[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 131 (Thursday, July 9, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37085-37088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18083]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6121-9]


National Priorities List Update; Golden Strip Septic Tank 
Superfund Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the Golden Strip Septic Tank 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List (NPL).

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), 
Region 4, announces its intent to delete the Golden Strip Septic Tank 
Superfund 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 Environment Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. EPA and the State of 
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) 
have determined that all remedial action objectives have been met and 
the Site poses no significant threat to public health or the 
environment. Therefore, further remedial measures are not appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before 
August 10, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Craig Zeller, P.E., Waste 
Management Division--North Site Management Branch, U. S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth St., SW, Atlanta, GA, 30303. 
You may also submit comments electronically, at the following Email 
Address, [email protected].
    Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the 
public docket, which is available for viewing at the Golden Strip 
Septic Tank Site information repositories at the following locations:


[[Page 37086]]


Hendricks Branch Library, 626 N.E. Main Street, Simpsonville, SC 29681, 
(864) 963-9031.
U.S. EPA, Region 4, 61 Forsyth St., SW, Atlanta, GA, 30303, Mrs. Debbie 
Jourdan, 404-562-8862.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Zeller, P.E. (404) 562-8827, or 
Cynthia Peurifoy (404) 562-8798, or toll free at 1-800-435-9233, at 
U.S. EPA, Region 4, 61 Forsyth St., SW, Atlanta, GA 30303.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 4 announces its 
intent to delete the Golden Strip Septic Tank Site at Simpsonville, 
South Carolina, from the National Priorities List (NPL), Appendix B of 
the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 
(NCP) 40 CFR part 300, and requests comments on this deletion proposal. 
EPA identifies sites that appear to present a significant risk to 
public health, welfare, or the environment and maintains the NPL as the 
list of these sites. As described in Sec. 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 actions.
    The EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete 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 the procedures that EPA is using 
for this action. Section IV discusses the Golden Strip Septic Tank Site 
and explains how the Site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that sites may be deleted 
from, or recategorized on the NPL where 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 have been met:
    (i) Responsible parties or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
    (ii) All appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been 
implemented, and no further response action by responsible parties is 
appropriate; or
    (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.
    Even 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.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of 
this Site: (1) EPA Region 4 has recommended deletion and has prepared 
the relevant documents; (2) The South Carolina Department of Health and 
Environmental Control (SCDHEC) has concurred with the proposed deletion 
decision; (3) Concurrent with this Notice of Intent to Delete, a notice 
has been published in the local newspaper and has been distributed to 
appropriate federal, state, and local officials and other interested 
parties announcing the commencement of a 30-day public comment period 
on the Notice of Intent to Delete; and (4) All relevant documents have 
been made available for public review in the local information 
repository and in the Regional Office.
    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 in Section II of this Notice, Section 300.425(e)(3) of the 
NCP states that deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for future response actions.
    For deletion of this Site, EPA will accept and evaluate public 
comments on this Notice of Intent to Delete before making the final 
decision to delete. If necessary, the Agency will prepare a 
Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public comments 
received during the comment period.
    The deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places the 
final notice on the Federal Register. Generally, the NPL will reflect 
deletions in the final update following the Notice. Public notices and 
copies of the Responsiveness Summary will be made available to local 
residents by Region 4.

IV. Basis for Intended Deletion

    The following Site summary provides the Agency's rationale for the 
proposal to delete this Site from the NPL.

A. Background

    The GSST Site is located on a 55-acre parcel near Simpsonville, 
South Carolina. The Site is situated in a semi-rural area on a portion 
of a farm owned by Mrs. Lucille Rice, and is surrounded by the Holly 
Tree residential subdivision on the east, west and north sides. Primary 
access to the site is off Adams Mill Road which borders the site to the 
south. The Carrington Green subdivision is located across Adams Mill 
Road along the Site's southernmost boundary.

B. History

    From 1960 through 1975, Mr. Buck Rice (now deceased) operated a 
septic tank hauling and disposal service from the GSST Site. During 
this period of active operation, industrial and septic wastes were 
discharged into five unlined wastewater lagoons located on Site. The 
total capacity of these five lagoons has been calculated at nearly 2.8 
million gallons. Waste hauling and disposal activities at the GSST Site 
were reportedly discontinued in 1975. By 1978, three of the five 
lagoons (2, 3 and 5) were backfilled by pushing in the side walls of 
each unit and covering the sludge.
    Preliminary investigations of the Site conducted by SCDHEC and EPA 
confirmed the presence of inorganic constituents such as cadmium, 
chromium, copper, lead and cyanide in the lagoon water and sludge. In 
June 1987, EPA placed the GSST Site on the National Priorities List 
(NPL).

