[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 173 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46749-46752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22646]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5606-1]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; 
National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion of the Harbor Island 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 announces 
its intent to delete the Lockheed Shipyard portion of the Harbor Island 
Superfund Site, known as Operable Unit (OU) No. 3, located in Seattle 
(King County), Washington, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and 
requests public comment on this proposed 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). This partial deletion of the Harbor Island site 
is proposed in accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e) and the Notice of 
Policy Change: Partial Deletion of Sites Listed on the NPL, published 
in the Federal Register on November 1, 1995 at (60 FR 55466).
    This proposal for partial deletion pertains to OU No. 3, which is 
defined as the Lockheed Shipyard facility, located in the Harbor Island 
site. EPA bases its proposal to delete OU No. 3 on the determination by 
EPA and the State of Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) that 
all appropriate actions under CERCLA have been implemented to protect 
health, welfare, and the environment at OU No. 3.
    This partial deletion pertains only to OU No. 3 of the Harbor 
Island site. Response activities at OU Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 5 of this Site 
are not yet complete and these OUs will remain on the National 
Priorities List and are not subject of this partial deletion.

DATES: EPA will accept comments concerning its proposal for partial 
deletion for thirty days (30) after publication of this document in the 
Federal Register and a newspaper of record.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Mr. Keith Rose, Remedial Project 
Manager, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Mail 
Stop: ECL-111, Seattle, Washington 98101.
    Comprehensive information on the Harbor Island site as well as 
information specific to this proposed partial deletion is available for 
review at the Harbor Island information repository at the following 
location: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, 
Environmental Cleanup Office Records Center, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle, Washington 98101. Attn: Lynn Williams.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Rose, U.S. EPA, 1200 Sixth 
Avenue, Mail Stop: ECL-111, Seattle, Washington 98101, (206) 553-7721.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis of Intended Partial Site Deletion

I. Introduction

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 
announces its intent to delete a portion of the Harbor Island site 
(Site) from the NPL, Appendix B of the National Oil and Hazardous 
Substances Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR Part 300, and requests 
comments on this proposal. Sites listed on the NPL are those which 
present a significant risk to human health or the environment. As 
described in Sec. 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.
    This proposal for partial deletion pertains to OU No. 3, which 
consists of the Lockheed Shipyard in the Harbor Island site. OU No. 3 
is located at 2929 16th Avenue Southwest, and is bounded on the north 
by the ARCO petroleum storage tank facility, on the east by 16th Avenue 
Southwest, on the south by the Fisher Mills facility, and on the west 
by the West Waterway of the Duwamish River.
    Lockheed Martin, the Potentially Responsible Party for OU No. 3, 
completed a Remedial Investigation and feasibility study for this OU. 
EPA conducted a risk assessment of OU No. 3 as part of a Site-wide risk 
assessment conducted during the Site-wide Remedial Investigation. On 
June 28, 1994, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for OU No. 3. In 
September 1995, Lockheed Martin completed the remedial action selected 
in the ROD. EPA proposes to delete OU No. 3 because all appropriate 
CERCLA response activities have been completed in this OU. Response 
activities at OU Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 5 of this Site are not yet complete 
and these OUs will remain on the NPL and are not subject of this 
partial deletion.
    EPA will accept comments concerning its intent for partial deletion 
for thirty days (30) after publication of this document in the Federal 
Register and a newspaper of record.
    Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting 
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using 
for this action. Section IV discusses the Lockheed Shipyard OU and 
explains how this OU meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that sites, where a release 
of hazardous substances have occurred, may be deleted from, or 
recategorized on the NPL, where no further response is appropriate. In 
making a determination to delete a site from the NPL, EPA shall 
consider, in consultation with the state, whether any of the following 
criteria have been met:
    (i) Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA have been 
implemented, and no further action by responsible parties is 
appropriate, or
    (iii) The Remedial Investigation has shown that the release poses 
no significant threat to public health or the environment and, 
therefore, taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
    Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for subsequent Fund-financed actions at the area deleted if 
future site conditions warrant such actions. Section 300.425(e)(3) of 
the NCP provides that Fund-financed actions may be taken at sites that 
have been deleted from the NPL. A partial deletion of a site from the 
NPL does not affect or impede EPA's ability to conduct CERCLA response 
activities at areas not deleted and remaining on the NPL. In addition, 
deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not affect the 
liability of responsible parties or impede agency efforts to recover 
costs associated with response efforts.

