[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 212 (Thursday, October 31, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56197-56199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27830]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5642-5]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Triangle Chemical Company 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 announces 
its intent to delete the Triangle Chemical Company Superfund Site 
(Site) from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public 
comments on this proposed action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 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 deletion of the Site is proposed in accordance with 40 
CFR 300.425(e).
    EPA bases its proposal to delete the Site on the determination by 
EPA and the State of Texas, through the Texas Natural Resource 
Conservation Commission (TNRCC), that all appropriate Hazardous 
Substance Superfund (Fund) financed response under CERCLA for the Site 
has been implemented to protect public health and the environment and 
that no further response action by responsible parties is appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning this proposed partial deletion may be 
submitted on or before December 2, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Mr. Donn R. Walters, Community 
Relations Coordinator (6SF-P), U.S. EPA Region 6, Suite 1200, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, (800) 533-3508 or (214) 665-6483.
    Comprehensive information concerning the Site, as well as 
information specific to this proposed deletion, is available through 
the EPA Region 6 public docket at EPA's Region 6 office in Dallas, 
Texas. The Administrative Record for the Site and the Deletion Docket 
for this proposed partial deletion are maintained at the Site 
information repositories listed below. Public docket items and Site 
information repository items are available for public inspection and 
copying. The relevant locations are as follows:

U.S. EPA Region 6, Library (6MD-II), Suite 1200, 1445 Ross Avenue, 
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, (214) 665-6424 or 665-6427, hours of 
operation: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding 
holidays.
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Technical Park Center, 
Room 190, Building D, 12118 North IH 35, Austin, Texas 78753, (512) 239 
2920, hours of operation: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 
excluding holidays.
Orange Public Library, 2200 North Fifth Street, Orange, Texas 77630, 
(409) 883-1086, hours of operation: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Mondays and 
Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9:00 a.m. 
to 1:00 p.m. Saturdays, excluding holidays.
City Hall, City of Bridge City, 260 Rachal Street, Bridge City, Texas 
77611, (409) 735-6801, hours of operation: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ernest R. Franke, Project Manager 
(6SF-AT), U.S. EPA Region 6, Suite 1200, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, 
Texas 75202-2733, (214) 665-8521.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

Appendix

A. List of Deletion Docket Contents
B. Site Coordinate Boundaries

I. Introduction

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 announces its 
intent to delete the Triangle Chemical Company Superfund Site (Site) 
from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comments on 
this proposed action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 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), 42 U.S.C. 9605. EPA identifies sites that appear to present a 
significant risk to public health 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 (Fund). 
This deletion of the Site is proposed in accordance with 40 CFR 
300.425(e). As described in 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3), releases deleted from 
the NPL remain eligible for further remedial actions if warranted by 
future conditions.
    EPA will accept comments concerning its intent for deletion on or 
before October 31, 1996.
    Section II of this notice explains the criteria for deleting sites 
from the NPL. Section III discusses the procedures that EPA is using 
for this proposed deletion. Section IV discusses the Site and explains 
how the Site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP establishes the criteria that EPA uses to delete sites from 
the NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be deleted 
from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In making such a 
determination pursuant to Sec. 300.425(e), EPA will consider, in 
consultation with the appropriate 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;

[[Page 56198]]

    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 public health or the 
environment and, therefore, taking remedial measures is not 
appropriate.
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility for 
subsequent Fund-financed actions for the portion 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. In addition, deletion 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.
    Even if a site is deleted from the NPL, where hazardous substances, 
pollutants or contaminants remain at the site above levels that allow 
for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, EPA's policy is that a 
subsequent review of the site will be conducted at least every five 
years after the initiation of the remedial action at the site to ensure 
that the site remains protective of public health and the environment. 
If new information becomes available which indicates a need for further 
action, EPA may initiate remedial actions. Whenever there is a 
significant release from a site deleted from the NPL, the site may be 
restored to the NPL without application of the hazard ranking system. 
Deletion of a site from the NPL does not of itself create, alter or 
revoke any person's rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for informational purposes and to assist EPA management.

