[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 173 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46753-46755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22378]
[[Page 46753]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-5558-9]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete Ambler Asbestos site from the
National Priorities List: Request for Comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces
its intent to delete the Ambler Asbestos site from the National
Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this action. The
NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is 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 Pennsylvania have determined that all appropriate CERCLA
response actions have been implemented and that no further cleanup by
responsible parties is appropriate. Moreover, EPA and the State have
determined that remedial activities conducted at the site to date have
been protective of public health, welfare, and the environment.
DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of this site from the
NPL may be submitted on or before October 7, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to James J. Feeney, (3HW21),
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 841 Chestnut
Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107, (215) 566-3190.
Comprehensive information on this site is available for viewing at
the Site information repositories at the following locations:
U.S. EPA, Region 3, Hazardous Waste Technical Information Center, 841
Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA 19107, (215) 566-5363
Wissahickon Valley Public Library, Ambler Branch, 209 Race Street,
Ambler, PA 19002, (610) 646-1072
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James J. Feeney (3HW21), U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3, 841 Chestnut Building,
Philadelphia, PA, 19107, (215) 566-3190.
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 3 announces its
intent to delete the Ambler Asbestos site, Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List (NPL), Appendix B of
the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan
(NCP), and requests comments on this deletion. The EPA identifies sites
that appear to present a significant risk to public health, welfare, or
the environment and maintains the NPL as the list of those sites. Sites
on the NPL may be the subject of remedial actions financed by the
Hazardous substance Superfund Response Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to
Section 300.425(e) 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 will accept comments on the proposal to delete this site from
the NPL for thirty calendar 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 the 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 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 cleanup 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 of remedial
measures is not appropriate.
(iv) In addition to the above, for all remedial actions which
result in hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants remaining
at the site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted
exposure, it is EPA's policy that sites should generally not be deleted
from the NPL until at least one five-year review has been conducted
following completion of all remedial actions at a site (except
operation and maintenance), any appropriate actions have been taken to
ensure that the site remains protective of public health and the
environment, and the site meets EPA's deletion criteria as outlined
above. EPA must also assure that five-year reviews will continue to be
conducted at the site until no hazardous substances, pollutants, or
contaminants remain above levels that allow for unlimited use and
unrestricted exposure. States may conduct five-year reviews pursuant to
Cooperative Agreements or Superfund State Contracts with EPA, and
submit five year review reports to EPA.
An exception to this requirement involves situations where a
Consent Decree contains language specifically committing EPA to delete
a site from the NPL upon completion of certain response activities. In
such cases, EPA Regions must consult with EPA Headquarters prior to
initiation of any deletion activities. However, such an exception would
apply only to the general policy of not deleting sites before
completion of the first five-year review, not to the requirement to
conduct reviews. EPA would still need to assure that five-year reviews
will be conducted at the site. Given the October 30, 1989 policy
directive from the Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) regarding the performance of
five-year reviews and their relationship to the deletion process,
Consent Decrees should now require one five-year review following
completion of the remedial action (except operation and maintenance)
before deletion.
III. Deletion Procedures
In the NPL rulemaking published on October 15, 1984 (49 FR 40320),
the Agency solicited and received comments on whether the notice of
comment procedures followed for adding sites to the NPL should also be
used before sites are deleted. Comments were also received in response
to the amendments to the NCP proposed on February 12, 1985 (50 FR
5862). Deletion of sites from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any
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individuals rights or obligations. The NPL is designed primarily for
informational purposes and to assist Agency management.
EPA Region III will accept and evaluate public comments before
making a final decision to delete. The Agency believes that deletion
procedures should focus on notice and comment at the local level.
Comments from the local community may be the most pertinent to deletion
decisions. The following procedures were used for the intended deletion
of this site:
(i) EPA Region III has recommended deletion and has prepared the
relevant documents.
(ii) The State of Pennsylvania has concurred with the deletion
decision. Concurrent with this National Notice of Intent to Delete,
local notice will be published in local newspapers and distributed to
appropriate federal, state and local officials, and other interested
parties. This local notice presents information on the site and
announces the thirty (30) day public comment period on the deletion
package.
(iii) The Region has made information supporting the proposed
deletion available in the Regional Office and local site information
repository.
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, which will address significant comments
received during the public comment period.
A deletion will occur after the EPA Regional Administrator places 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 III.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The Ambler Asbestos Superfund Site is composed of three piles of
asbestos-containing wastes and a series of waste water settling and
filter bed lagoons. The Site, which covers approximately twenty-five
(25) acres, is located in the center of a mixed commercial/residential
area in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
Historically, the Site was owned by Keasbey & Mattison Company
(K&M), a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, such as Milk of Magnesia, and
asbestos insulation products. K&M owned the site from the late 1800's
to 1962, when it sold the property and operations in parcels. One
parcel, including the CertainTeed Scrap Pile (also known as the Pipe
Plant Pile), was sold to CertainTeed, Inc. That pile became Operable
Unit Two (OU-2) of the Site. Nicolet Industries, Inc. purchased the
remaining property, including the Locust Street Pile, the Plant Pile
and the filter bed lagoons. Those two piles and the lagoons constitute
Operable Unit One (OU-1) of the Site. The total volume of asbestos-
containing waste in the piles is estimated to exceed 1.5 million cubic
yards.
