EPA Region III Library, U.S. EPA Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029, (215) 814-5000, Monday
through Friday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Schlow Memorial Library, 118 South
Fraser Street, State College, PA 16801, (814) 237-6236, Monday through
Wednesday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday (during school year) 1:30
p.m. to 5 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Klanchar, Project Manager, U.S.
EPA Region III, Mailcode 3HS22, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103-2029, (215) 814-3218 or 1-800-438-2474,
klanchar.frank@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Partial Site Deletion
V. Deletion Action
I. Introduction
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III is publishing
this direct final notice of deletion of a portion of the Centre County
Kepone Superfund Site (the Site), located in State College,
Pennsylvania, from the NPL. This deletion pertains to approximately 8
acres to the north of Struble Road, referred to as the Administration
Parcel, which includes the current RUTGERS Organics Corporation (ROC)
Administration Building and associated parking and open areas.
The Administration Parcel has never been used for manufacturing
operations and is located upgradient from the contaminated portion of
the Site. EPA proposes to delete the Administration Parcel because no
contamination at or above levels that present a significant risk to
public health, welfare, or the environment has been found at or
originating from the Administration Parcel. Therefore, response
activities are not appropriate in this portion of the Site.
The EPA identifies sites that appear to present a significant risk
to public health or the environment and
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maintains the NPL as the list of those sites. As described in
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 non-controversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of
intent to delete. This direct final deletion will be effective sixty
(60) days after publication of this document in the Federal Register
unless EPA receives adverse comments within thirty (30) days after
publication of this document. 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 Administration Parcel of the
Centre County Kepone Superfund Site and demonstrates how it meets the
deletion criteria. Section V discusses EPA's action to delete the
Administration Parcel of the Site from the NPL unless adverse comments
are received during the public comment period.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
Section 40 CFR 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 Substances 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 that 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 hazardous ranking system.
Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not preclude
eligibility for subsequent Fund-financed actions at the area deleted if
future site conditions warrant such actions. Section 300.425(e)(3) of
the NCP provides that Fund-financed actions may be taken at sites that
have been deleted from the NPL. A partial deletion of a site from the
NPL does not affect or impede EPA's ability to conduct CERCLA response
activities at areas not deleted and remaining on the NPL. In addition,
deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not affect the
liability of responsible parties or impede agency efforts to recover
costs associated with response efforts.
III. Deletion Procedures
The following procedures apply to the deletion of the
Administration Parcel at the Site:
(1) The EPA consulted with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on the
partial deletion of the Site from the NPL prior to developing this
direct final notice of partial deletion.
(2) The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the PADEP, concurred
with this partial deletion.
(3) Concurrently with the publication of the direct final notice of
partial 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
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 a portion of
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 notice of 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 or a portion of a site from the NPL does not
itself create, alter, or revoke any person's rights or obligations. In
addition, deletion of a site or a portion 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
actions.
IV. Basis for Partial Site Deletion
The following information provides EPA's rationale for deleting the
Administration Parcel of the Site from the NPL and EPA's finding that
the criteria in 40 CFR 300.425(e) are satisfied.
Background
The Site is located in College Township, Centre County,
Pennsylvania, approximately two and one-quarter miles northeast of the
Borough of State College, near the intersection of State Routes 322 and
26. The main Site occupies an area of approximately 32 acres consisting
of the chemical manufacturing area, process buildings, a groundwater
treatment building, warehouses and storage buildings and an open grassy
field located south of Struble Road between a portion of the Conrail
Railroad line and 1st Avenue. The Administration Parcel comprised a
further area, approximately 8 acres in size, located north of Struble
Road, where an administration building and associated parking areas are
located.
RUTGERS Organics Corporation, (ROC), formerly known as Ruetgers-
Nease Corporation (RNC), has owned and operated a chemical
manufacturing plant at the main Site. The plant has operated since 1958
when it was built by Nease Chemical Company, Inc., the previous owner
of the Site. As a result of an acquisition, ROC has operated the plant
since December 1977.
