[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 230 (Thursday, November 30, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61507-61508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29037]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-5335-2]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Delete the Whitewood Creek Superfund Site
From the National Priorities List: Request for Comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region VIII
announces its intent to delete the Whitewood Creek Site (Site) from the
National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this
action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B to 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 South Dakota (State) have determined that all appropriate
CERCLA response actions have been implemented and that no further
response actions are necessary at the Site except required operations
and maintenance activities (O&M). Moreover, EPA and the State have
determined that remedial activities conducted at the Site are
protective of human health and the environment.
DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of the Whitewood Creek
Site may be submitted to EPA on or before January 2, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Mr. Michael H. McCeney, Remedial
Project Manager, U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII, Mail
Code 8EPR/SR, 999 18th Street, Suite 500, Denver, CO 80202, Telephone:
(303) 312-6226.
Comprehensive information on this site is available through EPA,
Region VIII public docket, located at EPA, Region VIII, Superfund
Records Center and is available for viewing from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM,
Monday through Friday excluding holidays. Requests for documents should
be directed to the EPA, Region VIII Superfund Records Center.
The address for the Region VIII Superfund Records Center is:
Superfund Records Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 999
18th Street, 5th Floor, Denver, CO 80202, Telephone: (303) 312-6473.
Background information from the Regional public docket is also
available for viewing at the following location: Ms. Judy Meverden,
Lawrence County Registry of Deeds Office, P.O. Box 565, Deadwood, South
Dakota 57732-0565, Telephone: (605) 578-3930.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael H. McCeney (303) 312-6226.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
I. Introduction
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region VIII announces
its intent to delete the Whitewood Creek Site located in Butte, Meade,
and Lawrence Counties, South Dakota, from the National Priorities List
(NPL) and requests comments on this deletion. The NPL constitutes
Appendix B of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution
Contingency Plan (NCP), Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40
CFR), as amended. EPA identifies sites that appear to present a
significant risk to public health, welfare, or the environment and
maintains the NPL as a list of those sites. Sites on the NPL may be the
subject of remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substance Trust
Fund (Fund). Pursuant to Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, any site
deleted from the NPL remains eligible for Fund-financed remedial
actions in the unlikely event that future conditions at the site
warrant such action.
EPA intends to delete the Whitewood Creek Site from the NPL. EPA
will accept comments on this proposed deletion for thirty days
following 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 the Whitewood Creek Site meets
the deletion criteria.
Deletion of sites from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations with regard to an
individual site. The NPL is designed primarily for informational
purposes and to assist EPA management.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
The NPL 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 will consider whether any of the following criteria
have been met:
(i) EPA, in consultation with the State, has determined that
responsible or other parties have implemented all appropriate response
actions required; or
(ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have been
implemented and EPA, in consultation with the State, has determined
that no further response action by responsible parties is appropriate;
or
(iii) Based on a remedial investigation, EPA, in consultation with
the State, has determined that the release poses no significant threat
to public health or the environment and, therefore, taking remedial
measures is not appropriate.
For all Remedial Actions (RAs) which result in hazardous
substances, pollutants, or contaminants remaining at the site above
levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, EPA
shall review such action no less often than every five years after
initiation of the selected RA.
III. Deletion Procedures
EPA, Region VIII will accept and evaluate public comments before
making a final decision to delete the Whitewood Creek Site. The
following procedures were used for the intended deletion of this Site:
(1) EPA, Region VIII has recommended deletion of the Whitewood
Creek Site and has prepared the relevant documents;
(2) The State of South Dakota has concurred with EPA's
recommendation for deletion;
(3) Concurrent with this National 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; and
(4) EPA, Region VIII has made all relevant documents available in
the Regional Office and local Site information repositories.
Comments received during the notice and comment period will be
evaluated before making a final decision to delete. Region VIII will
prepare a Responsiveness Summary, which will
[[Page 61508]]
address the comments received during the public comment period. After
the public comment period, a deletion will occur after EPA publishes 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 will be made available to local residents by EPA
Region VIII.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The following summary provides EPA's rationale for recommending
deletion of the Whitewood Creek Superfund Site.
The Whitewood Creek Superfund Site is located in Butte, Meade and
Lawrence Counties in western South Dakota. The Site includes the
floodplain of an 18 mile stretch of Whitewood Creek between the Crook
City Bridge and the confluence with the Belle Fourche River. The Site
also includes areas surrounding the floodplain which fall within the
100 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) arsenic concentration isopleths as
defined during remedial design (RD).
