[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 19 (Thursday, January 29, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4397-4398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1915]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5954-1]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of partial deletion of the Prewitt Abandoned Refinery 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 
6 announces the deletion of the surface portion of the Prewitt 
Abandoned Refinery Superfund Site (the Site) from the National 
Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 
Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 9605, is codified at 
Appendix B of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution 
Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR part 300. This partial deletion is 
consistent with the EPA's Notice of Policy Change: Policy Regarding 
Partial Deletion of Sites Listed on the National Priorities List. 60 FR 
55466 (November 1, 1995). This partial deletion pertains to the surface 
portion, which includes all surface soils, and also includes the former 
separator area. This partial deletion does not pertain to the 
subsurface portion of the Site including without limitation ground 
water and subsurface soils. The subsurface portion of the Site will 
remain on the NPL, and response activities will continue at that 
portion. With the concurrence of the State of New Mexico through the 
New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), and with the concurrence of 
the Navajo Nation through the Navajo Nation Superfund Office (NSO), the 
EPA has determined that responsible parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required at the surface portion of the 
Site (neither the CERCLA-required five-year reviews, nor operation and 
maintenance of the constructed remedy is considered further response 
action for these purposes), that all appropriate Hazardous Substance 
Response Trust Fund (Fund) financed response actions under CERCLA have 
been implemented at the surface portion of the Site, and that no 
further response action by responsible parties is appropriate for the 
surface portion of the Site. Moreover, the EPA, with State of New 
Mexico concurrence through the NMED, and with Navajo Nation concurrence 
through the NSO, has determined that Site investigations show that the 
surface portion of the Site now poses no significant threat to public 
health or the environment; consequently, pursuant to CERCLA section 
105, and 40 CFR 300.425(e), the surface portion of the Site is hereby 
deleted from the NPL.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 29, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg J. Lyssy, Remedial Project 
Manager, (214) 665-8317, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 6, Mail Code: 6SF-LT, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202. 
Information on the Site is available at the local information 
repository located at: Prewitt Fire House, PO Box 472, Prewitt, New 
Mexico 87045, (505) 876-4068. Requests for comprehensive copies of 
documents should be directed formally to the Regional Superfund 
Management Branch, care of Steve Wyman, (214) 665-2792, EPA Region 6, 
Mail Code: 6SF-PO, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The site to be partially deleted from the 
NPL is the Prewitt Abandoned Refinery Superfund Site located near the 
town of Prewitt, in McKinley County, New Mexico. This partial deletion 
pertains to the surface portion of the Site, which consists of all 
surface soils and the former separator area. This partial deletion does 
not pertain to the subsurface portion of the Site including without 
limitation ground water and subsurface soils. This Partial Deletion is 
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). A Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion was 
published on October 6, 1997 (62 FR 52074). The closing date for 
comments on the Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion was November 5, 
1997. The EPA received two comment letters, both of which supported the 
partial deletion.
    The EPA identifies sites which appear to present a significant risk 
to public health, welfare, or the environment and it maintains the NPL 
as the list of those sites. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of 
Fund-financed remedial actions. Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, 40 
CFR 300.425(e)(3), states that Fund-financed actions may be taken at 
sites deleted from the NPL in the unlikely event that conditions at the 
site warrant such action. Deletion of a site from the NPL does not 
affect responsible party liability or impede EPA efforts to recover 
costs associated with response efforts.

Lists of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals, 
Hazardous substances, Hazardous waste, Intergovernmental relations, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water 
pollution control, Water supply.

    Dated: January 8, 1998.
Lynda F. Carroll,
Acting Regional Administrator (6RA), Region 6.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 40 CFR part 300 is amended 
as follows:

PART 300--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for Part 300 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; E.O. 
12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 
2923, 3 CFR 1987 Comp., p. 193.


[[Page 4398]]


    2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended by revising the 
entry for ``Prewitt Abandoned Refinery'' by adding a note ``P'' so that 
it reads as follows:

Appendix B--[Amended]

                                       Table 1.--General Superfund Section                                      
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               State                            Site Name                  City/county            Notes (a)     
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*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                
                                                        *                                                       
NM.................................  Prewitt Abandoned Refinery....  Prewitt...............  P                  
*                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                
                                                        *                                                       
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*                  *                  *                  *              
    *                  *                  *
P=Sites with partial deletion(s).
*                  *                  *                  *              
    *                  *                  *
[FR Doc. 98-1915 Filed 1-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P