[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 189 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50788-50793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24587]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5615-4]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent for partial deletion of the Lakewood Site from 
the national priorities list.

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 
10 announces its intent to delete the soil unit of the Lakewood Site 
located in Lakewood (Pierce County), Washington, from the National 
Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this action. The 
NPL constitutes Appendix B to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances 
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR Part 300, which EPA 
promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This partial 
deletion of the Lakewood Site is proposed in accordance with 40 CFR 
300.425(e) and the Notice of Policy Change: Partial Deletion of Sites 
Listed on the National Priorities List. 60 FR 55466 (Nov. 1, 1995).
    This proposal for partial deletion pertains to the soil unit and 
includes all contaminated soil/sludge on the Plaza Cleaners (a dry 
cleaner) property, which was the source of the soil and ground-water 
contamination at the Lakewood Site. A plume of contaminated ground 
water, resulting from former disposal practices at the dry cleaner, is 
treated via air stripping at the Lakewood Water District production 
wells. The ground-water unit will remain on the NPL, and treatment via 
air stripping will continue at the Lakewood Water District production 
wells. EPA bases its proposal to delete the soil unit at the Lakewood 
Site on the determination by EPA and the State of Washington Department 
of Ecology (Ecology), that all appropriate actions under CERCLA have 
been completed to protect human health, welfare and the environment 
related to soil contamination at the site.

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

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Ms. Ann Williamson, Superfund 
Site Manager, U.S. EPA, Region 10 (M/S ECL-113), 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle, Washington 98101, 1-800-424-4372 or (206) 553-2739.

INFORMATION REPOSITORIES: Comprehensive information on the Lakewood 
Site as well as information specific to this proposed partial deletion 
is available for review at EPA's Region 10 office in Seattle, 
Washington, and at the information repositories listed below. Since 
this site predates the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act 
(SARA), no Administrative Record exists; however, the Site File and the 
Deletion Docket for this partial deletion are maintained at EPA Region 
10's Regional Office Superfund Records Center, 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Seattle, Washington 98101. The Record Center's hours of operation are 
8:30-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, and the Records Center staff can be 
reached at (206) 553-4494.
    Other information repositories where the Deletion Docket is 
available for public review include:

Lakewood Library, 6300 Wildaire Road Southwest, Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma Public Library, 1102 Tacoma Avenue, Northwest Room, Tacoma, 
Washington.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Williamson, 206-553-2739.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 
announces its intent to delete a portion of the Lakewood Site, located 
in Lakewood (Pierce County), Washington, from the National Priorities 
List (NPL), which constitutes Appendix B of the National Oil and 
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR Part 300, 
and requests comments on this proposal. This proposal for partial 
deletion pertains to the soil unit, and includes all contaminated soil/
sludge on the Plaza Cleaners (a dry cleaner) property, which was the 
source of the soil and ground-water contamination at the site. A plume 
of contaminated ground water, resulting from former disposal practices 
at the dry cleaner, is treated via air stripping at the Lakewood Water 
District production wells. The primary contaminant in soil was 
perchloroethylene (PERC). The soil unit was confined to an area on the 
Plaza Cleaners property. The site boundary, including the plume of 
contaminated ground water, is predominantly residential to the north of 
the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks and commercial/light industrial 
along the Pacific Highway. Lakewood Water District's two production 
wells are located on a fenced site immediately south of Plaza Cleaners, 
across Interstate 5. Residential property lies to the east, and McChord 
Air Force Base to the southeast of the wells.
    In July 1981, EPA sampled drinking water wells in the Tacoma area 
for contamination by volatile organic compounds. The tests indicated 
that the Lakewood Water District production wells, H1 and H2, were 
contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PERC), 
and cis-1,2 dichloroethylene (cis-1,2 DCE). In August 1981, the 
Lakewood Water District took these wells temporarily out of production 
and notified its customers of the problem. EPA installed 24 monitoring 
wells, and contaminated surficial soil in the source area was 
excavated. Following the shutdown of the wells, the Washington State 
Department of Ecology (Ecology) and EPA conducted several 
investigations and cleanup activities. Soil on the Plaza Cleaners 
property was contaminated with PERC, a solvent that Plaza Cleaners used 
in their dry cleaning process.

