[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-7400]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 31, 1994]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-4855-2]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Wide Beach Development site from
the National Priorities List: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II announces
its intent to delete the Wide Beach Development site from the National
Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this action. The
NPL is appendix B of 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 New York
have determined that no further cleanup by responsible parties is
appropriate under CERCLA. Moreover, EPA and the State have determined
that CERCLA activities conducted at the Wide Beach Development site to
date have been protective of public health, welfare, and the
environment.
DATES: Comments concerning the deletion of the Wide Beach Development
site from the NPL may be submitted on or before April 30, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the deletion of the Wide Beach
Development site from the NPL may be submitted to: Herbert H. King,
Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
II, 26 Federal Plaza, room 29-100, New York, NY 10278.
Comprehensive information on the Wide Beach Development site is
contained in the EPA Region II public docket, which is located at EPA's
Region II office (room 2900), and is available for viewing, by
appointment only, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding holidays. For further information, or to request an
appointment to review the public docket, please contact Mr. King at
(212) 264-1129.
Background information from the Regional public docket is also
available for viewing at the Wide Beach Development site's
Administrative Record repository located at: Brant Town Hall, North
Collins Road, Brant, NY 14027.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria.
III. Deletion Procedures.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion.
I. Introduction
EPA Region II announces its intent to delete the Wide Beach
Development site from the NPL and requests public comment on this
action. The NPL is appendix B to the NCP, which EPA promulgated
pursuant to section 105 of CERCLA, as amended. 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 Substances 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 such site warrant action.
EPA will accept comments concerning the Wide Beach Development site
until April 30, 1994.
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 Wide Beach Development 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, in consultation with the State, will
consider whether any of the following criteria have been met: 1. That
responsible or other persons have implemented all appropriate response
actions required; or
2. All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have been
implemented, and no further cleanup by responsible parties is
appropriate; or
3. The remedial investigation has shown that the release poses no
significant threat to public health or the environment and, therefore,
taking remedial measures is not appropriate.
III. Deletion Procedures
The NCP provides that EPA shall not delete a site from the NPL
until the State in which the release was located has concurred, and the
public has been afforded an opportunity to comment on the proposed
deletion. Deletion of a site from the NPL does not affect responsible
party liability or impede agency efforts to recover costs associated
with response efforts. The NPL is designed primarily for informational
purposes and to assist agency management.
The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of the
Wide Beach Development site:
1. EPA Region II has recommended deletion and has prepared the
relevant documents.
2. The State of New York has concurred with the deletion decision.
3. Concurrent with this Notice of Intent to Delete, a notice has
been published in local newspapers and has been distributed to
appropriate federal, state and local officials, and other interested
parties. This notice announces a thirty (30) day public comment period
on the deletion package starting on April 1, 1994 and concluding on
April 30, 1994.
4. The Region has made all relevant documents available in the
regional office and the local site information repository.
EPA Region II will accept and evaluate public comments and prepare
a Responsiveness Summary which will address the comments received,
before a final decision is made. The Agency believes that deletion
procedures should focus on notice and comment at the local level.
Comments from the local community may be most pertinent to deletion
decisions.
If, after consideration of these comments, EPA decides to proceed
with deletion, the EPA Regional Administrator will place a Notice of
Deletion in the Federal Register. The NPL will reflect any deletions in
the next update. Public notices and copies of the Responsiveness
Summary will be made available to the public by EPA Region II.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
Site History and Background
The Wide Beach Development, incorporated in 1920, is a small lake-
side community with 60 residential homes situated on about 55 acres.
The site is located in the Town of Brant, Erie County, New York.
Between 1964 and 1978, about 41,000 gallons of waste oil, some of
which was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were
applied to local roadways for dust control. In 1980, the installation
of a sanitary sewer line in the community resulted in the excavation of
highly contaminated soils from the roadways. Surplus excavated soil was
used as fill in several residential yards.
An investigation of an odor complaint in 1981 by the Erie County
Department of Environment and Planning led to the discovery of 19 drums
in a wooded area at the Wide Beach Development community. Two of these
drums contained PCB-contaminated waste oil. Subsequent sampling
indicated the presence of PCBs in the air, roadway and yard soils,
vacuum cleaner dust from the homes, and in water samples from private
wells.
The site was included on the NPL in September 1983, primarily
because of the potential for exposure of the community to PCBs in air-
carried dust, surface water and groundwater.
An RI/FS was conducted by a New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) contractor during 1984 and 1985 to
determine the nature and extent of the contamination at and emanating
from the site, to assess the threat the site poses to public health and
the environment, and to develop and evaluate various alternatives to
remediate the site. The RI concluded that: (1) PCBs, specifically
Aroclor 1254, were the primary contaminants at the site; (2) surficial
soils in the roadways, drainage ditches, driveways and front yards of
lots bordering the roadways were highly contaminated with PCBs (up to
1,000 parts per million (ppm)); (3) contamination of drinking water
wells was sporadic and, when detected, was in the parts per billion
range; (4) observation wells screened in the sanitary sewer trench were
the most contaminated; (5) surface water transport was the most
important route of migration; (6) on-site soils would act as a long-
term source of PCBs; and (7) routes of human exposure to PCBs include
ingestion of contaminated vegetables, ingestion of soil, inhalation and
dermal absorption.
In 1985, in response to the levels of PCB contamination found in
the homes during the RI at the site, EPA performed an immediate removal
action including: (1) Paving of the roadways, drainage ditches, and
driveways to prevent further exposure of the public via the dust and
runoff routes; (2) decontamination of the homes by rug shampooing,
vacuuming, and replacement of air conditioner and furnace filters; and
(3) protection of individual private wells by the installation of
particulate filters. The immediate removal action addressed the
immediate threat to public health.
A Record of Decision (ROD), signed on September 30, 1985, selected
as a long-term remedial measure for the site, among other things,
excavation and chemical treatment of about 37,600 cubic yards of PCB-
contaminated soils (above 10 ppm) from the site's roadways, drainage
ditches, driveways, yards, and wetlands. The remedial design (RD),
which included treatability studies related to the chemical treatment
process, was completed in February 1989. The remedial action (RA) was
completed in June 1993.
Summary of Operation and Maintenance and Five-Year Review Requirements
There are no operational requirements since all remediation
activities have been completed. A three-year maintenance plan is
required for the wetland restoration component of the remedy. The
contractor is required to perform an annual inspection and submit a
report on the survival rates of the various plantings. Any dead trees,
shrubs, herbs, or grass in excess of 15% will be replaced by the
contractor.
Because the implemented remedy does not result in hazardous
substances remaining on-site above health-based levels, the five-year
review does not apply.
Summary of How the Deletion Criteria Has Been Met
Based upon the results of RA sample analyses, the site meets the
requirements set forth in the ROD pertaining to PCB-contaminated soil,
in that any soil that was found on-site that was contaminated with 10
ppm or higher of PCBs was excavated and treated to reduce the
concentration of PCBs to 2 ppm or less. This level is protective of
public health, welfare, and the environment.
EPA and the State have determined that the response actions
undertaken at the Wide Beach Development site are protective of human
health and the environment.
In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425 (e), sites may be deleted from
the NPL where no further response is appropriate. EPA, in consultation
with the State, has determined that all appropriate responses under
CERCLA have been implemented and that no further cleanup by responsible
parties is appropriate. Having met the deletion criteria, EPA proposes
to delete the Wide Beach Development site from the NPL.
Dated: March 16, 1994.
William J. Muszynski, P.E.,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-7400 Filed 3-30-94; 8:45 am]
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