[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 21, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43203-43205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21178]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5557-1]


National Oil and Hazardous Substance Contingency Pollution Plan; 
National Priorities List Update

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Gold Coast oil site from the 
National Priorities List (NPL); Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: EPA, Region IV, announces its intent to delete the Gold Coast 
Oil Site (Site) in Miami, Dade County, Florida, from the NPL and 
requests public comment on this action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B, 
40 CFR part 300; the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution 
Contingency Plan (NCP) promulgated by the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 
(CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the State of Florida (State) have 
determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have

[[Page 43204]]

been implemented by the Potentially Responsible Parties and that no 
further response actions are needed. Moreover, EPA and the State have 
determined that the remedial actions conducted at the Site to date have 
been protective of public health, welfare, and the environment.

DATES: Comments on the proposed deletion from the NPL should be 
submitted no later than September 20, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Brad Jackson, Remedial Project 
Manager, South Superfund Remedial Branch, Waste Management Division, 
EPA, Region IV, 345 Courtland Street, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30365.
    Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the 
EPA, Region IV, public docket located at the regional office. The 
deletion docket is available for viewing, by appointment, from 9:00 
a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Requests 
for appointments or copies of the background information from the EPA 
regional office should be directed to Debbie Jourdan, EPA, Region IV, 
docket office at 345 Courtland Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia, 30365. 
Ms. Jourdan may also be contacted by telephone at (404) 347-5059, 
extension 6217.
    Background information from the regional public docket is also 
available for viewing at the Site information repository located at 
Florida International University, University Park Campus Library, Rm. 
AT-235, Miami, Florida, 33199. Appointments can be scheduled to review 
the documents locally by contacting the library at (305) 348-2463.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Jackson, Remedial Project 
Manager, EPA, Region IV, 345 Courtland Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia, 
30365, (404) 347-2643.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    EPA, Region IV, announces its intent to delete the Gold Coast Oil 
Site from the NPL (Appendix B of the NCP), and request comments on this 
proposed deletion. EPA identifies sites that pose a significant threat 
to public health, welfare, or the environment and maintains an 
inventory of these sites through the NPL. Sites on the NPL may be the 
subject of remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substances 
Superfund Response Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to Sec. 300.66(c)(8) of 
the NCP, any site deleted from the NPL remains eligible for Fund-
financed remedial actions if new or changing conditions warrant such 
actions.
    EPA will accept comments concerning the proposed deletion of this 
site from the NPL until September 20, 1996.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP establishes the criteria that the Agency uses to delete 
sites from the NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e), releases may 
be deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In 
making this determination, EPA will consider, in consultation with the 
State of Florida, whether any of the following criteria are met:
     Responsible or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
     All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have 
been implemented and no further cleanup by responsible parties is 
appropriate, or
     The remedial investigation has shown that the release 
poses no significant threat to public health, welfare, or the 
environment and, therefore, undertaking of additional remedial measures 
is not appropriate.

III. Deletion Procedures

    EPA, Region IV, will accept and evaluate public comments before 
making a final decision to delete this Site from the NPL. Comments from 
the local community may be the most pertinent to the deletion decision. 
The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of this 
Site:
     EPA, Region IV, has recommended deletion and has prepared 
the relevant documents.
     The State has concurred with the deletion decision.
     Concurrent with this National Notice of Intent to Delete, 
a local notice has been published in local newspapers and has been 
distributed to appropriate federal, state, and local officials and 
other interested parties.
     The Region has made all relevant documents available in 
the Regional Office and local site information repository.
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself, create, alter, or 
revoke and individual rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for information purposes and to assist Agency management. As 
mentioned in Section II of this Notice, 40 CFR Section 300.425(e)(3) 
provides that deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for future Fund-financed response actions.
    The comments received during the notice and comment period will be 
evaluated before the final decision to delete. The Region will prepare 
a Responsiveness Summary, if necessary, which will address any comments 
received during the public comment period.
    A deletion occurs when the EPA Regional Administrator publishes a 
notice 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 Region IV.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The Gold Coast Oil Site is the former location of an oil 
reclamation facility that operated over an 11-year period. The Site is 
approximately two acres in size and is located in a mixed commercial, 
industrial, and residential area of Miami, Florida. Poor housekeeping 
practices and improper disposal of wastes resulted in extensive 
contamination of surface and subsurface soils at levels that posed a 
threat to human health, welfare and/or the environment. The underlying 
Biscayne aquifer, a sole source of drinking water for Dade County, was 
also extensively contaminated at levels in excess of Federal and State 
Drinking Water Standards. Concern for the potential threat to the 
public and impact on the local drinking water supply prompted the 
inclusion of the Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 
September 1983.
    Numerous studies were undertaken by EPA and the potentially 
responsible parties which documented the nature and extent of 
contamination. The scope and results of these studies was summarized in 
detail in the Interim Site Close Out Report and in other documents 
contained in the Site file. Community involvement and the scope of 
community relation activities were also documented in the Interim Site 
Close Out Report.
    Soil remediation began in March 1989, with the excavation and 
offsite disposal of 683 tons of contaminated soils and hardened waste 
sludge. An additional 200 cubic yards of contaminated soil was 
excavated and removed for offsite disposal in March 1990. As discussed 
in the Interim Site Close Out Report, sampling and analysis of soil 
samples verified compliance with the ROD cleanup criteria.
    A comprehensive system of groundwater monitoring, recovery, and 
disposal was implemented in July 1990. Contaminated groundwater was 
recovered through a series of wells and treated onsite with a dual 
column air stripping system for the removal of volatile organic 
compounds. The treated