[[Page 50789]]

Ecology determined that solvents used in the dry cleaning process were 
dumped onto the ground and into three on-site, bottomless septic tanks, 
causing the soil contamination. Ecology sampled septic tanks on the 
Plaza Cleaners property between October 1981 and January 1983. The 
Lakewood Site was added to the NPL on December 30, 1982.
    In April 1983, Ecology issued an enforcement order requiring Plaza 
Cleaners to cease dumping solvent-containing materials into the septic 
system. A stipulated agreement for remedial action was reached between 
Ecology and Plaza Cleaners in September, 1983. Plaza Cleaners agreed to 
discontinue their prior solvent disposal practices, install a system 
for reclaiming cleaning solvents, and send drummed waste water and 
sludge to a suitable off-site disposal facility. The contents of the 
septic tanks were removed and the tanks backfilled to reduce the 
potential for further contamination during the EPA remedial action. 
Plaza Cleaners successfully fulfilled the terms of the agreement.
    In May 1984, EPA completed a focused feasibility study identifying 
an interim remedial action (IRM) needed to address those contaminant 
problems posing the most immediate threat at the site. The objectives 
of the IRM were to: (1) restrict the spread of contamination within the 
aquifer; (2) restore normal water service to the area; (3) and, 
initiate ground-water treatment as quickly as possible. By November 15, 
1984, two air strippers had been installed to treat wells H1 and H2 and 
were fully operational following implementation of the IRM.
    EPA's contractor conducted a remedial investigation from August 
1984 to July 1985 to further determine the extent of ground-water 
contamination at the site, test the soil at Plaza Cleaners for 
remaining contaminants, and determine whether other sources were 
contributing to the ground-water problem. The field work conducted 
during the RI included:
     Installation of nine deep and three shallow monitoring 
wells to provide a comprehensive picture of the ground-water regime 
(e.g. flow patterns, hydraulic connections between layers); determine 
the nature/extent of ground-water contamination; and, identify possible 
sources of the contamination.
     Excavation of the waste line at Plaza Cleaners and 
drilling of seven soil borings to determine the extent/character of 
remaining sources of contamination at Plaza Cleaners, and to determine 
if other sources besides Plaza Cleaners exist.
     Collection of samples for field and laboratory analysis to 
determine the extent/concentration of soil and aquifer contamination 
within the study area.
    The dry cleaning operation's discharge of solvents into its 
bottomless (i.e. permeable) septic system and the disposal of other 
wastes containing solvents onto the ground outside their building were 
suspected of causing the soil and ground-water contamination. It was 
later confirmed that contamination had resulted from effluent 
discharges from septic tanks behind the Plaza Cleaners building and 
sludge disposal on the ground surface. Ecology found that supernatant 
(liquid overlying material deposited by settling or precipitation) in 
the dry cleaner's septic system contained 550 parts per billion (ppb) 
PERC and 29 ppb TCE.
    Data for the two production wells (H1 and H2) ranged from 100 to 
500 ppb PERC prior to initiating the ground-water treatment. 
Contaminant concentrations decreased rapidly after several days of 
pumping, and have continued to decrease. Maximum and mean 
concentrations in other ground-water monitoring wells within the study 
area prior to treatment were: PERC--922 ppb and 16 ppb, respectively, 
