[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P