C. Characterization of Risk

    A group of responsible parties, known as the Golden Strip Task 
Group (GSTG), conducted the RI/FS under an Administrative Order by 
Consent (AOC) with EPA. RMT, Inc., on behalf of the Task Group, 
conducted the RI field work from September 1989 to March 1991, under 
EPA and SCDHEC oversight. Lagoon sludges and soils in close proximity 
to the lagoons were found to be impacted with inorganic constituents. 
Specifically, maximum concentrations detected in soil and sludge were 
12,000 mg/kg cadmium, 97,200 mg/kg chromium, 69,900 mg/kg copper, 4,520 
mg/kg cyanide, 5,290 mg/kg lead and 77,600 mg/kg zinc. Toxicity 
Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) analyses of lagoon sludge and 
affected soil demonstrated hazardous characteristics for cadmium. An 
estimated 1.9 million gallons of water was impounded in Lagoons 1 and 4 
and this surface water was found to contain elevated levels of similar 
inorganic constituents. Three rounds of groundwater sampling indicated 
that groundwater quality had been affected to a limited extent in the 
immediate vicinity of the lagoons, but a discernible plume of 
groundwater contamination was not identified.

[[Page 37087]]

    The Baseline Risk Assessment (BRA) concluded that the principal 
threat to human health posed by this site was exposure to impacted 
soils and sludges. A residential future-use scenario was utilized in 
the BRA to develop remedial action target concentrations (RATCs) for 
impacted soils/sludges. Site specific RATCs were calculated for each 
Constituent of Concern (COC) identified in the BRA. Data generated 
during the RI estimated that 28,000 cubic yards of soil/sludge exceeded 
the applicable RATCs. A Feasibility Study (FS) was performed to 
evaluate feasible remedial alternatives to address all soil/sludge 
above applicable RATCs, surface water impounded in Lagoons 1 and 4, and 
site groundwater.
    On September 12, 1991, the Regional Administrator signed a Record 
of Decision (ROD), which selected a remedy for the GSST Site that was 
protective of human health and the environment. The major components of 
the selected remedy included:
     Excavation of all soil/sludge above applicable RATCs and 
treatment by solidification/stabilization to remove hazardous 
characteristics. Backfilling of treated material into on-site 
excavations within defined Area of Contamination (AOC);
     Establishment of Alternative Concentration Limits (ACLs) 
for on-site groundwater combined with a long-term monitoring program to 
monitor the effects of source control on the groundwater;
     Discharge of surface waters impounded in Lagoons 1 and 4 
to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW); and
     Establishment of Conservation Easement to control future 
use of property.
    Active groundwater remediation in the vicinity of the lagoons was 
not determined reasonable or technically practicable using the decision 
criteria for ACLs specified in Section 121 of CERCLA. Generally, these 
include: (1) there is no discernible plume; (2) there are known or 
projected points of entry of site groundwater into surface water; (3) 
there is no statistically significant increase in waste constituents in 
the groundwater or in the surface water at the point of entry; (4) the 
selected remedy includes source control measures that are expected to 
have a positive influence on groundwater; and (5) the selected remedy 
includes enforceable measures that will preclude human exposure to 
groundwater.