and: TCE--57 ppb and 3 ppb, respectively. The only detected 
concentration for cis-1,2 DCE was 85 ppb in a monitoring well 
upgradient of the production wells.
    The RI indicated that PERC contamination in soil was highest where 
solvent-contaminated wastes were intentionally disposed on the ground 
surface. Except for several small pockets of contamination, most of the 
PERC from the soil borings and test pit was located in the upper 12 to 
13 feet of soil in the immediate vicinity of the dry cleaner's septic 
tanks and drain field. Where it was detected, PERC concentrations 
ranged from 11 to 3,800 ppb. The average PERC concentration in soil was 
500 ppb. Maximum TCE and cis-1,2 DCE concentrations in soil were 5 ppb 
and 4 ppb, respectively.
    The feasibility study for the Lakewood site was published in July 
1985, and the ROD was signed shortly thereafter on September 30, 1985.
    The remedy selected in the ROD consisted of the following major 
elements:
     Continued operation of the H1-H2 production wells' 
treatment system to cleanup the aquifer. Installation of higher 
efficiency equipment or modification of existing energy reducing 
equipment used in the treatment system.
     Installation of additional monitoring wells, upgrading of 
existing wells, and continuation of routine sampling and analysis of 
the aquifer to monitor progress and provide early warning of potential 
new contaminants.
     Excavation and removal of contaminated septic tanks and 
drain field piping to avoid the possible spread of contamination via 
uncontrolled excavation (i.e., future property development). The septic 
tanks were found to be bottomless, and, therefore, they were not 
removed.
     Placement of administrative restrictions on the 
installation and use of ground-water wells and on excavation into the 
contaminated soils to minimize the potential for use of contaminated 
ground water and reduce the risks associated with uncontrolled 
excavation.
    An amended ROD was signed on November 14, 1986. All of the selected 
remedies and administrative restrictions in the September 30, 1985 ROD 
for the aquifer unit remained the same. Additions or modifications to 
the soil unit cleanup were as follows:
     Installation of an SVES covering the area of soil 
contamination over and around the historical drain field on-site to 
extract PERC from the remaining contaminated soil.
     Reduction in the amount of septic tank contents to be 
removed and treated off-site. At that time, the capability of off-site 
disposal consistent with the CERCLA off-site policy was not available 
within Region 10 for the proposed 900 cubic yards of soil requiring 
removal, as called for in the original ROD. Therefore, contaminated 
solids and any water were removed from the septic tanks and disposed 
off-site. The remainder of the contaminated soil within the septic 
tanks and around the historical drain field was treated via SVES. 
During implementation of the remedy in the original ROD, the septic 
tanks were found to be bottomless, were left in place, and the soil 
treated via SVES.
     Soil and vapor testing continued until soil treatment was 
deemed complete.
    In 1987, the SVES was installed within the contaminated area to 
extract PERC from the shallow unsaturated soil at the site. Soil 
sampling in 1990 indicated elevated concentrations of PERC at about 12 
feet below the surface. Based on concerns that the SVES would not be 
able to reduce PERC concentrations below the 500 ppb cleanup level, EPA 
excavated the contaminated sludge and soil from the area, and disposed 
of it off-site. On-site soil remediation activities were completed in 
July 1992, including the dismantling and decommissioning of the SVES. 
Subsequent sampling