III. Deletion Procedures

    Upon determination that at least one of the criteria described in 
Sec. 300.425(e) of the NCP has been met, EPA may formally begin 
deletion procedures. The following procedures were used for this 
proposed deletion of the Site:
    (1) EPA consulted with the State of Texas through the Texas Natural 
Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) on the proposed deletion prior 
to developing this notice;
    (2) EPA recommended the proposed deletion;
    (3) TNRCC concurred with the proposed deletion more than thirty 
working days before publication of this notice in the Federal Register;
    (4) concurrently with publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, a notice will be published in a major local newspaper of 
general circulation at or near the Site and will be distributed to 
appropriate federal, state and local officials and other interested 
parties, which notices will announce a thirty calendar day public 
comment period on the deletion package and will announce the 
availability of copies of this notice of intent to delete at the EPA 
Region 6 library and the information repositories; and
    (5) EPA made all relevant documents available at the EPA Region 6 
library and the information repositories listed above, which documents 
are available for public inspection and copying.
    The public is invited to comment on EPA's proposal to delete the 
Site from the NPL.
    Upon completion of the thirty calendar day public comment period, 
EPA Region 6 will evaluate each significant comment and any significant 
new data received before issuing a final decision concerning the 
proposed deletion. EPA will prepare a responsiveness summary for each 
significant comment and any significant new data received during the 
public comment period and will address concerns presented in such 
comments and data. The responsiveness summary will be made available to 
the public at the EPA Region 6 library and the information repositories 
listed above and will be included in the final deletion package. 
Members of the public are encouraged to contact EPA Region 6 to obtain 
a copy of the responsiveness summary. If, after review of all such 
comments and data, EPA determines that the deletion from the NPL is 
appropriate, EPA will publish a final notice of deletion in the Federal 
Register. Deletion of the Site does not actually occur until a final 
notice of deletion is published in the Federal Register. A copy of the 
final deletion package will be placed in the EPA Region 6 library and 
the information repositories listed above after a final notice has been 
published in the Federal Register.

IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

    The following information provides EPA's rationale for deletion of 
the Site from the NPL and explains EPA's finding that the proposed 
deletion satisfies 40 CFR 300.425(e) requirements:
    Triangle Chemical Company is a 2.3 acre tract of land located on 
Texas State Highway 87 approximately one-half mile north of the 
junction of Texas State Highway 87 and Texas State Highway 62 north of 
Bridge City, Texas.
    Triangle Chemical Company operated a chemical mixing and blending 
facility from the early 1970s until 1981. Triangle Chemical Company's 
production consisted of automobile brake fluid, windshield washer 
solvent, hand cleaners, pesticides and various types of industrial 
cleaning compounds. The waste management and general housekeeping 
practices were very poor, resulting in leaks and spills from numerous 
drums and tanks onsite. Local residents reported seven fish kills that 
occurred from March 1976 to October 1982.
    Investigations by the Texas Department of Water Resources (TDWR), 
the predecessor agency to the Texas Water Commission (TWC) which is now 
the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), indicated 
that the fish kills resulted from discharges of hazardous materials 
from the Site. In August 1981, the TDWR obtained a temporary injunction 
against Triangle Chemical Company concerning untreated discharges from 
the Site and other violations of pollution control laws. In October 
1981, TDWR found that the Site had been abandoned. The Site included 
five buildings and thirty large tanks, eleven of which tanks contained 
hazardous liquids totaling 51,000 gallons. Raw materials and finished 
products were stored in bulk surface tanks and fifty-five-gallon drums. 
There were also 1,095 drums and approximately 350 cubic yards of 
contaminated soil and trash, all of which were left in an unsecured 
condition.
    In April 1982, EPA initiated an immediate removal action to impede 
public access to these hazardous materials. This action consisted of 
construction of a six foot high chain link fence topped with barbed 
wire around the material storage area, posting of warning signs around 
the Site and construction a drainage canal in front of the main drum 
storage area to control runoff.
    EPA initiated a planned removal action in August 1982 to remove 
drums and contaminated trash and soil. This removal operation was 
limited to the drum staging and crushing area. The wastes removed 
during this action were taken to the approved hazardous waste disposal 
facility owned by Chemical Waste Management, Inc., located at Port 
Arthur, Texas, and included 21,000 gallons of liquids, 350 cubic yards 
of contaminated soil and trash and 1,095 drums.
    The remedial investigation revealed specific zones of soil 
contamination as determined by elevated volatile organic measurements; 
however, the depth of contaminated soils varied within the zones. Most 
of the bands of

[[Page 56199]]

