[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 146 (Thursday, July 30, 1998)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 40685-40687] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-20153] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 300 [FRL-6131-3] National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the Frontera Creek Site from the National Priorities List; Request for Comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region II, announces its intent to delete the Frontera Creek Superfund Site (Site) from the National [[Page 40686]] Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this action. The NPL, 40 CFR Part 300, Appendix B was promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR Part 300. EPA and the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (PREQB) have determined that all appropriate response/remedial actions have been completed and no further remedial action is appropriate under CERCLA. In addition, EPA and PREQB have determined that remedial activities conducted to date at the Site have been protective of public health, welfare, and the environment. DATES: Comments concerning the deletion of the Site from the NPL may be submitted on or before August 31, 1998. ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Luis E. Santos, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, Caribbean Environmental Protection Division, Centro Europa Building, Suite 417, 1492 Ponce de Leon Ave., Stop 22, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907-4127. Comprehensive information on the Site is contained in the EPA public docket and is available for viewing, by appointment only, at: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, Caribbean Environmental Protection Division, Centro Europa Building, Suite 417, 1492 Ponce de Leon Ave., Stop 22, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907-4127, Phone: (787) 728-6951, extension 223, Hours: 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.-- Monday through Friday (excluding holidays); Contact: Luis E. Santos. Information on the Site is also available for viewing at the Site Administrative Record Repositories located at: P.R. Environmental Quality Board, National Plaza Bank, 431 Ponce de Leon Ave., Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00917, Contact: Mr. Genarro Torres, Phone: (787) 766-2823, Hours: 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.--Monday through Friday (excluding holidays); and the Humacao Town Hall, Humacao, Puerto Rico, Contact: Mayor's Office Secretary, Phone: (787) 852-3066. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Luis E. Santos, (787) 728-6951 Ext. 223. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents I. Introduction II. NPL Deletion Criteria III. Deletion Procedures IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion I. Introduction The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II announces its intent to delete the Frontera Creek Site, Humacao, Puerto Rico from the National Priorities List (NPL), 40 CFR Part 300, and requests public comment on this deletion. The NPL is Appendix B to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), which the EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of CERCLA, as amended. The 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 those sites. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substance Superfund (the 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. The EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this Site from the NPL for 30 days after publication of this document in the Federal Register until August 31, 1998. Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that the EPA is using for this action. Section IV discusses how the Site meets the NPL 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)(1)(i)-(iii), sites may be deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In making this determination, EPA, in consultation with PREQB, will consider whether any of the following criteria have been met: (i) Responsible or other persons have implemented all appropriate response actions required; or (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA has 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 to the environment and, therefore, taking remedial measures is not appropriate. III. Deletion Procedures The NCP provides that the EPA shall not delete a site from the NPL until the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has concurred, and the public has been afforded an opportunity to comment on the proposed deletion. Deletion of a site from the NPL does not affect responsible party liability or impede agency efforts to recover costs associated with response efforts. The NPL is designed primarily for information purposes and to assist Agency management. EPA Region II will accept and evaluate public comments before making a final decision to delete the site. The Agency believes that deletion procedures should include public notice and comment at the local level. Comments from the local community may be pertinent to deletion decisions. The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of the Site: 1. EPA determined the appropriate remedies at this site in a Record of Decision dated September 30, 1991. 2. Responsible parties conducted the site clean-up as documented in a Remedial Action Completion Report dated May 1995. 3. EPA determined in a September 1997 Superfund Site Close Out Report that all construction activities at this site have been completed. 4. PREQB has concurred with the deletion decision in letter dated March 27, 1998. 