[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-25869]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 19, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5090-1]

 

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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the Northwestern States Portland 
Cement Company (NWSPCC) Site, Mason City, Iowa from the National 
Priorities List: Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region VII 
announces its intent to delete the NWSPCC Site, Mason City, Iowa from 
the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this 
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 
(CERCLA), as amended. The reason this action is being taken is that 
Superfund Remedial Activities have been completed and no further 
response is appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning this site may be submitted on or before 
November 18, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Michael J. Sanderson, Acting 
Director, Waste Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region VII, 726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
    Comprehensive information on this site is available through the EPA 
Region VII public docket, which is located in the EPA's Region VII 
office and is available for viewing by appointment only from 9 a.m. to 
4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Requests for 
appointments or copies of the background information from the Regional 
public docket should be directed formally to the EPA Region VII docket 
office.
    The address for the Regional docket office is: U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region VII 726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 
66101.
    Background information from the Regional public docket is also 
available for viewing at the NWSPCC Site information repository which 
is located with: Mason City Public Library, 225 2nd SE., Mason City, IA 
50401.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Roemerman, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region VII 726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 
66101 (913) 551-7694.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents:

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

I. Introduction

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region VII announces its 
intent to delete the NWSPCC Site, Mason City, Iowa, from the National 
Priorities List (NPL), which constitutes appendix B of the National Oil 
and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), and requests 
comments on this proposed 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 Response Fund (Fund). Pursuant to 
Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the National Contingency Plan (NCP), any site 
deleted from the NPL remains eligible for Fund-financed remedial 
actions if conditions at the site warrant such action.
    The EPA will accept comments on this site for thirty days after the 
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 the 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 EPA 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:
    (i) That responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have 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, taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
    Section 300.425(e)(2) of the NCP requires State concurrence before 
deleting a site from the NPL.
    Deletion of sites from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individuals rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for informational purposes and to assist Agency management. 
As is mentioned in Section II of this document, Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of 
the NCP makes clear that deletion of a site from the NPL does not 
preclude eligibility for future Fund-financed response actions.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The EPA Region VII will accept and evaluate public comments before 
making the final decision to delete the site from the NPL. The Agency 
believes that deletion procedures should focus on notice and comment at 
the local level. Comments from the local community are likely to be the 
most pertinent to deletion decisions. The following procedures were 
used for the intended deletion of the site.
    1. The EPA Region VII has recommended the deletion and prepared the 
relevant documents.
    2. The State of Iowa has concurred with the deletion decision.
    3. Concurrent with this National Notice of Intent to Delete a 
notice has been published in local and community 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, which starts November 3, 
1994, and which will conclude on December 5, 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 is made. The Region will 
prepare a Responsiveness Summary, if necessary, which will address any 
comments received during the public comment period.
    A deletion will occur after the 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 VII.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The following summary provides the Agency's rationale for 
recommending deletion of the Northwestern States Portland Cement 
Company Site, Mason City, Iowa, from the NPL.
    Northwestern States Portland Cement Company (NWSPCC), owns and 
operates a cement manufacturing facility on the north side of Mason 
City, Iowa. The facility has been in operation since 1908. A byproduct 
of the cement manufacturing process since 1969 is cement kiln dust 
(CKD). The West Quarry site (Site) is a quarry covering approximately 
150 acres to a depth of 40 feet of which approximately 110 acres were 
filled with CKD during the period of 1969-1985.
    A pH monitoring program of the water in the West Quarry was started 
in April of 1974 in response to a change in color of the Quarry water. 
The Quarry water pH rose sharply following January 1976, increased to 
11.8 in April 1976, and leveled off at about 12.5 in 1980. The increase 
in pH is attributed to the breakdown of the natural buffering system 
which was sustaining the Quarry water at a near-neutral pH. In response 
to Quarry dewatering initiated in 1987, current pH levels are about 
10.5.
    In 1979, two seeps emerged from the northeastern portion of the 
filled West Quarry. High pH water from the seeps flowed overland to 
Calmus Creek. In 1984, the state initiated a study of Calmus Creek and 
found pH in the creek elevated 2.0 pH units downstream of the seep 
area. In April 1985, the state ordered NWSPCC to immediately cease 
discharge from the seep area to Calmus Creek. NWSPCC was also ordered 
to cease kiln dust disposal in the Quarry and to conduct a 
hydrogeologic investigation.
    In 1989, the state did a follow-up stream survey of Calmus Creek. 
The 1989 study concluded that there had been no improvement in water 
quality since the 1984 study. Conclusions from the 1989 study suggested 
that runoff from the haul roads and storage areas was contributing to 
the water quality degradation.
    In 1992, a Calmus Creek stream study was done to meet requirements 
of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination permit issued by Iowa 
Department of National Resources. The results of this study suggested 
water quality had improved with pH dropping from 10.2 in earlier 
studies to 7.9. The study attributed this improvement to elimination of 
runoff from the site and the installation of the groundwater 
extraction/treatment system installed in 1985.
    In 1987, EPA conducted a Site Inspection of the NWSPCC Site and, 
based on the findings of this investigation, the Site was scored with 
the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) for possible inclusion on the National 
Priorities List (NPL). Based on the site characterization completed 
under the direction of EPA, an HRS package for the Site resulted in a 
score of 57.80. This score was based on the impact to groundwater and 
direct human contact. The Site was proposed for the National Priority 
List (NPL), in June of 1988 (53 FR 23988). The Site was added to the 
NPL in August of 1990 (55 FR 35501).
    The RI/FS field work and data collection activities began in August 
1988 with the final report submitted in March 1990. The investigation 
demonstrated that significant impact to groundwater outside the Site 
boundaries had not occurred.
    The U. S. Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and 
Disease Registry (ATSDR), conducted a draft Health Assessment for the 
NWSPCC Site. They concluded that the Site is of potential health 
concern because of the potential risk to human health resulting from 
possible exposure to hazardous substances at concentrations that may 
result in adverse health effects.
    A final Record of Decision (ROD), was executed in June 1990 by the 
EPA with concurrence by IDNR. The selected response action addressed 
the principal threats of surface water and groundwater contamination 
and the source of contamination--the cement kiln dust. The selected 
remedy consisted of the following actions.
     Dewatering of the Site which contained high pH water, 
acid-neutralization and discharge to Calmus Creek.
     Construction of a permanent drain system in the dewatered 
Site to collect precipitation runoff and groundwater inflow to the 
quarry.
     Placement of an engineered clay cap over the area of the 
Site filled with cement kiln dust to minimize infiltration through the 
kiln dust.
     Installation of bedrock dewatering wells to collect 
contaminated groundwater beneath the Site, prevent migration of 
contaminated groundwater from the Site and maintain groundwater levels 
below the kiln dust.
     Treatment of contaminated water to meet IDNR/NPDES 
discharge permit limits with discharge to Calmus Creek.
     Assurances that the dewatering system will be operated in 
perpetuity to maintain isolation of water from the waste kiln dust and 
collect and treat any contaminated water which is generated.
    A Consent Decree was signed in June 1990 which outlined the 
performance criteria to be met by implementing the approved remedial 
action alternative as well as the reporting and scheduling requirements 
of the remedial design and construction activities. The final Remedial 
Design and Remedial Action Work Plans were completed in June 1992.
    The EPA in consultation with the State of Iowa, has determined that 
all fund-financed response activities under CERCLA at the NWSPCC Site, 
Mason City, Iowa, have been completed and that no further response is 
necessary. Therefore, it is proposed to delete the Site from the NPL.

    Dated: September 26, 1994.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region VII.
[FR Doc. 94-25869 Filed 10-18-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6500-50-P