[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 161 (Monday, August 21, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43424-43426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-20541]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5281-2]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Delete Woodbury Chemical Site from the 
National Priorities List: request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IV announces 
its intent to delete the Woodbury Chemical Site from the National 
Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this proposed 
action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is the 
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 

[[Page 43425]]
Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. EPA and the State of Florida 
Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have determined that the 
Site poses no significant threat to public health or the environment 
and therefore, further response measures pursuant to CERCLA are not 
appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before: 
September 20, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Joe Franzmathes, Director, Waste 
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 345 
Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30365.
    Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the 
Region IV public docket, which is available for viewing at the Woodbury 
Chemical information repositories at two locations. Locations, 
contacts, phone numbers and viewing hours are:

U.S EPA Record Center, attn: Shannon Neal, 345 Courtland Street, NE, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30365. Phone: (404)347-0506. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 
p.m., Monday through Friday By Appointment Only.
South Dade Regional Library, 10750 SW 211th Street, Cutler Ridge, 
Florida 33189, Phone: (305)233-8140. Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday 
through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Dick, U.S. EPA Region IV, Mail 
Code: WD-SSRB, 345 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30365, 
(404)347-2643 x6273.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The EPA Region IV announces its intent to delete the Woodbury 
Chemical Site, Princeton, Florida, from the NPL, which constitutes 
Appendix B of the NCP, 40 CFR Part 300, and requests comments on this 
deletion. EPA identifies sites on the NPL that appear to present a 
significant risk to public health, welfare, or the environment. Sites 
on the NPL may be the subject of remedial actions financed by the 
Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to Section 
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 proposes to delete the Woodbury Chemical Site at 13690 S.W. 
248th Street (Coconut Palm Drive), Princeton, Florida 33032 from the 
NPL.
    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 this 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 Section 300.425(e), sites 
may be deleted from or recategorized on the NPL where no further 
response is appropriate. In making this determination, EPA shall 
consider, in consultation with the state, whether any of the following 
criteria have been met:

    (i) Responsible or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have 
been implemented and no further 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.

    If a site is deleted from the NPL where hazardous substances, 
pollutants, or contaminants remain at the site above levels that allow 
for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, EPA's policy is that a 
subsequent review of the site will be conducted at least every five 
years after the initiation of the remedial action at the site to ensure 
that the site remains protective of public health and the environment. 
In the case of this Site, where hazardous substances are not above 
levels that allow for unlimited exposure and future access does not 
require restriction, five-year reviews and operation and maintenance 
activities will not be conducted. However, if new information becomes 
available which indicates a need for further action, EPA may initiate 
remedial actions. Whenever there is a significant release from a site 
deleted from the NPL, the site may be restored to the NPL without the 
application of the Hazardous Ranking System.

III. Deletion Procedures

    EPA will accept and evaluate public comments before making a final 
decision on deletion. The following procedures were used for the 
intended deletion of the Site:

    1. FDEP has concurred with the deletion decision;
    2. Concurrently with this Notice of Intent, a notice has been 
published in local newspapers and has been distributed to 
appropriate federal, state and local officials and other interested 
parties announcing a 30-day public comment period on the proposed 
deletion from the NPL; and
    3. The Region has made all relevant documents available at the 
information repositories.

