[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65616-65618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30798]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR PART 300
[FRL-5346-9]
Lewisburg Dump Superfund Site, Lewisburg, TN
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region IV,
announces its intent to delete the Lewisburg Dump 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 National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution
Contingency Plan (NCP), promulgated by EPA, pursuant to Section 105 of
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. EPA and the State of Tennessee
Department of the Environment & Conservation have determined that the
site no longer poses a significant threat to public health or the
environment and, therefore, further CERCLA remedial measures are not
appropriate.
DATES: A 30-Day Public Comment Period (December 11, 1995 to January 11,
1996) has been established for the Lewisburg Dump site deletion
proposal. Comments concerning the proposal may be submitted by January
11, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Femi Akindele, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 345 Courtland Street, Atlanta, Georgia, 30365.
Comprehensive information on this site is available for review at
the following site information repositories.
Marshall County Memorial Library, 310 Farmington Pike, Lewisburg, TN
37091.
U.S. EPA Record Center, 345 Courtland St., Atlanta, GA 30365.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Femi Akindele, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 345 Courtland Street, Atlanta, Georgia, 30365, 404-
347-3555 EXT. 2042 or 1-800-435-9233 EXT 2042.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
This notice is to announce EPA's intent to delete the Lewisburg
Dump site from the NPL. It also serves to request public comments on
the deletion proposal.
EPA identifies sites that appear to present a significant risk to
public health, welfare, or environment and maintains the NPL as the
list of these sites. Sites on the NPL qualify for remedial responses
financed by the Hazardous Substances Response Trust Fund (Fund). As
described in 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the NPL
remain eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions in the unlikely
event that conditions at the site warrant such actions. EPA accepts
comments on the proposal to delete a site from the NPL for thirty days
after publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
NPL Deletion Criteria
The NCP establishes the criteria that EPA uses to delete sites from
the NPL. In accordance with Sec. 300.425(e) of the NCP, sites may be
deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In
making this determination, EPA, in consultation with the State,
considers whether the site has met any of the following criteria for
site deletion:
(i) Responsible or other parties have implemented all appropriate
response actions required.
(ii) All appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been
implemented and no further response actions are deemed necessary.
(iii) Remedial investigation has determined that the release poses
no significant threat to public health or the environment and,
therefore, no remedial action is appropriate.
Deletion Procedures
The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of
this site:
(1) EPA Region IV issued a Final Close Out Report in September
1993, which addressed the site conditions, quality assurance and
control during construction, and technical criteria for satisfying the
completion requirements.
(2) Concurrent with this announcement, a notice has been published
in the local newspaper and has been distributed to appropriate federal,
state, and local officials announcing the commencement of a 30-day
public comment period on the Notice of Intent to Delete.
(3) EPA has made all relevant documents available for public review
at the information repositories.
Deletion of the site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. The NPL is designed
primarily for information purposes and to assist EPA management. As
mentioned earlier, Section 300.425(e)(30) of the NCP states that
deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility of the
site for future Fund-financed response actions.
For the deletion of this site, EPA will accept and evaluate public
comments on this Notice of Intent to Delete before finalizing the
decision. If necessary, the Agency will prepare a Responsiveness
Summary to address any significant public comments received during the
comment period. The deletion is finalized after the Regional
Administrator places a Notice of Deletion in the Federal Register.
[[Page 65617]]
Basis for Intended Lewisburg Dump Site Deletion
The following is a summary of activities on the Lewisburg Dump
Site. It provides EPA's rationale for the proposed deletion.
The site is a 20-acre tract of farmland located less than one mile
north of Lewisburg, Tennessee. It contains an abandoned six acre
limestone quarry and a pond. The City of Lewisburg owned and operated
the dump which used about four acres at the western portion of the
quarry for landfill operations from the late 1950s to 1979. The
landfill was open to all residential and industrial dumpers. City
records have indicated that several surrounding communities hauled
wastes to the dump.
In 1973, a study was conducted by the Tennessee Department of
Public Health (TDPH) which indicated that the old quarry was unfit for
a sanitary landfill. Also, in the early 1970s, the City submitted plans
to TDPH for an on-site incinerator, interim maintenance, and final
closure of the dump. In 1977, preliminary closure of the landfill began
as soil was applied to cover the wastes. In 1979, final closure of the
landfill was conducted.
EPA initially inspected and assessed the conditions of the site in
1982. Among the wastes observed during the inspection were adhesives,
paint stripper, empty pails coated with yellow lacquer, metal cuttings,
sawdust, pencil cores, cosmetic powders and shoe linings. Results of
the assessment indicated the presence of organic and inorganic
compounds including lead, toluene, PCB, chlordane, and phenol. After
evaluating the conditions of the landfill, EPA added Lewisburg Dump to
the NPL in December 1982.
In 1985, EPA contacted a group of companies, agencies, and
individuals who were identified as potentially responsible for the
wastes at the dump to address the problem. The City of Lewisburg and
other potentially responsible parties (PRPs) formed the Lewisburg
Environmental Response Committee (LERC) to conduct a Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) on the site. The study was
conducted under the terms of an Administrative Order on Consent which
the PRPs entered into with EPA.
