[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 120 (Monday, June 23, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33787-33789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-16350]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5845-7]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan National 
Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Unit Structures, Inc. Property 
from the Koppers Company, Inc. Superfund Site from the National 
Priorities List

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 
Region 4, announces its intent to delete the Unit Structures, Inc. 
Property from the Koppers Company, Inc. National Priorities List (NPL) 
Site and requests public comment on this proposed action. The NPL 
constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is the National Oil and 
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), promulgated by 
EPA, pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. 
EPA and State of North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and 
Natural Resources have determined that the Site conditions on the Unit 
Structures Property pose no significant threat to public health or the 
environment and therefore, CERCLA remedial measures are not 
appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of the Site from the 
NPL may be submitted on or before July 23, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Beverly Hudson, US Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, GA 30303-
3104.
    Comprehensive information on the Site is available through the EPA 
Region 4 public docket, which is located at EPA's Region 4 office and 
is available for viewing by appointment from 9 am to 4 pm, Monday 
through Friday, excluding holidays. Requests for appointments or copies 
of the background information from the regional public docket should be 
directed to the EPA Region 4 docket office.
    The address for the regional docket office is Ms. Debbie Jourdan, 
US EPA, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, GA 30303-3104. The 
telephone number is 404-562-8862.
    Background information from the regional public docket is also 
available for viewing at the Site information repository located at the 
Wake County Public Library, 310 South Academy Street, Cary, North 
Carolina 27511. The telephone number is 910-655-4145. The library is 
open Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 9 pm, and on Friday and 
Saturday from 9 am until 6 pm.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact either Beverly Hudson or 
Diane Barrett, US EPA Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 
30303-3104, at 1-800-435-9233 ext. 28816 or 28830.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    This notice is to announce EPA's intent to delete the Unit 
Structures Property portion of Koppers Company, Inc. Site from the NPL. 
It also serves to request public comments on the deletion proposal. EPA 
will accept comments on this proposal action for deletion until July 
23, 1997.
    EPA identifies Sites that appear to present a significant risk to 
public health, welfare, or environment and maintains the NPL as the 
list of these Sites. Sites on the NPL qualify for remedial responses 
financed by the Hazardous Substances Response Trust Fund (Fund). As 
described in section 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.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP establishes the criteria that EPA uses to delete Sites from 
the NPL. In accordance with section 300.425(e) of the NCP, Sites may be 
deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. On 
November 1, 1995, EPA published a notice in the Federal Register 
governing Partial Deletion of Sites listed on the National Priorities 
List, (60 FR 55411, November 1, 1995). That Policy allows for deletion 
of portions of Sites that meet the standard provided in the NCP. In 
making this determination, EPA, in consultation with the State, 
considers whether this Site has met any of the following criteria for 
Site deletion:
    (i) Responsible or other parties have implemented all appropriate 
response actions required;
    (ii) All appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been 
implemented and no further response actions are deemed necessary; or
    (iii) Remedial investigation has determined that the release poses 
no significant threat to public health or the environment and, 
therefore, no remedial action is appropriate.

III. Deletion Procedures

    EPA Region 4 will accept and evaluate public comments before making 
a final decision to delete. Comments from the local community may be 
the most pertinent to deletion decisions. The following procedures were 
used for the intended deletion of the Unit Structures Property portion 
of the Koppers Site:
    (1) EPA Region 4 has recommended deletion and has the relevant 
documents.
    (2) The State has concurred with the decision to delete the Unit 
Structures property.
    (3) Concurrent with this announcement, a notice has been published 
in the local newspaper and has been distributed to appropriate federal, 
state, and local officials announcing the commencement of a 30-day 
public comment period on the Notice of Intent to Delete.
    (4) EPA has made all relevant documents available for public review 
at the information repository and in the Regional Office.
    Partial deletion of a Site from the NPL does not itself create, 
alter, or revoke any individual's rights or obligations. The NPL is 
designed primarily for information purposes and to assist EPA 
management. As mentioned earlier,

[[Page 33788]]

section 300.425(e)(30) of the NCP states that deletion of a Site from 
the NPL does not preclude eligibility of the Site for future Fund-
financed response actions.
    For the partial deletion of this Site, EPA will accept and evaluate 
public comments on this Notice of Intent to Delete before finalizing 
the decision. The Agency will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to 
address any significant public comments received during the comment 
period. The deletion is finalized after the Regional Administrator 
places a notice of deletion in the Federal Register.
    The NPL will reflect any partial deletions in the next publication 
of the final rule. Public notices and copies of the Responsiveness 
Summary will be made available to local residents by Region 4.