[[Page 50790]]

confirmed that attainment of the 500 ppb soil cleanup goal had been 
achieved. No further action is necessary to protect human health and 
the environment in relation to soil contamination at the Site.
    Cleanup goals for the site contaminants were identified in an 
Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) published on September 15, 
1992. EPA published ground-water cleanup levels at 5.0 ppb for PERC and 
TCE, and 70 ppb for cis-1,2 DCE consistent with the federal maximum 
contaminant levels (MCLs). These concentrations are also the cleanup 
standards under the State of Washington's Model Toxics Control Act 
(MTCA) regulations Methods A and B. The soil cleanup level for PERC was 
set at 500 ppb, in compliance with MTCA Method A requirements (based on 
protection of ground water), is within EPA's acceptable risk range of 
10-4 to 10-6, and is protective of ground water.
    The ESD also documented additional revisions needed in order to 
comply with the original ROD, amended ROD and regulatory requirements. 
The additional issues requiring revision were: (10 further remedial 
action necessary to remove the source of the contamination at the site, 
and (2) elimination of the requirement to implement institutional 
controls on land and ground-water use.
    The institutional controls requirement on soil, as called for in 
the ROD and amended ROD, was addressed in the ESD as follows:
     The success of the final soil remedial action eliminated 
the need for institutional controls on land use.
    EPA proposes to delete the soil unit because all appropriate CERCLA 
response activities have been completed in those areas where soil 
contamination exceeded the cleanup level. However, response activities 
at the groundwater unit are not yet complete, and the site will remain 
on the NPL and is not the subject of this partial deletion.
    The NPL is a list maintained by EPA of sites that EPA has 
determined present a significant risk to human health, welfare, or the 
environment. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of remedial actions 
financed by the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Fund). Pursuant to 40 
CFR Sec. 300.425(e) of the NCP, any site or portion of a site deleted 
from the NPL remains eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if 
conditions at the site warrant such action.
    EPA will accept comments concerning its intent for partial deletion 
for thirty (30) days after publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register and a newspaper of record.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP establishes the criteria that EPA uses to delete sites from 
the NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR Sec. 300.425(e), sites may be 
deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate to 
protect human health or the environment. In making such a determination 
pursuant to section 300.425 (e), EPA will consider, in consultation 
with the State, whether any of the following criteria have been met:
    Section 300.425(e)(1)(i). Responsible parties or other persons have 
implemented all appropriate response actions required; or
    Section 300.425(e)(1)(ii). All appropriate Fund-financed response 
under CERCLA has been implemented, and no further response action by 
responsible parties is appropriate; or
    Section 300.425(e)(1)(iii). The remedial investigation has shown 
that the release poses no significant threat to human 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 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 the 
soil unit at the Lakewood Site:
    (1) EPA has recommended the partial deletion and has prepared the 
relevant documents.
    (2) The State of Washington, through the Washington Department of 
Ecology, concurs with this partial deletion.
    (3) Concurrent with this national Notice of Intent for Partial 
Deletion, a notice has been published in a newspaper of record and has 
been distributed to appropriate federal, State, and local officials, 
and other interested parties. These notices announce a thirty (30) day 
public comment period on the deletion package, which commences on the 
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register and a 
newspaper of record.
    (4) EPA has made all relevant documents available at the 
information repositories listed previously.
    This Federal Register document, and a concurrent notice in a 
newspaper of record, announce the initiation of a thirty (30) day 
public comment period and the availability of the Notice of Intent for 
Partial Deletion. The public is asked to comment on EPA's proposal to 
delete the soil unit from the NPL. All critical documents needed to 
evaluate EPA's decision are included in the Deletion Docket and are 
available for review at the EPA Region 10 information repositories.
    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. Members of the public are encouraged to contact EPA Region 
10 to obtain a copy of the Responsiveness Summary. 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 partial deletion 
in the Federal Register. Deletion of the soil unit does not actually 
occur until the final Notice of Partial Deletion is published in the 
Federal Register.

IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

    The following provides EPA's rationale for deletion of the soil 
unit from the NPL and EPA's finding that the criteria in 40 CFR 
Sec. 300.425(e) are satisfied.

Background

    The Lakewood Site is located in Lakewood (Pierce County), 
Washington and includes property upon which a business known as Plaza 
Cleaners has operated for several years. The regional aquifer is 
contaminated within about a 2,000-foot radius down gradient from the 
Plaza Cleaners.
    The area is predominantly residential to the north of the 
Burlington Northern Railroad tracks, and commercial/light industrial 
along the Pacific Highway. Lakewood Water District has two of its

[[Page 50791]]

