[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20473-20475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10146]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5196-8]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the Jackson Township Landfill 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List; Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 
Region II, announces its intent to delete the Jackson Township Landfill 
Site 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 & Hazardous Substances Pollution 
Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the New Jersey 
Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) have determined that no 
further remedial action by the responsible party is appropriate under 
CERCLA. In addition, EPA and NJDEP have determined that remedial 
activities conducted to date at the site have been protective of public 
health, welfare, and the environment.

DATES: Comments concerning the deletion of the Jackson Township 
Landfill Site from the NPL may be submitted on or before May 26, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Joseph Gowers, Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, 290 
Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866.
    Comprehensive information on the Jackson Township Landfill Site is 
contained in the NJDEP public docket and is available for viewing, by 
appointment only, at: NJDEP-Bureau of Community Relations, 401 East 
State Street, CN 413, Trenton, NJ 08625, Phone: (609) 984-3081, 8.30 AM 
to 4.30 PM--Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), Contact: Donald 
Kakas.
    Information on the Site is also available for viewing at the 
Jackson Township Landfill Site Administrative Record Repositories 
located at:

Jackson Township Municipal Complex, RD#4, Box 1000, Jackson, NJ 08527, 
Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm, (908) 928-1200
Ocean County Library, 101 Washington Street, Toms River, NJ 08753, 
Monday-Friday: 9am-9pm, Saturday: 9am-5pm (908) 349-6200

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 Jackson Township 
Landfill Site from the NPL and requests public comment on this 
deletion. 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 the site 
warrant such action.
    EPA will accept comments concerning the deletion of the Jackson 
Township Landfill Site from the NPL for 30 days after publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register until May 26, 1995.
    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 Jackson Township Landfill 
Site meets the NPL deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP establishes the criteria that the Agency uses to delete 
sites from the [[Page 20474]] NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425 
(e)(1)(i)-(iii), sites may be deleted from the NPL where no further 
response is appropriate. In making this determination, EPA, in 
consultation with NJDEP, will consider whether any of the following 
criteria has been met:

    (i) Responsible or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed 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 to the environment 
and, therefore, taking remedial measures is not appropriate.

    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility for 
subsequent Fund-financed actions if future conditions warrant such 
actions. Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states: ``All releases 
deleted from the NPL are eligible for further Fund-financed remedial 
actions should future conditions warrant such action. Whenever there is 
a significant release from a site deleted from the NPL, the site shall 
be restored to the NPL without application of the HRS [Hazard Ranking 
System].''

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 information 
purposes and to assist Agency management.
    EPA Region II will accept and evaluate public comments before 
making a final decision to delete this site. 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. The following procedures were used for the intended 
deletion of the Jackson Township Landfill Site:
    1. EPA Region II has recommended deletion and has prepared the 
relevant documents.
    2. The NJDEP has concurred with the deletion decision.
    3. Concurrent with the 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.
    The comments received during the comment period will be evaluated 
before any final decision is made. EPA Region II will prepare a 
Responsiveness Summary, if necessary, which will address the comments 
received during the public comment period.
    If, after consideration of these comments, EPA decides to proceed 
with the deletion, the EPA Regional Administrator will place a Notice 
of Deletion in the Federal Register. The NPL will reflect any deletions 
in the next final update. Public notices and copies of the 
Responsiveness Summary, if any, will be made available to local 
residents by EPA Region II.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The following summary provides the Agency's rationale for 
recommending deletion of the Jackson Township Landfill Site, Ocean 
County, New Jersey, from the NPL.
    The Jackson Township Landfill Site is located off Lakehurst Avenue 
in Jackson Township, Ocean County, New Jersey. Jackson Township 
purchased the 135 acre landfill, which is situated in a regional 
reserve known as the New Jersey Pinelands, in 1972. The property was 
previously owned and mined by Glidden Corporation. Approximately 20 
acres of the property were used for the disposal of various wastes.
    In 1977, there were multiple complaints of medical problems 
associated with the use of area ground water. Subsequently, the NJDEP 
ordered groundwater analyses to be conducted in the vicinity of the 
landfill. Based upon the results of these analyses, NJDEP concluded 
that a segment of the Cohansey aquifer and several domestic wells had 
been contaminated by hazardous substances disposed of at the Jackson 
Township Landfill. The NJDEP used Spill Fund monies to provide bottled 
potable water for residences impacted by the ground water 
contamination.
    In 1978, NJDEP ordered Jackson Township to stop disposing of liquid 
wastes at the landfill. In 1980, a citizen lawsuit resulted in a 
municipal water system extension to properties affected or potentially 
affected by contaminants disposed of at the landfill. The landfill was 
closed by order of the Superior Court of New Jersey in February 1980.
    Sampling of 22 monitoring wells and eight domestic wells was 
performed in December 1981 and February 1982. Results of this sampling 
indicated that contaminants were present in ground water at levels only 
slightly exceeding criteria established for the protection of ground 
water. In April and December of 1982, the NJDEP sampled seventeen 
shallow and deep monitoring wells at and in the vicinity of the 
landfill. Organic compounds were only detected above method detection 
limits in one well, and inorganics rarely exceeded established criteria 
during this sampling event. Additional ground water sampling conducted 
in 1985 revealed similar results.
    In December 1982, the Jackson Township Landfill was included on the 
National Priorities List of Superfund sites.
    In 1988, the NJDEP and Jackson Township reached an agreement, known 
as the Judicial Consent Order (JCO), which required Jackson Township to 
reimburse the NJDEP for Spill Compensation Fund monies spent by the 
NJDEP. In addition, the JCO required Jackson Township to arrange for 
and fund the investigation and remediation of the landfill. Throughout 
1989 and 1990, a Remedial Investigation (RI) was conducted in which 
air, surface water, ground water and soil studies were performed.
    During performance of the RI, 22 ground water monitoring wells at 
and around the landfill were sampled. In addition, four surface water 
and sediment samples were collected in the Ridgeway and Obhanan-
Ridgeway Branches, which are both tributaries to the Toms River. No 
site-related compounds were detected in surface water samples above 
Federal or State Surface Water Quality Criteria. Similarly, no 
compounds were detected in sediments above levels of concern developed 
in the Risk Assessment for the site.
    Nine soil borings were also installed at the Jackson Township 
Landfill during performance of the RI. Contaminants were only detected 
in soils at low levels. Results of the RI indicate that contaminant 
levels have continued to decrease due to natural attenuation.
    A Risk Assessment was conducted based upon the results of the RI. 
The Risk Assessment concluded that there is no unacceptable current or 
potential future risk to public health and the environment associated 
with the landfill.
    The September 27, 1994 Record of Decision (ROD) for the Jackson 
Township Landfill site selected the No Further Action remedy, because 
the Risk Assessment has shown that no further action is necessary to 
protect human health and the environment. Furthermore, the ROD provides 
for the performance of a review within five (5) years of signing the 
ROD to ensure that the no further action remedy continues to provide 
adequate protection of human health and the environment. 
[[Page 20475]] 
    Having met the deletion criteria, EPA, with concurrence of the 
State of New Jersey, proposes to delete this site from the NPL. EPA and 
NJDEP have determined that the response actions conducted to date are 
protective of human health and the environment.
    Dated: April 10, 1995.
William J. Muszynski,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-10146 Filed 4-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P