IV. Basis for Intended Unit Structures Property Deletion

    The following Site summary provides the Agency's rationale for the 
proposed intent for partial deletion of this Site from the NPL.
    The Site, designated as approximately 52 acres by EPA, is located 
approximately one mile northwest of the town of Morrisville, Wake 
County, North Carolina, at the intersection of Highway 54 and Koppers 
Road. It is bounded by the Norfolk Southern Railway on the east and 
Church Street on the west and southwest. Geographically, the center of 
the Unit Structures Property (subsite) is located at 36 40 40.98 
latitude, and 95 59 59.96 longitude, according to the geographic 
centroid by using Geographical Information System software.
    In 1962, Koppers Company, Inc. (Koppers) acquired the Site. Between 
1968 and 1975, Koppers operated a wood treatment process, known as 
CELLON, in the southeastern section of the property. The CELLON process 
involved the injection of pentachlorophenol into wood. Rinsate from the 
process was pumped into two on-Site lagoons. The Koppers operations 
also utilized a Fire Pond, located to the south and adjacent to the 
CELLON process area. The outflow ditch from the Fire Pond was connected 
to the Medlin Pond which, during the period in which the CELLON process 
was used, was located off of Kopper's property. The locations of the 
former CELLON process area, lagoon area, Fire Pond, and Medlin Pond are 
shown in Figures 1.1 and 1.2 of EPA's December 23, 1992, ROD for the 
Site.
    Koppers dismantled the CELLON process in 1975 and thereafter 
produced treated wood at off-Site locations. Between 1976 and 1986, 
Koppers performed various environmental studies and corrective action 
at the Site, including the removal of contaminated soil from the former 
lagoon and CELLON process areas. In 1980, EPA performed a Site 
inspection and determined that no further action was necessary at that 
time.
    In 1986, USI acquired a portion of the Koppers property. A plat of 
the approximately 33 acre parcel owned by USI is included as Attachment 
1. The USI property was not used previously by Koppers for wood 
treatment operations. As documented by Figure 1.1 and 1.2 of the ROD, 
the parcel owned by USI is separate and distinct from the former CELLON 
process area, lagoon area, Fire Pond, and Medlin Pond.

Superfund Regulatory Developments

    Based upon environmental concerns associated with Koppers' former 
wood treatment operations, EPA listed the Site on the NPL on March 31, 
1989. In the NPL listing, the Site was delineated by the boundaries of 
the property which Koppers has historically owned, including the parcel 
which had been acquired by USI. Between 1989 and 1992, with the 
oversight and approval of EPA, Beazer East, Inc. (Beazer), which had 
acquired Koppers in 1988, conducted a Remedial Investigation/
Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the entire Site and adjacent areas 
potentially impacted by Koppers' former wood treatment operations. The 
RI involved comprehensive sampling and analysis of soils, surface 
water, sediments, and groundwater at and in the vicinity of the Site. 
Based on the findings of the RI, the FS evaluated alternatives for 
remediating conditions at the Site which potentially presented a threat 
to human health or the environment. After evaluating the results of the 
RI/FS and comments received on the Agency's Proposed Plan for the Site, 
EPA made the following determinations in the December 1992 ROD:
    1. Contaminants at the Site requiring remediation are limited to 
pentachlorophenol, PCDDs/PCDFs, and 2,4-dichlorophenol.
    2. The former lagoon and CELLON process areas are the only areas at 
the Site which present an unacceptable level of soil contaminants. The 
remedy selected for these areas is excavation and treatment.
    3. Groundwater contamination located on the Beazer property and 
property to the east of the Beazer property requires remediation. 
Remediation of the groundwater will be accomplished through operation 
of a groundwater recovery well, located on the Norfolk Southern 
Corporation property adjacent to the former lagoon area. The 
groundwater will be extracted and treated to meet remedial action 
goals.
    4. Remediation of surface water and associated sediments is 
required at the Fire Pond, located on the property retained by Beazer, 
and the Medlin Pond, located on property acquired by Beazer from a 
third party in 1993. The remedial action consists of dewatering the two 
ponds, treating the pond water, backfilling the ponds with clean soil, 
and performing certain wetlands mitigation activities.
    5. The areas requiring remediation, consisting of the former CELLON 
process area, lagoon area, Fire Pond, and Medlin Pond, will be enclosed 
with adequate fencing and security measures until completion of the 
remedial actions.
    In addition to the specified remedial actions, the ROD indicated 
that additional sampling and analysis of groundwater, surface water, 
and sediments would be performed prior to Remedial Design in order to 
confirm the extent of contamination requiring remediation. These 
additional data were collected as part of the Pre-Design Sampling 
Program conducted in October and November 1993. These data, 
incorporated into the Final Design Report for the Site, confirmed the 
findings of the ROD both as to the areas of the Site requiring 
remediation and the remedial actions specified for those areas.
    Currently, Beazer is implementing Remedial Action at the Site in 
accordance with the ROD. Surface water, soil and wetlands remediation 
activities are complete, and groundwater remedial action is underway, 
as EPA noted in the ROD.
    The response action defined in this Record of Decision (ROD) is 
anticipated to be the final action and subsequently the final ROD for 
this Site. No separate Operable Units are anticipated as this remedy 
will address all aspects of the Site which currently pose a threat to 
human health or the environment.
    Based upon a review of all the information available, EPA has 
determined that the Unit Structures Property is recommended for partial 
deletion. There are no institutional controls for this Subsite. A five-
year review will not be conducted at the Subsite, due to the fact that 
soil and groundwater contaminants are below the health based standards. 
The concentrations found in the samples taken do not present a current 
or future threat to public health or the environment.

[[Page 33789]]

    EPA, with concurrence of the State of North Carolina, has 
determined that all appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA for 
the Unit Structures Subsite have been completed, and that no further 
activities by responsible parties are appropriate. Therefore, EPA 
proposes to delete this Subsite from the NPL.

    Dated: April 30, 1997.
Michael V. Peyton,
Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 4, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency.
[FR Doc. 97-16350 Filed 6-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P