[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 79 (Friday, April 24, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20361-20362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10863]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-6002-2]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete Beulah Landfill Site from the
National Priorities List: request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces its intent
to delete the Beulah Landfill Site from the National Priorities List
(NPL) 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), which EPA
promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended.
EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have
determined that the Site poses no significant threat to public health
or the environment and therefore, further response measures pursuant to
CERCLA are not appropriate.
DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before May 26, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Richard D. Green, Director, Waste
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61
Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8909.
Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the EPA
Region 4 public docket, which is available for viewing at the
information repositories at two locations. Locations, contacts, phone
numbers and viewing hours are:
Record Center, U.S. EPA, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia
30303-8909, Phone: (404) 562-9530, Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday--By Appointment Only
Media Center, George Stone Vocational School, 2400 Longleaf Drive,
Pensacola, Florida 32526, Phone: (850) 944-1424, Hours: 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randa Chichakli, U.S. EPA, Region 4,
Waste Management Division, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-
8909, (404) 562-8928.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria.
III. Deletion Procedures.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion.
I. Introduction
EPA announces its intent to delete the Beulah Landfill Site,
Escambia County, Pensacola, Florida, from the NPL, which constitutes
Appendix B of the NCP, 40 CFR Part 300, and requests comments on this
deletion. EPA identifies sites on the NPL that appear to present a
significant risk to public health, welfare, or the environment. Sites
on the NPL may be the subject of remedial actions financed by the
Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to
Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, any site deleted from the NPL remains
eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if conditions at the site
warrant such action.
EPA will accept comments concerning this Site for thirty days after
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Section II of this notice explains the criteria for deleting sites
from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using for
this action. Section IV discusses how this 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 300.425(e), sites may be
deleted from or recategorized on the NPL where no further response is
appropriate. In making this determination, EPA shall consider, in
consultation with the state, whether any of the following criteria have
been met:
1. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all
appropriate response actions required;
2. All appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA has been
implemented, and no further response action 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 of remedial measures is not appropriate.
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 the application of the Hazardous Ranking
System.
III. Deletion Procedures
EPA will accept and evaluate public comments before making a final
decision on deletion from the NPL. Comments from the local community
may be the most pertinent to deletion decisions. The following
procedures were used for the intended deletion of the Site:
1. EPA has recommended deletion and has prepared the relevant
documents;
2. FDEP has concurred with the deletion decision;
3. Concurrently with this Notice of Intent to Delete, notices have
been published in local newspapers and have
[[Page 20362]]
been distributed to appropriate federal, state and local officials and
other interested parties announcing a 30-day public comment period on
the proposed deletion from the NPL; and
4. EPA has made all relevant documents available at the information
repositories.
5. EPA will respond to significant comments, if any, submitted
during the public comment period.
Deletion of the Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual rights or obligations. The NPL is designed
primarily for informational purposes to assist Agency management. EPA
will prepare a Responsiveness Summary, if necessary, which will address
the comments received during the public comment period.
A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a Notice
of Deletion in the Federal Register. Any deletions from the NPL will be
reflected in the next NPL update. Public notices and copies of the
Responsiveness Summary, if necessary, will be made available to local
residents by the Regional office.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The following site summary provides the Agency's rationale for the
intention to delete this Site from the NPL.
The Beulah Landfill Site in Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida, is
located 10 miles northwest of Pensacola. The Site is located on
approximately 102 acres, 80 acres of which comprise the landfill
itself. The Site is separated into two sections (northern-half and the
southern-half). The northern-half of the Site operated from 1950 to
1960, and accepted mostly municipal trash. The northern-half is now
closed. The wastes are covered with 4 to 6 inches of native soil.
The southern-half was a borrow pit for sand prior to 1965. In 1968
a 10 acre area of the southern-half was excavated and bermed for the
purpose of disposing of domestic sewage and wastewater treatment
sludges. Initial deposition rates were approximately 5000 gallons a day
and increased to 20,000 gallons a day prior to closure in 1984.
Preliminary analytical results of groundwater, surface water,
sludge and soil samples indicated the presence of zinc, copper,
chlordane, pentachlorophenol, PCB 1260 and several polynuclear aromatic
compounds, including anthracene, fluoranthene, naphthalene and pyrene.
The wastes disposed at the Site potentially threatened the nearby
surface water bodies, Coffee Creek and Eleven Mile Creek, the shallow
groundwater system, and the local sand and gravel aquifer.
Based on those threats the Site was proposed for listing on the
National Priorities List on June 24, 1988, 53 FR 23988. The listing
became final effective February 21, 1990, 55 FR 6154, with a Hazardous
Ranking Score of 38.15.
On July 7, 1989, the FDEP, formerly the Florida Department of
Environmental Regulation, issued a permit for the closure of the
landfill, Permit Number SF17-151349. However, the permit was not
implemented immediately because of the Site's listing on the NPL. The
State is now in the process of closing the landfill.
In September 1991, EPA entered into an Administrative Order on
Consent (AOC) for the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
for the Site with several Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs).
The purpose of the RI is to define the nature and extent of the
threat to human health and the environment. Information obtained in the
RI were also used to develop the Baseline Risk Assessment. The purpose
of the FS is to develop and evaluate alternatives for the remedial
action if any is required.
On August 7, 1993, the completed RI and Baseline Risk Assessment
along with the Proposed Plan for the Site were made available to the
public. On August 17, 1993, a Public Meeting was held at the George
Stone Vocational School to discuss the RI, Baseline Risk Assessment and
Proposed Plan. At the meeting, representatives from EPA and the Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) were present to
answer questions.
Based on the results of the RI and the Baseline Risk Assessment for
the Site, EPA determined that no further action was necessary to ensure
the protection of human health and the environment. Therefore, on
September 16, 1993, EPA issued its Record of Decision (ROD) for the
Site finding that, with the exception of groundwater monitoring, its
response at the Site was complete. The PRPs have collected and analyzed
groundwater samples since 1995, and found all contaminant levels to be
below the ATSDR comparison values.
Proper closure of the landfill is being completed by the State of
Florida and does not impact EPA's intent to delete the Site from the
NPL. A five-year review will be conducted by EPA in 1998 to confirm
that the remedy remains effective.
EPA, with concurrence of FDEP, has determined that all appropriate
actions at the Beulah Landfill Site have been completed, and that no
further remedial action is necessary. Therefore, EPA is proposing
deletion of the Site from the NPL.
Dated: April 7, 1998.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA Region 4.
[FR Doc. 98-10863 Filed 4-23-98; 8:45 am]
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