III. Deletion Procedures

    Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not itself 
create, alter, or

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revoke any person's rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for informational purposes and to assist Agency management.
    The following procedures were used for the proposed deletion of OU 
No. 3 of the Harbor Island site:
    (1) EPA has recommended the partial deletion and has prepared the 
relevant documents.
    (2) The Washington State Department of Ecology has concurred with 
this partial deletion.
    (3) Concurrent with this national Notice of Intent for Partial 
Deletion, a display ad has been published in a newspaper of record and 
has been distributed to appropriate federal, State, and local 
officials, and interested members of the community. These notices 
announce a thirty (30) day public comment period on the deletion, which 
commences on the date of publication of this document in the Federal 
Register and a newspaper of record.
    (4) EPA has made all relevant documents available at the 
information repositories listed previously.
    For deletion of the Lockheed Shipyard OU, EPA's Regional Office 
will accept and evaluate public comments on EPA's Notice of Intent to 
Delete before making a final decision to delete. If necessary, the 
Agency will prepare a Responsiveness Summary in response to any 
significant public comments received.
    Upon completion of the thirty (30) day public comment period, EPA 
will evaluate all comments received before issuing the final decision 
on the partial deletion. EPA will prepare a Responsiveness Summary for 
comments received during the public comment period and will address 
concerns presented in the comments. The Responsiveness Summary will be 
made available to the public at the information repositories listed 
previously.
    If, after review of all public comments, EPA determines that the 
partial deletion from the NPL is appropriate, EPA will publish a final 
notice of deletion in the Federal Register. Deletion of OU 3 does not 
actually occur until the final Notice of Deletion is published in the 
Federal Register.

IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

    The following summary provides the Agency's rationale for deletion 
of OU No. 3 of the Harbor Island site from the NPL and EPA's finding 
that the criteria in 40 CFR 300.425(e) are satisfied:

A. Site Background

    Harbor Island is a man-made island, of approximately 400 acres in 
size, located about one mile southwest of Seattle, in King County, 
Washington. Since its construction at the turn of the century, the 
island has been used for commercial and industrial activities including 
ship building and maintenance, cargo shipping, secondary lead smelting, 
bulk petroleum storage and transfer, and metal fabrication. Primary 
contaminants of concern at the Harbor Island site include arsenic, 
lead, mercury, PCBs, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 
petroleum products. The Harbor Island site was added to the NPL in 
1983.
    In order to expedite Superfund response actions at this large Site, 
EPA has divided the Site into five OUs:

(1) The Soil and Groundwater OU
(2) The Petroleum Storage Tank OU
(3) The Lockheed Shipyard OU
(4) The Shipyard Sediment OU
(5) The Island-wide Sediment OU

EPA has been investigating and making CERCLA response action decisions 
for each OU separately.
    The Lockheed Shipyard OU is an 18 acre shipbuilding facility 
located on the west side of Harbor Island at 2929 16th Avenue 
Southwest. This OU is bounded on the north by the ARCO petroleum 
storage tank facility, on the east by 16th Avenue Southwest, on the 
south by the Fisher Mills facility, and on the west by the West 
Waterway of the Duwamish River. The Lockheed Shipyard was used as a 
shipbuilding facility from the 1930's until 1986. Shipbuilding 
activities included metal fabrication, sandblasting and painting. 
Paints used at this facility contained copper, lead, mercury, and zinc. 
The sandblast grit used at this facility contained arsenic and lead.

