[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]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P