[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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