D. Implementation of the Selected Remedy

    In April 1992, the GSTG entered into a Consent Decree with EPA for 
implementation of the selected remedy. RMT, Inc. was selected by the 
task group to perform the necessary Remedial Design and Remedial Action 
activities required for successful remedy implementation and 
completion. Extensive treatability studies were conducted to identify 
cost-effective solidification/stabilization additives that could meet 
the established leaching and compressive strength performance criteria. 
It was determined that 30 percent Type I/II Portland cement (based on 
the dry weight of the soil/sludge matrix) could effectively stabilize 
and solidify the Site COCs.
    The conservation easement, which placed certain restrictions on 
future site development and usage of the groundwater underlying the 
site, was filed in Greenville County R.M.C. on January 12, 1994 by Mr. 
Robert E. Dryden, on behalf of the task group. EPA and SCDHEC granted 
final approval of the Remedial Design documents and Performance 
Standards Verification Plan in February 1994. The Remedial Action Work 
Plan was accepted as Final by EPA and SCDHEC in July 1994. Heritage 
Environmental Services was selected as the Remedial Action contractor 
in June 1994 and began initial mobilization to the site on July 6, 
1994.
    The remedy was initiated in August 1994 by pre-treatment and 
discharge of the water from Lagoons 1 and 4 to the local sewer. The 
sludge in each lagoon was then stabilized with affected soil and cement 
kiln dust. The stabilized sludge and affected soil were then excavated 
and temporarily staged. Several pilot scale field demonstrations were 
conducted on the soil/sludge treatment system to evaluate scale-up 
effectiveness and to implement refinements, where necessary. Heritage 
Environmental Services demobilized in September 1994, while a 
supplemental sampling and analysis program was conducted to develop 
detailed excavation plans.
    Screening sampling and analysis, confirmational sampling and 
analysis, and geostatistical modeling were employed to develop detailed 
excavation plans for the affected soils and to confirm that the 
affected soil and sludge had been removed. Heritage remobilized to the 
site in April 1995 and made several modifications to the pug-mill 
treatment system. In May 1995, full scale excavation began in Lagoon 1 
and proceeded to Lagoon 5. These areas were excavated first so that the 
final landfill footprint could be excavated, prepared, and confirmed 
clean prior to the placement of treated soil/sludge. In August 1995, 
EPA and SCDHEC confirmed achievement of all excavation performance 
standards in this area and granted approval to proceed with placement 
of treated material.
    Following a final treatment system demonstration, full-scale 
treatment of affected soils and sludges and further excavation 
activities proceeded concurrently. Once affected soils were removed, 
they were fed into a pug mill where they were blended with 30 percent 
Type I/II Portland cement and water to produce a soil-cement material. 
This soil-cement material was then taken to the on-site landfill, 
spread in 1-foot lifts, and compacted. The compacted soil-cement 
quickly hardened with a compressive strength of greater than 250 psi. 
This finished landfill was capped with more than 30 inches of soil and 
a vegetative cover was re-established. An approximated total of 57,000 
cubic yards of soil-cement was placed into the on-site landfill cell.
    On April 25, 1996, a Pre-Final Inspection was held on-site to 
verify that all punch list items had been completed. A detailed site 
walk revealed that all substantive items had been completed with the 
exception of establishing a vegetative cover and submittal of as-built 
drawings. The Remedial Action Report was submitted by RMT in June 1996 
and approved by the EPA's North Site Management Branch Chief on July 
12, 1996. The Final Close Out Report, which documented that the 
remedial action was successfully completed, was completed by EPA in 
September 1996.
    The GSST Site meets all the site completion and close out 
procedures for NPL Sites as specified in OSWER Directive 9320.2-09, 
Close Out Procedures for National Priorities List Sites (EPA/540/R-95/
062, August 1995). Specifically, excavation verification sampling 
confirms that all soil above RATCs has been removed, treatment 
verification sampling confirms that the solidified soil-cement matrix 
meets leachate and compressive strength performance standards, and that 
all cleanup actions specified in the ROD have been implemented. 
Confirmatory stream sampling, groundwater sampling, and a clean cap 
with vegetative cover provide further assurance that the site no longer 
poses any risks to human health and/or the environment. The only 
remaining activity to be performed is O&M which will be conducted by an 
assigned

[[Page 37088]]

representative of the Golden Strip Task Group.

E. Operation and Maintenance

    Post-closure activities at the GSST Site will be conducted by the 
GSTG's assigned representative following the guidelines contained in 
the EPA/SCDHEC approved Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Plan. Those O&M 
activities address a 30-year post-closure care monitoring period as 
specified by the ROD. These post-closure care activities include the 
following:
     Periodic inspections to verify the integrity of the cap, 
cover and security;
     Ongoing landscape maintenance to keep the integrity of the 
landfill cap intact;
     Periodic stream and groundwater monitoring to verify the 
performance of the remedy; and
     Submission of O&M evaluation reports to EPA/SCDHEC 
containing observations and any corrective actions taken to address 
issues of concern.
    The surficial aquifer underlying the GSST Site has been monitored 
via sampling and analysis of 22 monitoring wells since 1989. Water 
quality and sediments of an unnamed stream passing through the site 
have also been monitored. Since only intermittent exceedances of 
drinking water standards were observed during the RI/FS, EPA and SCDHEC 
established ACLs for the site groundwater. During the Site Remedial 
Action, these ACLs have not been required, as groundwater quality has 
consistently remained below federally established drinking water levels 
(Maximum Contaminant Levels). Stream monitoring results continue to 
verify that the water quality or sediments have not been affected by 
past waste disposal activities.

F. Five-Year Review

    Semi-annual groundwater and stream monitoring will continue up to 
the 5-year review which shall be conducted by July 1999. EPA and SCDHEC 
will evaluate the scope of future monitoring requirements at the 
completion of the five-year review.
    One of the three criteria for deletion specifies that EPA may 
delete a site from the NPL if the responsible parties or other parties 
have implemented all appropriate response actions required. EPA, with 
the concurrence of SCDHEC, contends this criterion has been met. 
Subsequently, EPA is proposing deletion of this Site from the NPL. 
Documents supporting this action are available from the public docket.

    Dated: June 22, 1998.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Deputy Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region 4.
[FR Doc. 98-18083 Filed 7-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P