The Site came under the scrutiny of the EPA in 1971, and subsequent
field investigations showed visible dust emissions that were determined
to contain asbestos. In 1974, the State denied disposal permit
applications and ordered both companies to stop dumping and to
stabilize and cover the piles. CertainTeed stabilized the CertainTeed
Scrap Pile with a vegetated soil cover in 1977. The Nicolet Corporation
decontaminated and removed the equipment from the Locust Street
playground in 1984. The Locust Street and Plant Piles were regraded and
stabilized by EPA and Nicolet and the Site was partially fenced in
removal actions undertaken in 1984 and 1989. The Site was proposed for
inclusion on the Superfund National Priorities List October 10, 1984
and finalized on that list on June 6, 1986.
The Remedial Investigations and Feasibility Studies for the
operable units were conducted separately by EPA and CertainTeed
Corporation and showed the potential for exposure to airborne asbestos
particles originating from the Site if the existing cover systems were
not upgraded. Potential erosion of the Piles by the action of the
Wissahickon and Stuart Farm Creeks was also identified. Remedies for
the Operable Units were selected and described in separate Records of
Decision issued September 3, 1988, for OU-1, and September 29, 1989,
for OU-2.
Negotiations with the potentially responsible parties continued for
the design and actual construction of the remedies selected for the
operable units of the Site. Nicolet, however, dissolved in bankruptcy
in 1988. Subsequently, T&N Industries, Inc. (T&N) was joined for CERCLA
liability as the parent corporation of the former owner, K&M. Two
parties, T&N and CertainTeed, entered into separate Consent Decrees for
the Remedial Designs and Remedial Actions, under the oversight of EPA,
of their respective operable units. Physical construction of the
remedies for the Site was completed by the parties in October 1992 and
both construction Remedial Action Reports were accepted by EPA on April
28, 1993.
The Remedial Action selected and constructed for OU-1 included
draining and back-filling the lagoons, installing a semi-permeable cap
and surface drainage system on the piles, and constructing an erosion
control device; a concrete revetment installed on the west slope of the
Locust Street Pile to inhibit the erosion of the stream bank and the
pile by the action of the Wissahickon. The west slope of the pile abuts
against and into the Wissahickon Creek along Butler Pike. The existing
fences on the property were also moved and repaired to discourage
trespassing and vandalism. This remedy eliminated the lagoons and
stabilized the piles against erosion by wind, precipitation and the
action of the Wissahickon, reducing the threat of release to the air or
surface water, and potential exposure to airborne asbestos.
The Remedial Action selected and constructed for OU-2 included
supplementing the existing soil cover, clearing and grading to promote
proper surface drainage, revegetating the pile, and installing gabion
boxes to reinforce the banks of the Stuart Farm Creek along the East
slope of the pile. The existing fences on the property were upgraded
and replaced to discourage trespassing and vandalism. A verification
study was also conducted during the Remedial Design to determine the
extent and source of metals contamination in the creek. That study
showed no significant contamination attributable to the Site. This
remedy stabilized the pile against erosion by wind, precipitation and
the action of the Stuart Farm Creek, reducing the threat of release to
the air or surface water, and potential exposure to airborne asbestos.
Separate long-term Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Plans were
submitted and subsequently approved for each Operable Unit to ensure
the continued integrity of the pile cover. There are no operating
facilities. As such there will be only maintenance of the remedies,
which will be performed by the Respondents. Inspections will be
conducted to ensure the continuing maintenance of the security fence,
gates, warning signs, cap system, cap vegetation and the constructed
erosion and sedimentation control measures. Site inspections will also
be conducted after major storm events that cause local flooding to
ensure the integrity of all permanent erosion and sedimentation
controls. Specific Maintenance will be triggered by the inspections and
performed as necessary. The O&M Plans were prepared in sufficient
detail to allow the EPA and the State of Pennsylvania to determine that
the protectiveness of the remedy for the site will be maintained over
time.
A statutory Five-Year Review of the selected Remedy is to be
completed on or before July 27, 1997 to ensure that no
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future threats to the public health or environment exist. Further Five-
Year Reviews will be conducted pursuant to OSWER Directive 9355.7-02.
``Structure and Components of Five-Year Reviews,'' or other applicable
guidance where it exists.
The remedies selected for this Site have been implemented in
accordance with the Records of Decision, as modified and expanded in
the EPA-approved Remedial Designs for the two Operable Units. These
remedies have resulted in the significant reduction of the long-term
potential for release of asbestos fibers to the surrounding surface
soils, the ambient air and the aquatic environment. Human health
threats and potential environmental impacts have been minimized. EPA
and the State of Pennsylvania find that the remedies implemented
continue to provide adequate protection of human health and the
environment.
EPA, with concurrence of the State of Pennsylvania, believes that
the criteria for deletion of this Site have been met. Therefore, EPA is
proposing deletion of this Site from the NPL.
Dated: August 12, 1996.
Thomas J. Maslany,
Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA Region III.
[FR Doc. 96-22378 Filed 9-4-96; 8:45 am]
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