[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15346-15350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7768]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5985-4]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the Southern Shipbuilding 
Corporation Superfund Site from the National Priorities List and 
Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 announces 
its intent to delete the Southern Shipbuilding Corporation Superfund 
Site (the ``Site'') from the National

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Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this proposed 
action. All public comments regarding this proposed action which are 
submitted within 30 days of the date of publication of this document, 
to the address indicated below, will be considered by EPA. The NPL, 
promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, 
is codified at Appendix B to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances 
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR Part 300. EPA in consultation 
with the State of Louisiana, through the Louisiana Department of 
Environmental Quality (LDEQ), has determined that no further response 
is appropriate, and that, consequently, the Site should be deleted from 
the NPL.

DATES: The EPA will consider comments submitted regarding its proposal 
to delete the Site from the NPL by April 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Mr. Mark Hansen, Remedial Project 
Manager (6SF-LT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 
Ross Avenue, Dallas TX 75202-2733, (214) 665-7548.
    Information repositories. Comprehensive information on the Site has 
been compiled in a public deletion docket which may be reviewed and 
copied during normal business hours at the following Southern 
Shipbuilding Corporation Superfund Site information repositories:

U.S. EPA Region 6 Library (12th Floor), 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas TX 
75202-2733, 1-800-533-3508.
St. Tammany Parish Public Library, Slidell Branch, 555 Robert Blvd., 
Slidell, Louisiana 70450, (504) 643-4120.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark A. Hansen, Remedial Project 
Manager (6SF-LT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 
Ross Avenue, Dallas TX 75202-2733, (214) 665-7548.
or:
Mr. Duane Wilson, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, 7290 
Bluebonnet Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809, (504) 765-0487.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents:

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

Appendix:

A. Site Map

I. Introduction

    This document was prepared by EPA Region 6 as Notice of Intent to 
Delete (NOID) the Southern Shipbuilding Corporation Superfund Site, 
Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (EPA Site Spill No. 066Z; 
CERCLIS No. LAD008149015), from the National Priorities List (NPL). The 
NPL is the list, compiled by EPA pursuant to CERCLA Section 105, of 
uncontrolled hazardous substance release sites in the United States 
that are priorities for long-term remedial evaluation and response. As 
described in 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the 
NPL remain eligible for remedial actions in the unlikely event that 
conditions at the site warrant such action.
    The EPA will consider comments concerning this NOID which are 
submitted within thirty days of the date of this NOID. EPA has also 
published a notice of the availability of this NOID in the New Orleans 
Times-Picayune (St. Tammany Edition), and the Slidell Sentry News.
    Section II of this NOID explains the NCP criteria for deleting 
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using 
for this action. Section IV discusses the Southern Shipbuilding 
Corporation Superfund Site and explains that the Site meets the NCP 
deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP, at 40 CFR 300.425(e), provides that Sites may be deleted 
from the NPL if no further response is appropriate. In making a 
determination to delete a site from the NPL, EPA shall consider, in 
consultation with the State, whether any of the following criteria has 
been met:
    i. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
    ii. All appropriate Fund-financed 1 response under 
CERCLA has been implemented, and no further action by responsible 
parties is appropriate; or
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    \1\ The Fund referred to here is the Hazardous Substance 
Superfund established by section 9507 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986.
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    iii. The remedial investigation has shown that the release poses no 
significant threat to public health or the environment and, therefore, 
taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
    If, at the site of a release, EPA selects a remedial action that 
results in any hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants 
remaining at the site, CERCLA Subsection 121(c), 42 U.S.C. 121(c), 
requires that EPA review such remedial action no less often than each 5 
years to ensure that human health and the environment are being 
protected by the remedial action. Since hazardous substances will 
remain at the Site,2 EPA shall conduct such reviews. In 
response to community concern regarding potential future residential 
development of the Site, EPA committed to perform annual inspections of 
the Site for the next 5 years. EPA will begin annual inspections in the 
Summer of 1998 and conduct its final annual inspection in 2002. Annual 
inspections will be coordinated with the Louisiana Department of 
Environmental Quality and include at a minimum: a Site tour for an 
inspection of EPA's remedies and contact with City of Slidell officials 
to discuss current or planned property use and zoning. If new 
information becomes available which indicates a need for further 
action, EPA may initiate further 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.3
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    \2\ Treated soil, ash, and marginally contaminated soils remain 
on the Site under a clay cap which covers approximately nine acres 
of the Site. EPA considers the cap to be protective; nonetheless, 
since hazardous substances will remain on the Site, EPA is required 
to conduct the CERCLA-required five-year reviews.
    \3\ The Hazardous Ranking System is the method used by EPA to 
evaluate the relative potential of hazardous substance releases to 
cause health or safety problems, or ecological or environmental 
damage.
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III. Deletion Procedures

