[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 1997)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 5950-5953] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-2994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 300 [FRL-5684-8] National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. [[Page 5951]] ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Conklin Dumps site from the National Priorities List: Request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II announces its intent to delete the Conklin Dumps site from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this action. The NPL is 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 New York have determined that no further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate under CERCLA. Moreover, EPA and the State have determined that CERCLA activities conducted at the Conklin Dumps to date have been protective of public health, welfare, and the environment. DATES: Comments concerning the deletion of the Conklin Dumps site from the NPL may be submitted on or before March 12, 1997. ADDRESSES: Comments concerning the deletion of the Conklin Dumps site from the NPL may be submitted to: Arnold R. Bernas, P.E., Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, 290 Broadway, 20th floor, New York, NY 10007-1866. Comprehensive information on the Conklin Dumps site is contained in the EPA Region II public docket, which is located at EPA's Region II office (the 18th floor), and is available for viewing, by appointment only, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. For further information, or to request an appointment to review the public docket, please contact Mr. Bernas at (212) 637-3964. Background information from the Regional public docket is also available for viewing at the Conklin Dumps site's Administrative Record repository located at: Conklin Town Hall, 1271 Conklin Road, Conklin, NY 13748. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arnold Bernas at (212) 637-3964. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents I. Introduction II. NPL Deletion Criteria III. Deletion Procedures IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion I. Introduction EPA Region II announces its intent to delete the Conklin Dumps site from the NPL and requests public comment on this action. The NPL is Appendix B to the NCP, which EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of CERCLA, as amended. 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 (RAs) financed by the Hazardous Substances Superfund Response Trust Fund (the ``Fund''). Pursuant to Sec. 300.425 (e)(3) of the NCP, any site deleted from the NPL remains eligible for Fund-financed RAs, if conditions at such site warrant action. EPA will accept comments concerning the Conklin Dumps site for thirty (30) days after publication of this document in the Federal Register (until March 12, 1997). 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 action. Section IV discusses how the Conklin Dumps 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 Sec. 300.425 (e), sites may be deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In making this determination, EPA, in consultation with the State, will consider whether any of the following criteria have been met: 1. That responsible or other persons have implemented all appropriate response actions required; or 2. All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have been implemented, and no further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate; or 3. 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. III. Deletion Procedures The NCP provides that EPA shall not delete a site from the NPL until the State in which the release was located has concurred, and the public has been afforded an opportunity to comment on the proposed deletion. Deletion of a site from the NPL does not affect responsible party liability or impede agency efforts to recover costs associated with response efforts. The NPL is designed primarily for informational purposes and to assist agency management. The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of the Conklin Dumps site: 1. EPA Region II has recommended deletion and has prepared the relevant documents. 2. The State of New York has concurred with the deletion decision. 3. Concurrent with this Notice of Intent to Delete, a notice has been published in local newspapers and has been distributed to appropriate federal, state and local officials, and other interested parties. This notice announces a thirty (30)-day public comment period on the deletion package starting on February 10, 1997 and concluding on March 12, 1997. 4. The Region has made all relevant documents available in the regional office and the local site information repository. EPA Region II will accept and evaluate public comments and prepare a Responsiveness Summary, which will address the comments received, before a final decision is made. The Agency believes that deletion procedures should focus on notice and comment at the local level. Comments from the local community may be most pertinent to deletion decisions. If, after consideration of these comments, EPA decides to proceed with deletion, the EPA Regional Administrator will place a Notice of Deletion in the Federal Register. The NPL will reflect any deletions in the next update. Public notices and copies of the Responsiveness Summary will be made available to the public by EPA Region II. IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion Site History and Background The Conklin Dumps site originally consisted of two landfilled areas totaling about 37 acres, referred to as the Upper and Lower Landfills. The Lower Landfill, which was operated between 1964 and 1969, contained approximately 48,000 cubic yards of wastes before it was excavated and consolidated with the Upper Landfill. The Upper Landfill, which originally contained approximately 55,000 cubic yards of waste, was operated from 1969 until 1975, when a closure order was issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The property is currently owned by the Town of Conklin. A two-phase hydrogeologic investigation was completed by O'Brien and Gere Engineers for the Broome County Industrial Development Agency in 1984 and 1985; additional field work was performed in 1986. In June 1986, the site was nominated for inclusion on the National Priorities List. In June 1987, a Consent Order was signed [[Page 5952]] between the Town of Conklin and NYSDEC, which covered the performance of a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) and the remedial design (RD)/remedial action (RA). The RI, which was completed in December 1988, indicated limited ground-water contamination in the immediate vicinity of the Upper Landfill. Confirmatory sampling, performed in June 1990, confirmed the RI findings and provided additional validated data. An FS report was completed in January 1991. EPA, in consultation with NYSDEC, issued a Proposed Plan on February 3, 1991. A public comment period began on February 4, 1991 