    The Region will respond to significant comments, if any, submitted 
during the comment period.
    Deletion of the Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for informational purposes to assist Agency management.
    A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a final 
notice in the Federal Register. Generally, the NPL will reflect any 
deletions in the final update following the Notice. Public notices and 
copies of the Responsiveness Summary, if any, will be made available to 
local residents by the Regional office.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
    The following site summary provides the Agency's rationale for the 
intention to delete this Site from the NPL.
    The five-acre Woodbury Chemical Site in southeast Dade County has 
been the location of the Woodbury Chemical Company since 1975. The 
Woodbury Chemical Company has been engaged in the formulation, 
distribution and sale of fertilizers and pesticides since 1959. 
Operations were initiated in Goulds, Florida, three miles northeast of 
Princeton. Prior to 1975, the Site was the location of a tomato and 
potato packing house and a labor camp for migrant farm workers.
    During the late 1970's, when pesticides were being formulated at 
the Woodbury Chemical Company, an above-ground toxaphene tank leaked or 
spilled the pesticide onto the ground. In January 1979, a Dade County 
Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) official filed 
a formal complaint against S&M Farm Supply Company, located on the 
Site, charging them with causing excessive levels of nitrates in 
drinking water wells located upgradient of, downgradient of, and within 
the Site. The S&M Farm Supply Company was the parent of Woodbury 
Chemical Company.
    Since 1980, State and Federal officials have conducted 
investigations at the site. Due to potential groundwater 

[[Page 43426]]
contamination, the Woodbury Chemical Site was proposed for the NPL in 
June 1988 and was placed on the final List in August 1990. In January 
1990, Woodbury Chemical Company under EPA's and DERM's oversight 
removed the toxaphene-contaminated soil in the area of the previously-
mentioned spill.
    In 1992, EPA completed the Remedial Investigation (RI) which 
encompassed a study of the soil, sediment, and groundwater. Onsite 
soils contained primarily low levels of pesticides and chromium, while 
offsite soils contained pesticides and arsenic. Except for nitrates, 
groundwater contamination was mainly limited to pesticides, arsenic, 
and chromium in offsite locations. Nitrates were detected in every 
groundwater sample collected. Their widespread presence is most likely 
due to the heavy use of fertilizers in the area and is not due to 
activities at the Site. Arsenic was also determined not to be Site-
related due to its presence along the railroad, indicating its source 
as the arsenic-based herbicides that were historically sprayed by the 
railroad.
    In 1992, EPA conducted a Risk Assessment for the Site to evaluate 
the public health and environmental problems that could result if the 
Site were not remediated. The results of the RI and the Risk Assessment 
indicated that the 1990 removal of toxaphene-contaminated soils at the 
Woodbury Chemical Site reduced the risk from exposure to Site-related 
contaminants in the soils to levels which are protective of human 
health and the environment. On June 25, 1992, EPA signed a Record of 
Decision (ROD) for the Woodbury Chemical Site.
    The ROD called for No Further Action on the soil at the Site. The 
ROD also stated that No Action was necessary for the groundwater. The 
ROD determined that no hazardous substances, pollutants, or 
contaminants were present on the Site above health-based levels and 
that the five-year review was not warranted. However, because the 
potential future risk from exposure to the groundwater at the Site was 
close to the level at which EPA may consider taking action, the 
groundwater at and around the Site was designated for quarterly 
monitoring for one year. The purpose of the monitoring was to confirm 
that the few samples collected during the RI which contained 
contaminants above drinking water standards were not indicative of a 
release of contaminants from the Site.
    Confirmational monitoring of groundwater demonstrates that no 
significant risk to public health or the environment is posed by the 
Site. The results of the monitoring confirmed that the few groundwater 
samples collected during the RI which contained contaminants above 
drinking water standards were not indicative of a release of 
contaminants from the Woodbury Chemical Site. All Site contaminants 
were below health-based levels. Due to the removal of toxaphene-
contaminated soils, hazardous substances have been removed from the 
Site so as to allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposures within 
the Site, the Site is protective of public health and the environment, 
and no further remedial action is needed at the Site. Accordingly, EPA 
will not conduct operation and maintenance activities or five-year 
reviews at this Site.
    EPA, with concurrence of FDEP, has determined that all appropriate 
actions at the Woodbury Chemical Site have been completed, and that no 
further remedial action is necessary. Therefore, EPA is proposing 
deletion of the Site from the NPL.

    Dated: August 8, 1995.
Patrick M. Tobin,
Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA Region IV.
[FR Doc. 95-20541 Filed 8-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P