[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27896-27898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12995]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5211-3]


National Priorities List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires 
that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency 
Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known 
releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or 
contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List 
(``NPL'') constitutes this list.
    This rule adds 1 new site to the NPL. The NPL is intended primarily 
to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the 
Agency'') in determining which sites warrant further investigation to 
assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks 
associated with the site and to determine what CERCLA-financed remedial 
action(s), if any, may be appropriate.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 26, 1995.

ADDRESSES: For addresses for the Headquarters and Regional dockets, as 
well as further details on what these dockets contain, see 
``Information Available to the Public'' in Section I of the 
``Supplementary Information'' portion of this preamble.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Keidan, Hazardous Site 
Evaluation Division, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (mail 
code 5204G), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, 
Washington, DC, 20460, or the Superfund Hotline, phone (800) 424-9346 
or (703) 412-9810 in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction.
II. Contents of This Final Rule.
III. Executive Order 12866.
IV. Unfunded Mandates.

I. Introduction

Background

    In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601-9675 (``CERCLA'' or 
``the Act''), in response to the dangers of uncontrolled hazardous 
waste sites. CERCLA was amended on October 17, 1986, by the Superfund 
Amendments and Reauthorization Act (``SARA''), Public Law No. 99-499, 
stat. 1613 et seq. To implement CERCLA, EPA promulgated the revised 
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 
(``NCP''), 40 CFR Part 300, on July 16, 1982 (47 FR 31180), pursuant to 
CERCLA section 105 and Executive Order 12316 (46 FR 42237, August 20, 
1981). The NCP sets forth the guidelines and procedures needed to 
respond under CERCLA to releases and threatened releases of hazardous 
substances, pollutants, or contaminants. EPA has revised the NCP on 
several occasions. The most recent comprehensive revision was on March 
8, 1990 (55 FR 8666).
    Section 105(a)(8)(A) of CERCLA requires that the NCP include 
``criteria for determining priorities among releases or threatened 
releases throughout the United States for the purpose of taking 
remedial action* * * and, to the extent practicable taking into account 
the potential urgency of such action, for the purpose of taking removal 
action.'' ``Removal'' actions are defined broadly and include a wide 
range of actions taken to study, clean up, prevent or otherwise address 
releases and threatened releases. 42 USC 9601(23). ``Remedial'' 
actions'' are those ``consistent with permanent remedy, taken instead 
of or in addition to removal actions. * * *'' 42 USC 9601(24).
    Pursuant to section 105(a)(8)(B) of CERCLA, as amended by SARA, EPA 
has promulgated a list of national priorities among the known or 
threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or 
contaminants throughout the United States. That list, which is Appendix 
B of 40 CFR Part 300, is the National Priorities List (``NPL'').
    CERCLA section 105(a)(8)(B) defines the NPL as a list of 
``releases'' and as a list of the highest priority ``facilities.'' The 
discussion below may refer to the ``releases or threatened releases'' 
that are included on the NPL interchangeably as ``releases,'' 
``facilities,'' or ``sites.''
    CERCLA section 105(a)(8)(B) also requires that the NPL be revised 
at least annually. A site may undergo remedial action financed by the 
Trust Fund established under CERCLA (commonly referred to as the 
``Superfund'') only after it is placed on the NPL, as provided in the 
NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(b)(1). However, under 40 CFR 300.425(b)(2) 
placing a site on the NPL ``does not imply that monies will be 
expended.'' EPA may pursue other appropriate authorities to remedy the 
releases, including enforcement action under CERCLA and other laws.
    The purpose of the NPL is merely to identify releases that are 
priorities for further evaluation. Although a CERCLA ``facility'' is 
broadly defined to include any area where a hazardous substance release 
has ``come to be located'' (CERCLA section 101(9)), the listing process 
itself is not intended to define or reflect the boundaries of such 
facilities or releases.
    It is the Agency's policy that, in the exercise of its enforcement 
discretion, EPA will not take enforcement actions against an owner of 
residential property to require such owner to undertake response 
actions or pay response costs, unless the residential homeowner's 
activities lead to a release or threat of release of hazardous 
substances, resulting in the taking of a response action at the site 
(OSWER Directive #9834.6, July 3, 1991). This policy includes 
residential property owners whose property is located above a ground 
water plume that is proposed to or on the NPL, where the residential 
property owner did not contribute to the contamination of the site. EPA 
may, however, require access to that property during the course of 
implementing a clean up.
    Three mechanisms for placing sites on the NPL for possible remedial 
action are included in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c) (55 FR 8845, March 
8, 1990). Under 40 CFR 300.425(c)(1), a site may be included on the NPL 
if it scores sufficiently high on the Hazard Ranking System (``HRS''), 
which EPA promulgated as Appendix A of 40 CFR Part 300. On December 14, 
1990 (55 FR 51532), EPA promulgated revisions to the HRS partly in 
response to CERCLA section 105(c), added by SARA. The revised HRS 
evaluates four pathways: ground water, surface water, soil exposure, 
and air. The HRS serves as a screening device to evaluate the relative 
[[Page 27897]] potential of uncontrolled hazardous substances to pose a 
threat to human health or the environment. As a matter of Agency 
policy, those sites that score 28.50 or greater on the HRS are eligible 
for the NPL.
    Under a second mechanism for adding sites to the NPL, each State 
may designate a single site as its top priority, regardless of the HRS 
score. This mechanism, provided by the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c)(2), 
requires that, to the extent practicable, the NPL include within the 
100 highest priorities, one facility designated by each State 
representing the greatest danger to public health, welfare, or the 
environment among known facilities in the State.
    The third mechanism for listing, included in the NCP at 40 CFR 
300.425(c)(3), allows certain sites to be listed regardless of their 
HRS score, if all of the following conditions are met:
     The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
(ATSDR) of the U.S. Public Health Service has issued a health advisory 
that recommends dissociation of individuals from the release.
     EPA determines that the release poses a significant threat 
to public health.
     EPA anticipates that it will be more cost-effective to use 
its remedial authority (available only at NPL sites) than to use its 
removal authority to respond to the release.
    EPA promulgated an original NPL of 406 sites on September 8, 1983 
(48 FR 40658). The NPL has been expanded since then, most recently on 
April 25, 1995 (60 FR 20335).
    The NPL includes two sections, one of sites that are evaluated and 
cleaned up by EPA (the ``General Superfund Section''), and one of sites 
being addressed by other Federal agencies (the ``Federal Facilities 
Section''). Under Executive Order 12580 (52 FR 2923, January 29, 1987) 
and CERCLA section 120, each Federal agency is responsible for carrying 
out most response actions at facilities under its own jurisdiction, 
custody, or control, although EPA is responsible for preparing an HRS 
score and determining whether the facility is placed on the NPL. EPA is 
not the lead agency at these sites, and its role at such sites is 
accordingly less extensive than at other sites. The Federal Facilities 
Section includes those facilities at which EPA is not the lead agency.