production wells (H1 and H2) on a fenced site immediately south of 
Plaza Cleaners, across Interstate 5. Residential property lies to the 
east, and McChord Air Force Base to the southeast of the wells. In July 
1981, EPA sampled drinking water wells in the Tacoma area for 
contamination by volatile organic compounds. The tests indicated that 
the Lakewood Water District production wells, H1 and H2, were 
contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PERC), 
and cis-1,2 dichloroethylene (cis-1,2 DCE). In August 1981, the 
Lakewood Water District took these wells temporarily out of service and 
notified its customers of the problem. EPA installed 24 monitoring 
wells, and contaminated surficial soil in the source area was 
excavated. Following the shutdown of the wells, Ecology and EPA 
conducted several investigations and cleanup activities. Soil on the 
Plaza Cleaners property was contaminated with PERC, a solvent they used 
in their dry cleaning process. Ecology determined that solvents used in 
the dry cleaning process were dumped onto the ground and into three on-
site, bottomless septic tanks, causing contamination of the soil. 
Ecology sampled septic tanks on the Plaza Cleaners site between October 
1981 and January 1983. In April 1983, Ecology issued an enforcement 
order requiring Plaza Cleaners to cease dumping solvent-containing 
materials into the septic system. The contents of the septic tanks were 
later removed and the tanks backfilled to reduce the potential for 
further contamination during the EPA remedial action.
    In May 1984, EPA completed a focused feasibility study identifying 
an interim remedial action (IRM) needed to address those contaminant 
problems posing the most immediate threat at the site. The objectives 
of the IRM were to: (1) Restrict the spread of contamination within the 
aquifer; (2) restore normal water service to the area; (3) and, 
initiate ground-water treatment as quickly as possible. By November 15, 
1984, two air strippers had been installed to treat wells H1 and H2 and 
were fully operational following implementation of the IRM.
    EPA's contractor conducted a remedial investigation from August 
1984 to July 1985 to further determine the extent of ground-water 
contamination at the site, test the soil at Plaza Cleaners for 
remaining contaminants, and determine whether other sources were 
contributing to the ground-water problem. The field work conducted 
during the RI included:
     Installation of nine deep and three shallow monitoring 
wells to provide a comprehensive picture of the ground-water regime 
(e.g. flow patterns, hydraulic connections between layers); determine 
the nature/extent of ground-water contamination; and, identify possible 
sources of the contamination.
     Excavation of the waste line at Plaza Cleaners and 
drilling of seven soil borings to determine the extent/character of 
remaining sources of contamination at Plaza Cleaners, and to determine 
if other sources besides Plaza Cleaners exist.
     Collection of samples for field and laboratory analysis to 
determine the extent/concentration of soil and aquifer contamination 
within the study area.
    The dry cleaning operation's discharge of solvents into its 
bottomless (i.e. permeable) septic system and the disposal of other 
wastes containing solvents onto the ground outside their building were 
suspected of causing the soil and ground-water contamination. It was 
later confirmed that contamination had resulted from effluent 
discharges from septic tanks behind the Plaza Cleaners building and 
sludge disposal on the ground surface.
    Ecology found that supernatant (liquid overlying material deposited 
by settling or precipitation) in the dry cleaner's septic system 
contained 550 parts per billion (ppb) PERC and 29 ppb TCE.
    Data for the two production wells (H1 and H2) ranged from 100 to 
500 ppb PERC prior to initiating the ground-water treatment. 
Contaminant concentrations decreased rapidly after several days of 
pumping, and have continued to decrease. Maximum and mean 
concentrations in other ground-water monitoring wells within the study 
area prior to treatment were: PERC-922 ppb and 16 ppb, respectively, 
and: TCE-57 ppb and 3 ppb, respectively. The only detected 
concentration for cis-1,2 DCE was 85 ppb in a monitoring well 
upgradient of the production wells.
    The RI indicated that PERC contamination in soil was highest where 
solvent-contaminated wastes were intentionally disposed on the ground 
surface. Except for several small pockets of contamination, most of the 
PERC from the soil borings and test pit was located in the upper 12 to 
13 feet of soil in the immediate vicinity of the dry cleaner's septic 
tanks and drain field. Where it was detected, PERC concentrations 
ranged from 11 to 3,800 ppb. The average PERC concentration in soil was 
500 ppb. Maximum TCE and cis-1,2 DCE concentrations in soil were 5 ppb 
and 4 ppb, respectively.
    The feasibility study for the Lakewood site was published in July 
1985, and the ROD was signed shortly thereafter on September 30, 1985.
    The remedy selected in the ROD consisted of the following major 
elements:
     Continued operation of the H1-H2 production wells' 
treatment system to cleanup the aquifer. Installation of higher 
efficiency equipment or modification of existing energy reducing 
equipment used in the treatment system.
     Installation of additional monitoring wells, upgrading of 
existing wells, and continuation of routine sampling and analysis of 
the aquifer to monitor progress and provide early warning of potential 
new contaminants.
     Excavation and removal of contaminated septic tanks and 
drain field piping to avoid the possible spread of contamination via 
uncontrolled excavation (i.e., future property development). The septic 
tanks were found to be bottomless, and, therefore, they were not 
removed.
     Placement of administrative restrictions on the 
installation and use of ground-water wells and on excavation into the 
contaminated soils to minimize the potential for use of contaminated 
ground water and reduce the risks associated with uncontrolled 
excavation.
    An amended ROD was signed on November 14, 1986. All of the selected 
remedies and administrative restrictions in the September 30, 1985 ROD 
for the aquifer unit remained the same. Additions or modifications to 
the soil unit cleanup were as follows:
     Installation of an SVES covering the area of soil 
contamination over and around the historical drain field on-site to 
extract PERC from the remaining contaminated soil.
     Reduction in the amount of septic tank contents to be 
removed and treated off-site. At that time, the capability of off-site 
disposal consistent with the CERCLA off-site policy was not available 
within Region 10 for the proposed 900 cubic yards of soil requiring 
removal, as called for in the original ROD. Therefore, contaminated 
solids and any water were removed from the septic tanks and disposed 
off-site. The remainder of the contaminated soil within the septic 
tanks and around the historical drain field was treated via SVES. 
During implementation of the remedy in the original ROD, the septic 
tanks were found to be bottomless, were left in place, and the soil 
treated via SVES.
     Soil and vapor testing continued until soil treatment was 
deemed complete.