B. Response Actions Taken at the Lockheed Shipyard OU

    A Remedial Investigation of the Lockheed Shipyard was completed in 
1993 by Lockheed Martin, the Potentially Responsible Party. Based on 
data collected during the Remedial Investigation, a risk assessment was 
conducted to identify contaminants of concern, potential exposure 
pathways, and potential human health risks resulting from exposure to 
contaminants found at the Lockheed Shipyard. This risk assessment 
determined that the most significant potential human health risk was 
exposure to arsenic, lead, and PAHs through accidental ingestion of 
contaminated soil by industrial workers.
    During the Remedial Investigation, high concentrations of petroleum 
products in the soil, referred to as ``hot spots'', were also 
identified at four locations on the Lockheed Shipyard OU. These 
petroleum hot spots were considered to be potential sources of 
contamination to the groundwater.
    Contaminants found in the groundwater included benzene, 
tetrachloroethylene, copper, lead, and zinc. Since the groundwater at 
Harbor Island is not a drinking water source, groundwater contaminants 
do not pose a risk to human health. However, groundwater contaminants 
which reach the shoreline and enter the adjacent surface water are of 
concern because of their potential adverse effects on marine organisms. 
Groundwater modeling conducted during the Remedial Investigation 
indicate that it is unlikely that groundwater contaminants would reach 
the shoreline at concentrations exceeding the marine chronic criteria 
in less than 50 years.
    A Record of Decision (ROD) for the Lockheed Shipyard OU was signed 
EPA's Regional Administrator on June 28, 1994. The ROD established 
cleanup levels for arsenic, lead, PAHs, and petroleum in soil based on 
standards in the State of Washington Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA). 
The ROD also established the marine chronic criteria as the cleanup 
goal for groundwater at the shoreline, which would be protective of 
marine organisms. The main components of the selected remedy were: (1) 
excavation and treatment of petroleum hot spot soil by thermal 
desorption, (2) placing three inches of asphalt over exposed soil 
contaminated above MTCA cleanup goals, (3) consolidating and capping 
sandblast grit on-site or disposing the grit off-site, and (4) 
monitoring groundwater quality semi-annually to verify that response 
actions taken will prevent groundwater contaminants from reaching the 
shoreline at concentrations which exceed the marine chronic criteria.
    The selected remedy was completed by Lockheed Martin in September 
1995. Confirmational soil sampling conducted after completing the 
remedy demonstrates that no significant risk to public health or the 
environment is posed by residual levels of contamination remaining in 
the soil. Groundwater monitoring conducted to date indicate that 
groundwater contaminant have not reached the shoreline at 
concentrations exceeding the marine chronic criteria. Semi-annual 
groundwater monitoring will be conducted at the Lockheed Shipyard until 
it is confirmed that groundwater contaminants will not exceed the

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marine chronic criteria at the shoreline in the future.

C. Community Involvement

    During the remedial activities at the Site, including the Lockheed 
Shipyard OU, EPA kept the community informed of its cleanup actions 
primarily through fact sheets, public meetings, and newspaper articles. 
EPA representatives met with facility owners and operators, local 
officials, and interested members of the community in order to develop 
a Community Relations Plan. EPA representatives also met several times 
with the Potentially Responsible Parties to discuss their potential 
liability for cleanup at the Site. A Proposed Plan for the Lockheed OU 
was issued on April 22, 1994, and subject to public comment for 30 
days. This Proposed Plan was mailed to individuals on EPA's mailing 
list and was also announced in a local newspaper notice. EPA also held 
a public meeting on the Proposed Plan in EPA's regional office in 
Seattle on May 11, 1994. EPA responded to all comments received in the 
Responsiveness Summary, which is attached to the ROD.

D. Current Status

    One of the three criteria for deletion specifies that EPA may 
delete a site from the NPL if ``Responsible parties or other persons 
have implemented all appropriate response actions required.'' EPA, with 
concurrence of Ecology, believes that this criterion for deletion has 
been met for the Lockheed Shipyard OU. Groundwater quality will be 
monitored semi-annually to verify that response actions taken will 
prevent groundwater contaminants from reaching the shoreline at 
concentrations which exceed the marine chronic criteria. Five-year 
reviews will be conducted by EPA to evaluate trends in groundwater 
contamination until it has been determined that cleanup goals will not 
be exceeded at the shoreline and that additional groundwater monitoring 
is not necessary.
    While EPA does not believe that any future response actions in OU 
No. 3 will be needed, if future conditions warrant such action, the 
proposed deletion area of the Harbor Island site remains eligible for 
future Fund-financed response actions. Furthermore, this partial 
deletion does not alter the status of OU Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the 
Site which are not proposed for deletion and remain on the NPL.
    EPA, with concurrence from the State of Washington, has determined 
that all appropriate CERCLA response actions have been completed at OU 
No. 3 of the Harbor Island site and protection of human health and the 
environment has been achieved in this area. Therefore, EPA makes this 
proposal to delete only OU No. 3 of the Harbor Island Superfund site 
from the NPL.

    Dated: August 28, 1996.
Charles E. Findley,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 10.

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[FR Doc. 96-22646 Filed 9-4-96; 8:45 am]
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