and extended until March 6, 1991. A public meeting was held at the Conklin Town Hall on February 25, 1991. A ROD, which was signed by the EPA Regional Administrator on March 29, 1991, called for, among other things, capping of the Upper Landfill and the Lower Landfill in-place, leachate collection, either on- or off-site treatment of the leachate, and long-term monitoring. During preliminary design activities associated with the selected remedy, it was determined that the construction of a leachate collection trench and cap at the Lower Landfill would present significant engineering difficulties due to the proximity of an adjacent wetland and railroad tracks. In order to eliminate the leachate seeps at the Lower Landfill, it would be necessary to install a leachate collection system below the water table. A leachate collection system installed below the water table, however, would collect vast amounts of uncontaminated ground water and could adversely impact the adjacent wetland by dewatering a portion of it, unless hydraulic barriers were installed (which in itself could adversely impact the wetland). In addition, installing a cap on the Lower Landfill could negatively impact the adjacent wetland in that it would encroach on the wetland. Due to these technical feasibility and environmental concerns, the selected remedy was modified by an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) in September 1992. The modified remedy consists of the excavation of the Lower Landfill, consolidation of the excavated Lower Landfill contents onto the Upper Landfill, capping of the Upper Landfill, construction of a leachate collection system, and either on- or off-site treatment of the leachate. Lower Landfill The RD associated with the excavation of the Lower Landfill and consolidation of the excavated wastes onto the Upper Landfill commenced in April 1991 and was completed in September 1992. The excavation of the Lower Landfill began in January 1993. The composition of the wastes that were encountered during the excavation was primarily soil and decomposed organic matter intermixed with scrap metal, bottles and fabric from a local tent manufacturer. Although four 55 gallon drums were encountered, they were found to be empty or contained non-hazardous debris, and were crushed and disposed of in the Upper Landfill. The waste that was excavated from the Lower Landfill was deposited on the Upper Landfill in approximately one-foot lifts. This effort was completed in July 1993. A Remedial Action Report, documenting the completion of the excavation of the Lower Landfill was approved on September 29, 1993. Upper Landfill The RD associated with the capping of the consolidated wastes on the Upper Landfill and the construction of a leachate collection, storage, and pre-treatment system commenced in April 1991 and was completed in July 1993. The compaction and regrading of the excavated waste mass, installation of a leachate recovery system, construction of a final cover system for the Upper Landfill, and the installation of an eight- foot high chain linked fence around the Upper Landfill to restrict access, was performed from October 1993 to November 1994. Leachate Storage and Pre-Treatment System In June 1995, the Binghamton-Johnson City Joint Sewer Board approved the Town of Conklin's application for discharge of the leachate from the Upper Landfill into the sanitary sewer system for treatment at the Binghamton-Johnson City Joint Sewage Treatment Plant in Vestal, New York. This approval required that the Town obtain an industrial wastewater discharge permit and temporarily store the leachate in an on-site storage tank while it is sampled and analyzed to determine if it meets the discharge requirements of the permit. The construction of a leachate storage, pre-treatment system, and pipeline to the sewer interceptor, which began in November 1995, included the installation of a 30,000 gallon horizontal steel storage tank with a secondary containment dike, installation of a leachate pre- treatment system, consisting of a series of bag filters to remove solids, and installation of a pipe to discharge the leachate from the storage and pre-treatment system to the sanitary sewer system. Although the work was completed in January 1996, a final inspection could not be conducted until after the snow melt in June 1996. A Remedial Action Report, documenting the completion of the construction of the final cover system and leachate collection system for the Upper Landfill, leachate collection tank installation, and construction of a pipeline to the sewer interceptor was approved on July 15, 1996. A Superfund Site Close-Out Report for the site was approved on September 13, 1996. Summary of Operation and Maintenance and Five-Year Review Requirements Pursuant to terms of the Consent Order signed with NYSDEC on June 12, 1987, the Town of Conklin will perform post-remediation operation and maintenance associated with the Upper Landfill's final cover system and the leachate collection and pre-treatment systems. These activities will consist of landfill cover system inspection and maintenance (including grass mowing, fence repairs, soil cover repairs); leachate collection system inspection, operation, and maintenance; and leachate pre-treatment system inspection, operation, and maintenance. In addition, groundwater, surface water, and leachate sampling and analysis will be performed. A statutory review of the long-term monitoring and inspection program reports will be performed in January 1998, five years after the initiation of the RA, to assure that the remedy remains effective in protecting human health and the environment. Summary of How the Deletion Criteria Has Been Met All of the completion requirements for this site have been met as specified in OSWER Directive 9320.2-09. Specifically, based on the field observations associated with NYSDEC construction oversight, the results of the preliminary post-construction and the final post- construction inspections, and the results of samples collected during the implantation of the remedy, it has been determined that construction for the Conklin Dumps site has been completed and that the construction activities performed on-site were consistent with the RD plans and specifications and conform with the remedies selected in the ROD, as modified by the ESD. [[Page 5953]] EPA, with concurrence from the State on December 16, 1996, has determined that the response actions undertaken at the Conklin Dumps site are protective of human health and the environment. In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. EPA, in consultation with the State, has determined that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have been implemented and that no further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate. Having met the deletion criteria, EPA proposes to delete the Conklin Dumps site from the NPL. Dated: January 17, 1997. William J. Muszynski, Acting Regional Administrator. [FR Doc. 97-2994 Filed 2-7-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P