    EPA followed these procedures regarding the proposed deletion:
    (1) EPA Region 6 made a determination that no further response 
action is necessary and that the Site may be deleted from the NPL;
    (2) EPA has consulted with the appropriate environmental agency, 
the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), and LDEQ 
concurs with EPA's deletion decision;
    (3) EPA has published, in a major local newspaper of general 
circulation at or near the Site, a notice of availability of the NOID, 
which includes an announcement of a 30-day public comment period 
regarding the NOID, and EPA distributed the NOID to appropriate State, 
local and Federal officials, and to other interested parties; and
    (4) EPA placed copies of information supporting the proposed 
deletion (i.e., the public deletion docket) in the Site information 
repositories (the locations of these repositories are identified 
above).
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. As

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mentioned in Section II of this Notice, 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP 
states that the deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility of the site for future response actions.
    EPA Region 6 will accept and evaluate public comments on this NOID 
before making a final decision to delete. If necessary, EPA will 
prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public 
comments received.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

A. Site Location and Description

    The Southern Shipbuilding Corporation (Southern Shipbuilding or 
SSC) site is situated on approximately 54 acres of land located in 
Township 9S, Range 14E, Section 44 (30 deg.16'21'' north latitude and 
89 deg.48'03'') as shown in Appendix A. The site is located at 999 
Canulette Road in St. Tammany Parish, Slidell, Louisiana and is 
immediately downstream of the Louisiana Highway 433 bridge. 
Approximately 1.5 miles upstream of the SSC site is the Bayou Bonfouca 
Superfund NPL site, which is an abandoned creosote treatment plant that 
is actively being remediated under the Federal Superfund Program.
    As shown in Appendix A, the northern boundary of the SSC property 
consists of Bayou Bonfouca while the southern portion is defined by 
Canulette Road. Residential areas surround the site to the west, south, 
and on portions of the northern shore of Bayou Bonfouca. Directly 
opposite the active portions of the site on the northern side of Bayou 
Bonfouca is an active marine service company. The eastern portion of 
the site is heavily wooded and is bounded by State Highway 433. 
Approximately half of the western portion of the 54 acre SSC property 
has been cleared for the plant operations which included operation of 
two sludge pits that were the primary focus of EPA response actions at 
the Site. The term sludge as used in this document refers to the black, 
oily material in the pits, whether it is liquid or solid, floating or 
sinking. These pits were used for the disposal of material pumped from 
vessels from an undetermined time until 1972 and were the primary 
source of hazardous substance contamination seeping into Bayou 
Bonfouca. The oily waste pits were designated by EPA as Operable Unit 
One (OU1) and the remainder of the site was designated as Operable Unit 
Two (OU2).
    In addition to the pits, the site consisted of a wide range of 
potential environmental and worker threats, many of which have been 
addressed as EPA removal actions. Solid waste and hazardous substances 
were disposed of on the ground surface and in dilapidated buildings 
located on the Site. Abandoned piles of scrap metal, drums, paint cans, 
cranes, other heavy equipment, and discarded solid waste were scattered 
throughout the facility and in the wooded areas immediately adjacent to 
the operations plant. A paint shed on-site was estimated to have 
contained over 2,000 cans of paints, solvents and containers that were 
leaking or in various stages of decay. The majority of these removal 
actions were completed by the end of June 1996, in conjunction with the 
investigation and cleanup of contamination on the OU2 property.
    Extensive sampling and analysis for a broad range of hazardous 
substances was completed and compiled in the Remedial Investigation 
Report, Feasibility Study, and Removal Support Reports 1 and 2. Based 
on the results of these investigations, EPA determined that several 
areas within OU2 presented a higher than allowable risk to potential 
future workers or residents on the Site. As a result, EPA conducted 
extensive removal actions that addressed contaminated areas and reduced 
site human health and environmental risks.
    Unlike OU1, which contained primarily organic wastes such as 
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), OU2 contaminants included 
heavy metals such as lead and arsenic, and organics such as 
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and PAHs.
    Since incineration of OU1 wastes was nearing completion and since 
the release or threatened release of hazardous substances from the Site 
constituted an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health 
and the environment, EPA conducted an expedited removal of the organic 
compound-contaminated soil areas from OU2 and blended those 
contaminated soils with the oily wastes from OU1. Blending of the OU1 
and OU2 wastes aided in the handling of OU1 wastes by helping to 
stabilize the liquid oily wastes from the South Impoundment. 
Approximately 1,072 cubic yards of oily waste from OU2 were blended 
with OU1 wastes and transported to the Bayou Bonfouca incinerator.
    In addition to the incineration of this waste material, EPA 
disposed of approximately 4,704 cubic yards of soil and debris that 
were contaminated with metals. Since metals can not be treated by 
incineration, EPA transported these wastes off-site for disposal. 
Analysis of the heavy metal-contaminated soils and debris indicated 
that it contained metals levels below the regulatory threshold for 
treatment as a hazardous waste. Therefore, because this material was 
classified as a non-hazardous waste regulated under Subtitle D of the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq., 
it was disposed of at the Woodside Landfill in Walker, Louisiana.
    The Site also included large quantities of non-hazardous waste and 
debris. As part of a continuing cooperative effort with EPA, Signal 
Capital, the secured creditor of the bankrupt Southern Shipbuilding 
Corporation, has conducted extensive recycling and salvage efforts that 
have involved removal of most of the Site's salvageable and 
unsalvageable materials that are not contaminated with hazardous 
substances.
    In addition to the chemicals of concern identified in the RI and 
FS, asbestos containing materials were detected in several debris piles 
and small pieces were discovered to be randomly scattered across the 
surface of OU2. EPA used visual identification and laboratory samples 
to remove potentially asbestos containing materials from surface soils 
and debris piles. In several areas, EPA excavated the debris pile to 
4'' below grade or to the extent of contamination, placed a protective 
geotextile warning barrier to the limits of excavation, backfilled 
excavated areas with a minimum of one foot of low permeability clay, 
revegetated the excavated area to prevent erosion, and transported the 
asbestos containing debris to an approved asbestos landfill for 
disposal. The Record of Decision for OU2 and the Administrative Record 
provide additional information on this response.