Disposal of mill tailings from area gold mines into Whitewood Creek
for more than 100 years caused contamination at the Site. This practice
ended in 1977. Homestake Mining Company (Homestake) of Lead, South
Dakota was the largest contributor of this mine waste material. As
Whitewood Creek flowed northeast out of the Black Hills, mine tailings
were deposited on the banks of the creek and throughout the floodplain.
An estimated 30 million tons of mill tailings were deposited within the
Site. These tailings were found to contain elevated levels of arsenic
and other heavy metals.
In 1981, at the request of the governor of South Dakota, the Site
was placed on the ``Interim NPL''. Subsequently the Site was placed on
the NPL on September 8, 1983 (48 Fed. Reg. 40658). The hazardous
substance release pathways of concern at the Site were ground water and
surface water. These pathways were used to develop the Site's hazard
ranking system score. The hazardous substances of concern were arsenic,
copper, zinc, selenium, and mercury.
Following placement of the Site on the Interim NPL, EPA, the State
of South Dakota, and Homestake entered into a three-party agreement to
perform studies to determine the nature and extent of contamination at
the Site. In 1989, EPA determined that this study, combined with
several others conducted between 1982 and 1986, constitutes the
functional equivalent of a remedial investigation for the Site. The
remedial investigation reports, as well as any other reports referred
to in this notice, can be found in the public docket for this Site.
Under an administrative agreement with EPA, Homestake conducted a
feasibility study in 1989 to evaluate cleanup alternatives. The
feasibility study and the remedial investigation reports concluded that
the primary concern for human health and the environment at the Site
was exposure to arsenic-contaminated tailings, soils, and groundwater.
EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Whitewood Creek Site
on March 30, 1990. The remedy selected for the Site was two-fold; (1)
remove and/or cover tailings-contaminated soils in existing residential
areas; and (2) implement institutional controls (ICs) to control access
to the tailings and groundwater. To achieve a detailed understanding of
the ROD, refer to the ROD dated March 30, 1990.
In August of 1990, EPA and Homestake signed a consent decree (CD)
for Homestake to conduct remedial design and remedial action (RD/RA) at
the Site. Under EPA oversight, Homestake, in coordination with Site
residents, developed plans and specifications for removal and/or cover
of arsenic-contaminated materials at sixteen residential yards.
Homestake conducted cleanup of the residential yards in 1991 and
1992. A total of 4,500 cubic yards of contaminated material was removed
from the individual sites and placed in an on-site disposal facility.
Community relations activities throughout the Superfund process at
the Site included:
a. a public meeting followed by a comment period to present the
preferred cleanup plan before issuing the ROD;
b. a responsiveness summary to address comments received from the
public regarding EPA's proposed clean up plan;
c. regular site updates in the form of fact sheets mailed to the
community;
d. meetings with site residents to develop acceptable cleanup plans
for residential yards; and
e. community meetings.
Also as part of RD/RA, the following institutional controls have
been implemented at the Site:
(a) Butte, Meade, and Lawrence Counties adopted ordinances that:
prohibit construction of any new residential or commercial structures
on the tailings deposits; restrict future development in tailings-
impacted areas of the Site; and prohibit the removal and use of
tailings from outside the tailings areas; however, mining would be
allowed subject to South Dakota regulations. These ordinances were
adopted in 1992 and 1993;
(b) since 1993, Homestake has been distributing a Site fact sheet
at least once a year to educate the public on Site hazards and ways to
minimize the risk posed by residual contamination;
(c) a State ban on shallow aquifer water supply wells in the
floodplain of Whitewood Creek has been maintained.
Administration of the above institutional controls is on-going and
will continue indefinitely. In addition, Homestake is responsible for
several operations and maintenance (O&M) activities at the site
including but not limited to:
(1) monitoring the surface water quality of Whitewood Creek at
least four times yearly for significant releases of remaining hazardous
substances at the Site;
(2) re-sampling the soil in residential yards at least once every
five years to ensure that re-contamination has not occurred; in the
event of unacceptable levels of recontamination, Homestake will
remediate the yard; and
(3) submitting reports to EPA on O&M activities four times yearly.
Further details of Homestake's O&M responsibilities at the Site can
be found in the Whitewood Creek Superfund Site, Post Closure
Operations, Maintenance, and reporting Plan, dated July 27, 1994.
Deletion of the Site from the NPL in no way affects Homestake's
continued obligations to perform O&M at the Site.
Because hazardous substances remain at this Site EPA must review
Site conditions no less often than every five years from the start of
remedial action at the Site to ensure that the remedy continues to
remain protective of human health and the environment. The first five
year review will begin no later than September 1996.
Dated: November 8, 1995.
William P. Yellowtail,
Regional Administrator, U.S. E.P.A., Region VIII.
[FR Doc. 95-29037 Filed 11-29-95; 8:45 am]
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