The RI/FS, which was completed in 1990, confirmed the presence of
contaminants at the site. Organic and inorganic compounds were detected
in the landfill soil, shallow aquifers beneath the site, and in the
abandoned quarry pond.
The most prevalent organic contaminants at the site were bis(2-
ethylhexyl)phthalate, (DEHP), methylene chloride, xylene, ethylbenzene,
4-methyl-2-pentanone, 2-butanone, carbon disulfide, and toluene. The
most common inorganic contaminants were copper, chromium, aluminum,
arsenic, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, barium, and zinc. Of these
contaminants, only DEHP and copper were detected at levels of
significant concern. No contaminants were detected at appreciable
concentrations outside the site.
The RI/FS results indicated that, although contaminant
concentrations were generally insignificant, the wide variety of the
compounds was of concern. Other concerns noted were that the compounds
had the potential to become exposed by landfill cap deterioration, the
open access to the site and possible disturbance of landfill
constituents. In addition, there was potential for increased
groundwater contamination and leachate generation if site conditions
were not improved.
Special studies, including well surveys and dye trace analyses were
conducted in the area of the site to evaluate groundwater conditions
since most residences had water wells. The well survey identified 123
households within a 2 mile radius of the site with a minimum of one
well on each property. Approximately 70 of these households were
utilizing groundwater from wells for domestic or livestock purposes.
However, most residences near the site were connected to the municipal
water supply. No industrial or municipal wells were found in the survey
area. The dye trace studies did not indicate an immediate effect of the
site on the domestic wells.
In order to alleviate potential adverse effects of the site on
human health and the environment, the RI/FS evaluated several possible
remedial measures. Based on the results, EPA issued a Record of
Decision (ROD) in September 1990, which described the remedy selected
for the site. The major components of the selected remedy were: (1)
removal and disposal of all site surface debris, (2) removal and
disposal of all debris in the quarry pond, (3) replacement of plastic
test-pit caps with landfill cap material, (4) regrading of the landfill
cap, (5) implementation of institutional controls, and (6) long-term
monitoring and analysis.
Soon after the ROD was issued, EPA requested the PRPS to implement
and fund the selected remedy. The PRPs agreed and signed a Consent
Decree in 1991 to perform the work. All remedial activities were
completed between September 4, 1992, and September 20, 1993. The
Remedial Action Report submitted by the PRPs indicated that 382 cubic
yards of debris/soil, 172 tires, 50 empty drums and 2 drums containing
lead paint and sludge were removed from the site. These were disposed
of at properly permitted facilities. EPA and TDEC performed a final
site work inspection in September 1993, and determined that the
Remedial Action (RA) had been successfully executed.
Following the RA completion, the PRPs initiated site maintenance
and monitoring activities, including regular site inspection and
groundwater sampling. Laboratory results and other reports on these
activities have confirmed that the cleanup work at Lewisburg Dump was
successful and that the site no longer poses a threat to human health
or the environment.
The PRPs will continue to monitor the groundwater periodically and
report results to EPA as stipulated in the 1991 Consent Decree. TDEC
will provide necessary oversight.
The Consent Decree required the PRPs to place deed restrictions on
the property. The deed restrictions were recorded with the Office of
the Hamilton County Register on August 19, 1993.
Throughout this project, EPA conducted active community relations
activities to ensure that the local residents were well informed about
the different activities occurring at the site. These included the
development of Community Relations Plans, public meetings, and routine
publications of progress report fact sheets. A public meeting
presenting the Proposed Plan was held on July 25, 1990 in Lewisburg,
Tennessee. Public comments on the selected remedy were addressed in the
1990 ROD, and site information was placed at the repository in a local
library. A Pre-Construction meeting was held on August 17, 1992 in
Lewisburg to discuss the start of cleanup activities with the
community. In December 1993, EPA announced the end of site cleanup
activities in the local newspaper after the final RA inspection.
EPA provided oversight and involved the State in the evaluation and
approval of work conducted by the PRPs at the site. The Remedial Design
(RD), RA contract, and RA Work Plan were carefully reviewed by EPA and
TDEC for compliance with all quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)
procedures. EPA reviewed or developed site evaluations, project plans,
technical and material specifications, construction, installation,
testing, and sampling requirements and procedures
[[Page 65618]]
for all laboratory analyses. Work Plans were developed as necessary by
contractors which specified appropriate QA/QC measures for all cleanup
activities. EPA reviewed and approved the QA/QC plans which, in
general, were based on the protocols in the U.S. EPA, Region IV.
Consistent with EPA guidance, a five year review of this project is
necessary to ensure continued protection of human health and the
environment. The statutory review will be conducted according to the
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Directive 9355.7-02,
``Structure and Components of the Five year Reviews''.
The five-year period begins with the date of RA contract award
which, for this project, is September 8, 1992. Therefore, the review
should be completed prior to September 8, 1997.
In conclusion, EPA, with the concurrence of the State, has
determined that all appropriate remedial actions at the Lewisburg Dump
site under CERCLA have been completed. The site no longer poses a
threat to human health or the environment. Therefore, EPA proposes to
delete the site from the NPL and requests public comments on the
proposal.
Dated: November 27, 1995.
Patrick M. Tobin,
Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA, Region IV.
[FR Doc. 95-30798 Filed 12-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P