B. Site History

    The facility was used for the manufacturing and repairing of 
shipping vessels including the gas freeing (cleaning) of cargo hulls 
for change of cargo for a period of over 75 years. Chemical compounds 
such as benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and other polynuclear aromatic 
hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been identified at the site that constitute 
hazardous substances as defined at Section 101(14) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 
U.S.C. 9601(14), and further defined at 40 CFR 302.4.
    The SSC site began operations in 1919 under the direction of 
Canulette Shipbuilding. In 1954, Canulette Shipbuilding sold the 
business to J & S Shipbuilding. Records of site operations for the 
period of ownership by each of these two companies are unavailable. In 
1957, the Southern Shipbuilding

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Corporation (SSC) purchased the property from J & S Shipbuilding. SSC 
ran the facility from 1957 until 1993, during which time it performed 
gas freeing, ship construction, docking and repairing operations. In 
1993, SSC and its operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 
under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and ceased all operations. Also in 1993, 
SSC's secured creditor, Signal Capital Corporation, secured the 
facility.
    EPA has utilized available aerial photographs to interpret site 
conditions over the operational history of the facility. Those aerial 
photographs have provided evidence that the facility was well 
established by the 1940s and have indicated that the two surface 
impoundments were not constructed until after March 1939. An April 1954 
photo shows a railroad running from the north along the Bayou Bonfouca 
and ending at the bayou in the area between the north and south 
impoundments, although the use of this railway is undocumented. That 
1954 aerial also shows a small island less than 0.25 acres located in 
the center of Bayou Bonfouca near the graving dock and a maintenance 
slip along the upstream portion of the Bayou. The island appears to 
have been constructed with dredge spoils.
    The 1954 photo also indicates that there were no residences on the 
southern portion of Bayou Bonfouca near the SSC facility and that 
residences were only sparsely located near the opposite bank. A 
November 1967 aerial photograph revealed extensive dredging of coves 
along the southern portion of Bayou Bonfouca and the establishment of 
residences along both shores of the bayou in the vicinity of the site. 
In addition, the small island within the middle of the bayou and the 
breakwater for the maintenance slip no longer appear in the 1967 photo. 
That photo also indicates that the size of the north and south 
impoundments remained approximately the same over the 13 year period.
    Subsequent photographs taken during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s 
indicate growth in residential communities bordering the facility but 
do not identify any major alterations to the impoundments or the rest 
of the SSC site. It is also important to note that a review of these 
historical photos does not show the presence of any impoundments other 
than the north and south impoundments and associated systems such as 
the weir system.

C. Characterization of Risk

    Due to extensive remedial and removal actions by EPA and LDEQ, the 
monitoring results of operation and maintenance (O & M) activities to 
date, and the public health consultation by the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), EPA verifies the implemented 
Site remedy is protective of human health and the environment.

D. Community Involvement

    Extensive community relations and community involvement have 
occurred at the SSC site. Public participation activities have been 
satisfied as required in CERCLA Subsection 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), 
and in CERCLA Section 117, 42 U.S.C. 9617. Documents in the deletion 
docket on which EPA relied for recommendation of the Site deletion from 
the NPL have been made available to the public in the two information 
repositories, the location of which is identified above.

E. Proposed Action

    In consultation with LDEQ, EPA has concluded that all appropriate 
response actions required at 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 Fund-financed response actions under CERCLA have been 
implemented, and that no further response action is appropriate. 
Moreover, EPA, in consultation with LDEQ, has determined that Site 
investigations show that the Site now poses no significant threat to 
public health or the environment; consequently, EPA proposes to delete 
the Site from the NPL.

    Dated: March 16, 1998.
Lynda F. Carrroll,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region 6.

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Appendix A--Southern Shipbuilding Corporation Site Map
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31MR98.027


[FR Doc. 98-7768 Filed 3-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-C