[[Page 43205]]

groundwater was returned to the aquifer through onsite injection wells, 
upgradient of the recovery system.
    Contaminant levels were reduced dramatically within the first year 
of operation of the system. Several modifications were eventually made 
to the groundwater recovery system to enhance its effectiveness. A 
summary of analytical results that document the performance of the 
remedial system is provided in the Site Close Out Report, February 
1996.
    EPA, in consultation with the State, concluded that the groundwater 
recovery system had achieved its goal in significantly reducing 
contaminant levels within the aquifer, and that continued operation of 
the recovery system would not provide any further reduction in 
contaminant levels. The system was deactivated and placed in a 
monitoring mode on March 15, 1994.
    The groundwater recovery and treatment system recovered and treated 
over 80 million gallons of water. Operation of the system reduced 
contaminant levels by approximately 99 percent and essentially 
eliminated the dissolved plume.
    Monitoring of the Site during the period May through November 1994, 
indicated continued compliance with the groundwater performance 
criteria, with the exception of periodic exceedances of TCE and PCE in 
the two shallow wells located near the center of the former plume. 
These periodic exceedances represented very small, isolated, areas of 
contamination. It was theorized that these exceedances may be the 
result of residual VOC contamination in soil overlying the groundwater. 
However, soil gas analysis conducted in proximity to monitoring wells 
MW-11 and MW-13, in November 1994, did not indicate the presence of any 
residual contamination in the unsaturated zone.
    In a final effort to attain permanent compliance with the 
performance criteria at monitoring wells MW-11 and MW-13, the soil 
surrounding the wells was excavated below the water table. The 
excavations were approximately 15-feet square by 15-feet deep. Although 
a composite soil sample from each excavated stockpile did not indicate 
the present of any TCE or PCE, initial sampling of the groundwater in 
the pits indicated elevated levels of TCE and PCE. The pits remained 
open for several months and the water was treated using a portable 
compressor and air spargers. A summary of the analytical results of the 
sampling of groundwater from the pits was provided in the Close Out 
Report, February 1996.
    As documented in the Close Out Report, TCE and PCE concentrations 
decreased with time and stabilized at levels within the performance 
criteria specified in the ROD. At that time, the groundwater 
remediation was determined to be complete, and the pits backfilled with 
clean fill.
    Cleanup of the Gold Coast Oil site is complete. Approval of this 
Close Out Report will serve as certification of completion of all 
remedial activities at the Gold Coast Oil Site. Based on the success of 
the remedial action, only one year of post-certification monitoring 
will be performed. Should the data indicate no significant increase in 
the contaminant levels relative to the findings of the ``clean 
closure'' monitoring, the post-certification monitoring may cease. 
However, should the post-certification monitoring show significant 
increases in the contaminant levels relative to the ``clean closure'' 
monitoring, EPA may extend the length of the post-certification 
monitoring. The commitment by the PRPs to perform post-certification 
monitoring is provided for in the Consent Decree and the plans for 
monitoring described in a letter from the PRPs consultant to the EPA 
Remedial Project Manager dated April 17, 1992. Performance of the Post-
Certification monitoring, however, does not preclude the deletion of 
this Site from the NPL.
    Removal of all hazardous substances from the Site resulted in 
unlimited use and unrestricted exposure at the Site. As a result, no 
institutional controls were necessary at the Site. Since, the long-term 
groundwater response action was not certified as complete within the 
time period for the first Five-Year Review, a review was conducted and 
concluded that the remedy had been effective in attaining the remedial 
goals and that no further remedial response was necessary.
    EPA, in consultation with the State, has determined that all 
necessary response actions, including final attainment of the 
groundwater cleanup criteria, have been met as specified in OSWER 
Directive 9320.2-3A. Specifically, confirmatory sampling has verified 
that the ROD cleanup objectives for the soil and groundwater have been 
achieved and the Site is protective of public health, welfare and the 
environment. These documents are available for review by calling the 
Regional Office at (404) 347-2643.

    Dated: July 22, 1996.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA, Region IV.
[FR Doc. 96-21178 Filed 8-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P