contaminants began at one to two and one-half feet below the ground 
surface and did not extend beyond six and one-half feet in depth. In 
addition, fifteen large storage tanks contained potentially hazardous 
materials. Continued deterioration of these abandoned tanks could have 
contributed to further contamination through leaks and spills. 
Contaminated refuse was present in the form of shipping and packing 
materials contaminated by product spills and small containers of unused 
products. These products were scattered through the buildings. 
Unauthorized entry on this Site could have resulted in human exposure 
to the potentially contaminated refuse.
    Roy F. Weston, Inc., (Weston) began a feasibility study in August 
1984 and completed it in March 1985. WESTON conducted a pilot study 
from February 3, 1985, through February 14, 1985, on a small area of 
the Triangle Chemical Company Site to demonstrate and evaluate the 
effectiveness of mechanical aeration for contaminant removal from the 
soils. Mechanical aeration was performed on three lifts of soil and was 
shown to be an effective method of reducing volatile compounds to 
background levels.
    The Record of Decision (ROD) was signed by the EPA Regional 
Administrator on June 11, 1985, based on the administrative record for 
the Site including, but not limited to, findings from the remedial 
investigation, evaluations of the treatment alternatives reviewed 
during the feasibility study and the results of the pilot study for the 
Site. The ROD provides for offsite incineration and deep well injection 
of the contents of the storage tanks and drums, offsite landfill 
disposal for storage tank sludges, decontamination of all onsite 
structures, offsite landfill disposal of trash and debris and onsite 
mechanical aeration of the contaminated soils to remove volatile 
compounds to background levels. The ROD states EPA's conclusion that 
the decontamination of soil to background levels would effectively 
mitigate the potential for future ground water contamination. The ROD 
provides for monitoring to verify that the ground water is not impacted 
by the remedial construction.
    TNRCC advertised for bids for the remedial action cleanup 
activities and opened the bids on August 15, 1986. The contract was 
awarded to ENSCO Environmental Services (ENSCO). After approval of its 
operations plan and other submittals, ENSCO was issued a notice to 
proceed on January 2, 1987. ENSCO mobilized for the cleanup activities 
on January 13, 1987. TNRCC's engineer representative at the Site for 
inspection and project administrative services was WESTON.
    ENSCO performed mechanical aeration by tilling the soils. In 
addition, contents of drums, tanks and containers were analyzed and 
classified to determine reactivity groups. The compatible liquids were 
transferred to larger tanks and transported offsite as documented in 
WESTON's June 1987 final report. ENSCO's activities also included the 
cleaning of the remaining buildings and the decontamination of the in-
place tanks and process equipment by a triple rinse process.
    The analytical results since 1988 show that concentration levels 
for indicator compounds in monitoring wells MW-6, MW-7 and MW-11 move 
within an established range and are dependant upon rainfall and tides. 
None of the six indicator compounds was detected in samples from 
monitoring wells MW-1, MW-3, MW-5 or MW-10 during operation and 
maintenance (O&M). There is no indication of horizonal or vertical 
migration of the contaminant plume at the Site. Wells MW-3 and MW-9, 
down gradient to MW-6 and adjacent to the nearby bayou, have not been 
affected. This lack of movement is due to low primary permeability of 
the aquifer and limited ground water flow velocity. Modeling was done 
at this Site in a supplemental ground water investigation in 1988. No 
evidence has yet been presented that would change the conclusion from 
that investigation that it would take over seventy years for a particle 
of hazardous substance to move 160 feet. During particle movement, a 
preponderance of the material would be attracted to the organic carbon 
in the organic clays and silts. Analytical results do not indicate an 
increase in concentrations of the six indicator compounds or other 
volatile organic compounds in ground water at the Site during past O&M. 
The slight variations in concentrations of contaminants among quarterly 
sampling events may be attributed to changes in water level elevations 
and movement during periods of above or below normal precipitation. 
Should aquifer conditions change during continued ground water 
monitoring, the Site can be reinstated as a Superfund site.
    The shallow aquifer in the vicinity of the Site is brackish, 
odoriferous and not otherwise suitable as a potable water supply. The 
shallow aquifer was initially estimated to yield 1.2 gallons per 
minute; however, it is specifically noted in the reports of Weston and 
others involved in these sampling activities that all of the shallow 
monitoring wells at the Site were bailed dry in attempting to achieve 
three well volumes prior to sampling.
    The shallow aquifer at the Site is not currently used for drinking 
or other water usage, and is it not likely that it will be so used due 
to high total dissolved solids. This upper shallow aquifer is separated 
from the deeper fresh water aquifer by a thick clay layer which 
effectively prevents vertical migration of contamination and protects 
the lower drinking water aquifers. A pump test and other sampling 
conducted during the supplemental investigation and sampling to date 
confirm that there is no communication between upper and lower water-
bearing zones.
    Delisting requirements for the Site have been met. Specifically, 
confirmatory sampling has verified that the ROD cleanup objectives have 
been achieved. All cleanup actions specified in the ROD have been 
implemented. The remaining activity to be performed is continuing O&M 
which has been guaranteed by the State of Texas.
    EPA and TNRCC have committed to monitoring wells MW-3, MW-6, MW-7, 
MW-9 and MW-11 for thirty years. If the plume moves away from MW-6, 
either north to MW-3 or MW-9, northeast to MW-11, or downward to MW-7, 
the Site can be reinstated as a Superfund site. Such reinstatement 
would not require application of the hazard ranking system. Based on 
the facts presented above, EPA proposes that the Site be delisted and 
removed from the National Priorities List.
    EPA, with concurrence of the State of Texas, has determined that 
all appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA at the Triangle 
Chemical Company Superfund Site has been implemented to protect public 
health and the environment and that no further response action by 
responsible parties is appropriate.

    Dated: October 9, 1996.
Jerry Clifford,
Deputy Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 6.
[FR Doc. 96-27830 Filed 10-30-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P