Deletions/Cleanups

    EPA may delete sites from the NPL where no further response is 
appropriate under Superfund, as explained in the NCP at 40 CFR 
300.425(e) (55 FR 8845, March 8, 1990). To date, the Agency has deleted 
77 sites from the General Superfund Section of the NPL. EPA also has 
developed an NPL construction completion list (``CCL'') to simplify its 
system of categorizing sites and to better communicate the successful 
completion of cleanup activities (58 FR 12142, March 2, 1993). Sites 
qualify for the CCL when:
    (1) any necessary physical construction is complete, whether or not 
final cleanup levels or other requirements have been achieved;
    (2) EPA has determined that the response action should be limited 
to measures that do not involve construction (e.g., institutional 
controls); or
    (3) the site qualifies for deletion from the NPL.
    Inclusion of a site on the CCL has no legal significance.
    In addition to the 76 sites that have been deleted from the NPL 
because they have been cleaned up (the Waste Research and Reclamation 
site was deleted based on deferral to another program and is not 
considered cleaned up), an additional 216 sites are also in the NPL 
CCL, all but four from the General Superfund Section. Thus, as of May 
1995, the CCL consists of 292 sites.
    Cleanups at sites on the NPL do not reflect the total picture of 
Superfund accomplishments. As of March 31, 1995, EPA had conducted 661 
removal actions at NPL sites, and 2,413 removal actions at non-NPL 
sites. Information on removals is available from the Superfund hotline.
Action In This Notice

    This final rule adds 1 site, Southern Shipbuilding in Slidell, 
Louisiana, to the General Superfund Section of the NPL. This site is 
added to the NPL based on an HRS score of 28.5 or greater. This actions 
result in an NPL of 1,237 sites, 1,082 of them in the General Superfund 
Section and 155 of them in the Federal Facilities Section. On April 25, 
1995 (59 FR 65206) EPA published the most recent complete list of NPL 
sites to which the Southern Shipbuilding site is being added. An 
additional 49 sites remain proposed, 42 in the General Superfund 
Section and 7 in the Federal Facilities Section, and are awaiting final 
Agency action. Final and proposed sites now total 1,286.

Clarification

    The full name of the Fremont National Forest/White King and Lucky 
Lass Uranium Mines (USDA) site, which was added to the NPL on April 25, 
1995 (60 FR 20330), was inadvertantly shortened in EPA's Federal 
Register notice. For the record, the full name of this site is Fremont 
National Forest/White King and Lucky Lass Uranium Mines (USDA). 
However, this name will continue to appear in its shortened version in 
Appendix B to part 300--The National Priorities List and other 
automated public information lists due to space limitations within the 
NPL database.