[[Page 50792]]

Final Response Actions

    In 1987, soils were excavated from inside and around the three 
septic tanks to remove the source of PERC contamination. An SVES was 
installed within the contaminated area to extract PERC from the shallow 
unsaturated soil at the site. Soil sampling in 1990 indicated elevated 
concentrations of PERC at about 12 feet below the surface.
    Cleanup goals for the site contaminants were identified in an 
Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) published on September 15, 
1992. EPA published ground-water cleanup levels at 5.0 ppb for PERC and 
TCE, and 70 ppb for cis-1,2 DCE consistent with the federal maximum 
contaminant levels (MCLs). These concentrations are also the cleanup 
standards under the State of Washington's Model Toxics Control Act 
(MTCA) regulations Methods A and B. The soil cleanup level for PERC was 
set at 500 ppb, in compliance with MTCA Method A requirements (based on 
protection of ground water), is within EPA's acceptable risk range of 
10-4 to 10-6, and is protective of ground water.
    The ESD also documented additional revisions needed in order to 
comply with the original ROD, amended ROD and regulatory requirements. 
The additional issues requiring revision were: (10 further remedial 
action necessary to remove the source of the contamination at the site, 
and (2) elimination of the requirement to implement institutional 
controls on land and ground-water use.
    The institutional controls requirement on soil, as called for in 
the ROD and amended ROD, was addressed in the ESD as follows:
     The success of the final soil remedial action eliminated 
the need for institutional controls on land use.
    Based on concerns that the SVES would not be able to reduce PERC 
concentrations below the cleanup level, EPA excavated the contaminated 
sludge and soil from the area, and disposed of it off-site. On-site 
soil remediation activities were completed in July 1992, including the 
dismantling of the SVES. Subsequent sampling confirmed that the 
attainment of the 500 ppb soil cleanup goal was achieved. No further 
action is necessary to protect human health and the environment in 
relation to soil contamination at the Site. EPA proposes to delete the 
soil unit because all appropriate CERCLA response activities have been 
completed in those areas where soil contamination exceeded cleanup 
levels.
    All of the response actions at the soil unit were conducted using 
funds from the Hazardous Substance Superfund.

Community Relations Activities

    Community interest in this site has been low. Most residents seem 
confident that the water they receive is safe. Most of the citizens 
concerned about contamination were not served by drinking water supply 
wells H1 and H2, but by other wells which they feared might be affected 
by the contamination at the site. There has been little press interest 
since the Lakewood Water District production wells, H1 and H2, were 
returned to use.
    A major goal of the Community Relations Section was to inform 
residents of the status of the remedial activities. EPA sent letters to 
property owners and well-drillers advising them not to drink from 
private wells or drill new wells in the zone of contamination. EPA has 
mailed fact sheets to local residents since 1984, most recently in 
September, 1992.

Current Status

    Final on-site soil remediation activities were completed in July 
1992. Contaminated sludge and soil was excavated to a maximum depth of 
18 feet. Attainment of the 500 ppb soil cleanup level has been 
achieved.
    While EPA does not believe that any future response actions in the 
soil unit will be needed, if future conditions warrant such action, the 
proposed deletion area of the Lakewood Site remains eligible for future 
Fund-financed response actions. Furthermore, this partial deletion does 
not alter the status of the groundwater unit of the Lakewood Site which 
is not proposed for deletion and remains on the NPL.
    The State of Washington, through the Department of Ecology, has 
concurred on EPA's final determination regarding the partial deletion.

    Dated: September 17, 1996.
Chuck Clarke,
Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
10.

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P

[[Page 50793]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP27SE96.010


[FR Doc. 96-24587 Filed 9-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-C