5. A Notice has been published in a local newspaper and distributed to appropriate federal, Commonwealth and local officials, and other interested parties announcing the commencement of a 30-day public comment period on EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete. 6. All relevant documents have been made available for public review in the local Site information repositories. The comments received during the comment period will be evaluated before any final decision is made. EPA Region II will prepare a Responsiveness Summary, if necessary, which will address the comments received during the public comment period. If after consideration of these comments, the EPA decides to proceed with the deletion, the EPA Regional Administrator will place a Notice of Deletion in the Federal Register. The NPL will reflect any deletions in the next final update. Public notices and copies of the Responsiveness Summary, if any, will be made available to local residents by EPA Region II. IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion The following summary provides the Agency's rationale for recommending deletion of the Frontera Creek Site, Humacao, Puerto Rico, from the NPL: The Frontera Creek Site is located on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico approximately 1.5 miles east of the City of Humacao. As defined in the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) Administrative Order on Consent, the Frontera Creek Site includes Frontera [[Page 40687]] Creek downstream of Route 925, the Frontera Lagoons, Madri Canal south of Route 3, the Ciudad Cristiana housing development (Cristiana), the 13 industries adjacent or in close proximity to the creek, and the suspected dredge spoil piles allegedly located on the bank of Frontera Creek adjacent to Ciudad Cristiana. Industrial wastewaters from industries within the Site were discharged into the creek from 1971 to 1981. Public concern about the site arose in 1977 following the death of thirty cows that grazed in the area. Since that time, the area has been investigated by the EPA, PREQB and several industries located in the vicinity. This investigation confirmed the presence of contaminants including mercury in sediments and surface water samples. As a result of the potential threat to public health, in August 1983, the Frontera Creek Site was included on the EPA's National Priorities List. In February 1985, the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH) found elevated levels of mercury in blood and urine samples from a number of residents in the Ciudad Cristiana development. In addition, the PREQB found mercury in soil samples. As a result, the Governor of Puerto Rico ordered the evacuation of the residents of the development. In March 1985, the PRDOH requested that the EPA evaluate the Ciudad Cristiana development for mercury contamination. The residents had alleged that during the construction of their homes, the area was contaminated. In response to this request, and in coordination with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the EPA conducted a Focused Remedial Investigation to assess mercury contamination in the Ciudad Cristiana development. Soil samples from the Ciudad Cristiana development were analyzed for mercury contamination. ATSDR concluded that the mercury levels found did not present an immediate health threat to the residents of Ciudad Cristiana. On October 3, 1986, an Administrative Order on Consent (Consent Order) was issued by the EPA pursuant to Section 106(a) of CERCLA. The Consent Order required Miles Diagnostics Corporation; Miles, Inc.; Cooper Development Company; and Revlon, Inc. (``Settling Defendants'') to undertake a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) covering the entire Frontera Creek Superfund Site. A Remedial Investigation (RI) was performed from January 1988 through August 1989. The RI data indicated that elevated concentrations of mercury occurred primarily in surface soils at the Technicon property and in sediments in the Technicon ditch. The sampling done at the Ciudad Cristiana development and in the Frontera Creek itself did not find mercury levels of concern. A Record of Decision (ROD), which selected the remedy for the Site, was signed in September 1991. The selected remedy called for the excavation and proper disposal of all Site soils and sediments with mercury concentration in excess of 35 parts per million (ppm). On July 8, 1992, Miles Diagnostics Corporation; Miles Inc.; Cooper Development Company; and Revlon, Inc. (``Settling Defendants'') signed a Consent Decree with the EPA for implementation of the selected remedy. Remedial Action was implemented according to the approved Final Remedial Design Report document, dated December 27, 1994. Excavation activities, initiated on March 7, 1995 were substantially completed as of March 30, 1995. Off-site transportation for disposal of rolloffs containing excavated waste, was initiated on April 18, 1995 and completed on April 22, 1995. The remediated Site areas, as required by the ROD, were two areas within the Technicon ditch (known as Areas 1 and 2) and one area near the former raw materials storage area at the Technicon facility (known as Area 3). The volumes and media removed in each were Area 1--83 cubic yards of Technicon Ditch sediments, Area 2--49 cubic yards of Technicon Ditch sediments and Area 3--159 cubic yards of soils and 32 yards of concrete. The Area 2 excavation was expanded to remove an additional 33.5 cubic yards of sediments based on the results of the post- excavation sampling and analysis. All the completion requirements for this Site have been met as described in the ``Superfund Site Close Out Report'' dated September 1997. Activities at the Site have resulted in the removal of mercury contaminated soils and sediments from the Site and have provided for the off-site disposal of contaminated soils and sediments. EPA has determined that responsible parties have completed all appropriate response action necessary under CERCLA at this site and that no further construction activities by responsible parties are necessary. In addition, for the activities undertaken at this Site under CERCLA, EPA identified an air release of methylene chloride. EPA determined the source of the air release to be the Squibb facility located within the Site. Squibb voluntarily reduced emissions of methylene chloride to acceptable levels. Consequently, EPA is proposing deletion of this Site from the NPL. Documents supporting this action are available in the docket. The EPA and PREQB have determined that the remedy implemented at the Site is protective of human health and the environment and that no further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate. Hazardous substances were cleaned up to levels that would allow for unlimited use and unrestricted access, therefore the five-year review requirement of Section 121(c) of CERCLA, as amended, is not applicable. On September 30, 1997, the EPA signed the Superfund Site Close Out Report for the Site, prepared in accordance with OSWER Directive 9320.2-09, ``Close Out Procedures for National Priorities List Sites''. Dated: June 18, 1998. William J. Muszynski, Acting Regional Administrator, Region II. [FR Doc. 98-20153 Filed 7-29-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-U