[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4652]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 1, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-4843-2]

 

National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; 
National Priorities List

Agency: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Action: Notice of intent to delete Revere Textile Prints Corporation 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List: Request for comments.

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Summary: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region I announces 
its intent to delete the Revere Textile Prints Corporation Superfund 
Site (the Revere Site) from the National Priorities List (NPL) and 
requests public comment on this action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B 
to 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 State of Connecticut have determined 
that all appropriate CERCLA actions have been implemented and that no 
further CERCLA cleanup is appropriate. Moreover, EPA and the State have 
determined that removal activities conducted at the Revere Site to date 
have been protective of public health, welfare, and the environment 
with regard to CERCLA.

DATES: Comments concerning this site may be submitted on or before 
March 31, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Eric van Gestel, Remedial Project 
Manager, HEC CAN 6, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region I, 
John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Boston, MA 02203.
    Comprehensive information on this site is available through the EPA 
Region I public docket, which is located at EPA's Region I office and 
is available for viewing by appointment only from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. 
Requests for appointments of copies of the background information from 
the Regional public docket should be directed to the EPA Region I 
docket office.
    The address for the Regional docket office is: Ms. Linda D'Amore, 
Docket Clerk, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region I, John F. 
Kennedy Federal Building--RCG, Boston, MA 02203, (617) 565-3351.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Background information from the 
Regional public docket is also available for viewing at the Revere Site 
information repository located with: Clair French, Sterling Public 
Library, 1110 Plainfield Pike, Oneco, CT 06373, (203) 564-2692.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletions

I. Introduction

    EPA Region I announces its intent to delete the Revere Textile 
Prints Corporation Superfund Site, Sterling, Connecticut, from the NPL, 
which constitutes Appendix B of the NCP, and requests comments on this 
deletion. The 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 those sites. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of 
remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substance Superfund Response 
Trust Fund (the Fund). Pursuant to Sec. 300.425(e) (3) of the NCP, any 
site deleted from the NPL remains eligible for fund-financed remedial 
actions if conditions at the site warrant such action.
    EPA will accept comments concerning 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 procedures that EPA is using for 
this action. Section IV discusses 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 will consider whether any of the 
following criteria have been met:
    (i) Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required under CERCLA;
    (ii) All appropriate fund-financed response under CERCLA has been 
implemented, and no further response action by responsible parties is 
appropriate under CERCLA; 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 under CERCLA is not appropriate.

III. Deletion Procedures

    Deletion of sites from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for informational purposes and to assist Agency management.
    EPA Region I will accept and evaluate public comments before making 
a final decision to delete. The Agency believes that deletion 
procedures should focus on notice and comment at the local level. 
Comments from the local community may be the most pertinent to deletion 
decisions. The following procedures were used for the intended deletion 
of this site:
    1. EPA Region I has recommended deletion and has prepared the 
relevant documents.
    2. The State of Connecticut has concurred with the decision to 
delete the site from the NPL.
    3. Concurrent with this National Notice of Intent to Delete, a 
local notice has been published in local newspapers and has been 
distributed to appropriate federal, state and local officials, and 
other interested parties. This local notice announces a thirty (30) day 
public comment period on the deletion package, which starts two weeks 
from the date of the notice, March 15, 1994, and will conclude on April 
14, 1994.
    4. The Region has made all relevant documents available in the 
Regional Office and local site information repository.
    The comments received during the notice and comment period will be 
evaluated before the final decision to delete. The Region will prepare 
a Responsiveness Summary, which will address the comments received 
during the public comment period.
    A deletion will occur after the EPA Regional Administrator places a 
notice in the Federal Register. The NPL will reflect any deletions in 
the next final update. Public notices and copies of the Responsiveness 
Summary will be made available to local residents by Region I.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The Revere Site is located in the center of Sterling, CT at the 
intersection of Route 14 and Main Street. The former textile mill 
operated from 1879 until March 1980 when a fire destroyed most of the 
buildings. The mill used a variety of pigments, paints and solvents to 
dye and clean textiles. In 1987, EPA added the site to the National 
Priorities List, making it eligible for federal action under the 
Superfund law.
    Over 1500 drums of hazardous substances stored on the site were 
removed in 1983, along with some contaminated soil. The possibility of 
residual contamination from these drums in area soil and ground water 
prompted EPA to continue investigations at the site.
    The Remedial Investigation which began in 1990 included sampling of 
site soil, sediments, air, and ground water, and also testing of 
surface water such as the Moosup River. EPA found limited contamination 
in certain areas of the site, but not enough to cause a significant 
risk to human health or the environment.
    Some of the contaminants found on the site during the Remedial 
Investigation include volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and 
pesticides. In signing the Record of Decision, EPA assumes that the 
site will be developed for industrial or commercial purposes. Under 
this scenario, contamination at the site would not result in an 
unacceptable risk, therefore, no further work will occur. Also included 
in the final decision is a five year ground water monitoring program to 
ensure that contaminant levels do not increase.
    EPA proposed the no-action alternative in August, 1992 and held a 
thirty day public comment period to accept comments on the plan. Copies 
of the Record of Decision along with responses to public comments are 
available in the Sterling Public Library in Oneco, Connecticut and in 
the EPA Records Center in Boston.
    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 
completed a health assessment for the Revere Site in December, 1993. 
ATSDR reviewed the remedial investigation data and has made 
determinations in that document consistent with the no-action Record of 
Decision that the concentrations of contaminants measured did not pose 
an imminent health threat.
    The Town of Sterling, Connecticut imposed deed restrictions at the 
Revere Site which include prohibitions of both present and future 
ground water use and non-commercial development.
    EPA, with concurrence of the State of Connecticut, has determined 
that all appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA at the Revere 
Site have been completed, and that no further cleanup by responsible 
parties under CERCLA is appropriate.


    Dated: December 28, 1993.
Paul G. Keough,
Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA Region I.
[FR Doc. 94-4652 Filed 2-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P