Information Available to the Public

    The Headquarters and Regional public dockets for the NPL contain 
documents relating to the evaluation and scoring of the site in this 
final rule. The dockets are available for viewing, by appointment only, 
after the appearance of this action. The hours of operation for the 
Headquarters docket are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Please contact the Regional Docket 
for hours.
    Addresses and phone numbers for the Headquarters and Regional 
dockets follow:

Docket Coordinator, Headquarters, U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office, 
Crystal Gateway #1, 12th Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, VA 703/603-8917

(Please note this is viewing address only. Do not mail documents to 
this address.)

Bart Canellas, Region 6, U.S. EPA, 1445 Ross Avenue, Mail Code 6H-MA, 
Dallas, TX 75202-2733, 2l4/655-6740

    The Headquarters docket for this rule contains HRS score sheets for 
the final site; the Documentation Record for the site describing the 
information used to compute the score; pertinent information regarding 
statutory requirements or EPA listing policies that affect the site; 
and a list of documents referenced in the Documentation Record. The 
Headquarters docket also contains comments received; and the Agency's 
responses to those comments. The Agency's responses are contained in 
the ``Support Document for the Revised National Priorities List Final 
Rule--May 1995.''
    A general discussion of the statutory requirements affecting NPL 
listing, the purpose and implementation of the NPL, the economic 
impacts of NPL listing, and the analysis required under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act is included as part of the Headquarters rulemaking 
docket in the ``Additional Information'' document.
    The Regional docket contains all the information in the 
Headquarters docket, plus the actual reference documents containing the 
data principally relied [[Page 27898]] upon by EPA in calculating or 
evaluating the HRS score for the site. These reference documents are 
available only in the Regional docket.
    Interested parties may view documents, by appointment only, in the 
Headquarters or Regional Dockets, or copies may be requested from the 
Headquarters or Regional Dockets. An informal written request, rather 
than a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act, should be 
the ordinary procedure for obtaining copies of any of these documents. 
If you wish to obtain documents by mail from EPA Headquarters Docket, 
the mailing address is as follows: Docket Coordinator, Headquarters, 
U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office (Mail Code 5201G), 1401 M Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20460, 703/603-8917.

(Please note this is the mailing address only. If you wish to visit the 
HQ Docket to view documents, see viewing address above.)

II. Contents of This Action

    This action promulgates a final rule to add 1 site to the General 
Superfund Section of the NPL. This site is Southern Shipbuilding in 
Slidell, Louisiana which was proposed on February 13, 1995 in NPL 
Proposal #18 (60 FR 8212) based on an HRS score of 28.5 or greater. The 
group number identified for this site is 5/6. Group numbers are 
determined by arranging the NPL by rank and dividing it into groups of 
50 sites. For example, a site in Group 4 has a score that falls within 
the range of scores covered by the fourth group of 50 sites on the NPL.

Public Comments

    EPA reviewed all comments received on the site included in this 
notice. The formal comment period ended on April 14, 1995.
    EPA's response to site-specific public comments and explanations of 
any score changes made as a result of such comments are addressed in 
the ``Support Document for the Revised National Priorities List Final 
Rule--May 1995.''

III. Executive Order 12866

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this 
regulatory action from Executive Order 12866 review.

IV. Unfunded Mandates

    Under Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA 
must prepare a written statement to accompany any rules that have 
``Federal mandates'' that may result in the expenditure by the private 
sector of $100 million or more in any one year. Under Section 205, EPA 
must select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative 
that achieves the objective of such a rule and that is consistent with 
statutory requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan 
for informing and advising any small governments that may be 
significantly and uniquely affected by the rule.
    The Unfunded Mandates Act defines a ``Federal private sector 
mandate'' for regulatory purposes as one that, among other things, 
``would impose an enforceable duty upon the private sector.'' EPA finds 
that today's listing decision does not impose any enforceable duties 
upon the private sector since inclusion of a site on the NPL does not 
itself impose any costs. It does not establish that EPA necessarily 
will undertake remedial action, nor does it require any action by a 
private party or determine its liability for site response costs. Costs 
that arise out of site responses result from site-by-site decisions 
about what actions to take, not directly from the act of listing 
itself. Therefore, today's rulemaking is not a ``Federal private sector 
mandate'' and is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 or 205 
of the Unfunded Mandates Act. As to Section 203 of this Act, EPA finds 
that small governments will not be significantly and uniquely affected 
by this rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals, 
Hazardous materials, Intergovernmental relations, Natural resources, 
Oil pollution, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, 
Waste treatment and disposal, Water pollution control, Water supply.

    Dated: May 22, 1995.
Elliott P. Laws,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

    40 CFR part 300 is amended as follows:

PART 300--[AMENDED]

    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.

    2. Appendix B to Part 300 is amended by adding the Southern 
Shipbuilding site in Slidell, Louisiana, to Table 1, General Superfund 
Section, in alphabetical order.

[FR Doc. 95-12995 Filed 5-25-95; 8:45 am]
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