In the immediate vicinity of the Site, the land use is
predominantly industrial and commercial, with some residential
dwellings located to the southeast
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across 1st Avenue. Local public water supply is provided throughout the
surrounding area by the Lemont Water Company.
The Site was placed on the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) National Priorities List (NPL)
on September 8, 1983. Pursuant to CERCLA, as amended by the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), ROC and the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) entered into an
Administrative Order of Consent (AOC, EPA Docket No. III-88-22-DC;
USEPA, 1988) on November 7, 1988. The AOC stipulated that a Remedial
Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS) be performed at the Site
and specific off-Site areas including Thornton Spring and a portion of
Spring Creek. The RI was conducted from 1990 through 1992 and the RI
Report (Golder Associates, 1993), which included a Baseline Risk
Assessment, was conditionally approved by USEPA on March 26, 1993. The
FS was conducted in 1993 and the FS Report (Golder Associates, 1994)
was conditionally approved by USEPA on September 27, 1994.
USEPA issued a Record of Decision for the Site dated April 21, 1995
(ROD; USEPA, 1995). The 1995 ROD addressed contaminated groundwater,
surface water, soils, and sediments, together with source control
measures for surface water discharges. A future ROD will address soils
from the riparian areas of Spring Creek and the 15-acre former
sprayfield area, and sediments from the lower portion of the freshwater
drainage ditch, Thornton Spring, and Spring Creek beyond the Benner
Fish Hatchery. USEPA amended the 1995 ROD in 2001 with the concurrence
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (ROD Amendment, USEPA, 2001) to
select an alternative method of soil remediation at the main Site
(enhanced soil vapor extraction and soil removal). A Consent Decree,
whereby ROC agreed to implement the requirements of the OU-1 ROD, as
amended, was signed by ROC on September 30, 1996 (Civil Action No. 03-
23; USEPA, 1996b). Since 1999, contaminated groundwater extraction and
treatment, soil and sediment removal, soil vapor extraction, and
groundwater and surface water monitoring have been conducted at the
Site pursuant to the ROD and Consent Decree.
No remedial actions are required by the ROD and Consent Decree for
the Administration Parcel. There is some ambiguity as to whether the
Administration Parcel was ever truly part of the NPL Site since no
manufacturing operations ever occurred thereon and the parcel is
located upgradient from the remainder of the Site.
Sampling Results
Extensive sampling has been completed at the Site as part of the
Remedial Investigation, the subsequent Remedial Design, and monitoring
of remedial actions. Data collected from monitoring wells located
within the Administration Parcel, which have been sampled for over ten
years, indicates no contamination at or above clean-up levels either at
or originating from the Administration Parcel. Therefore, response
actions have not been required by the present ROD, nor are anticipated
to be required by any future ROD for the Site. Therefore, EPA intends
for this parcel to be officially removed from the NPL pursuant to 40
CFR 300.425(e).
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 partial deletion from the NPL, are available to
the public in the information repositories.
V. Deletion Action
The EPA, with concurrence of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has
determined that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have been
completed for the Administration Parcel, and that no further response
actions, under CERCLA, are necessary. Therefore, EPA is deleting the
Administration Parcel of the Site from the NPL.
Because EPA considers this action to be non-controversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of
intent to delete. This direct final deletion will be effective sixty
(60) days after publication of this document in the Federal Register
unless EPA receives adverse comments within thirty (30) days after
publication on this document. 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.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals,
Hazardous waste, Hazardous substances, Intergovernmental relations,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water
pollution control, Water supply.
Dated: September 14, 2004.
Andrew Carlin,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
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For the reasons set out in this document, 40 CFR part 300 is amended as
follows:
PART 300--[AMENDED]
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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]
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2. Table 1 of Appendix B to Part 300 is amended by adding a ``P'' in
the Notes column in the entry for Centre County Kepone, State College
Borough, Pennsylvania.
[FR Doc. 04-21493 Filed 9-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P