[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 23, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71052-71054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33742]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6205-8]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete Yellow Water Road Dump Superfund 
Site from the National Priorities List (NPL): request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 announces 
its intent to delete the Yellow Water Road Dump 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 Florida Department of Environmental 
Protection (FDEP) have determined that the Site poses no significant 
threat to public health or the environment and, therefore, further 
remedial measures pursuant to CERCLA are not appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before 
January 22, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: David Lloyd, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
    Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the EPA 
Region 4 public docket, which is located at EPA's Region 4 office and 
is available for viewing by appointment from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding holidays. Requests for appointments or copies 
of the background information from the regional public docket should be 
directed to the EPA Region 4 Docket Office.
    The address for the Regional Docket Office is: Ms. Debbie Jourdan, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30303, Telephone No. (404) 562-8862.
    Background information from the regional public docket is also 
available for viewing at the Site information repository located at the 
following address: Baldwin Town Hall, 10 U.S. 90 West, Baldwin, Florida 
32234. U.S.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Lloyd, Remedial Project Manager, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30303, (404) 562-8917.

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 4 announces its 
intent to delete the Yellow Water Road Dump Site, Duval County, Florida 
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. 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 action.
    EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this Site for 
thirty days after publication of this document in the Federal Register.
    Section II of this document 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 Yellow Water Road Dump 
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 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 action required;
    (ii) All appropriate response under CERCLA has been implemented, 
and no further action by responsible parties is appropriate; or

[[Page 71053]]

    (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 substance, 
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. 
In the case of this Site, the selected remedy is protective of human 
health and the environment. EPA will conduct a five-year review for the 
Site and 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

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of 
this Site: (1) EPA issued a Final Close Out Report indicating that the 
remedial actions at the Site were completed in accordance with the two 
Records of Decisions for the Site and that no further remedial action 
is necessary to ensure protection of human health and the environment; 
(2) The Florida Department of Environmental Protection concurs with the 
proposed deletion decision; (3) 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 EPA's Notice of 
Intent to Delete; and, (4) All relevant documents have been made 
available for public review at the local Site information repositories.
    Deletion of the Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations and does not preclude 
eligibility for future response actions. The NPL is designed primarily 
for informational purposes and to assist Agency management. As 
mentioned in section II of this document, Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP 
states that the deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for future response actions.
    For deletion of this Site, EPA's Regional Office will accept and 
evaluate public comments on EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete before 
making a final decision to delete. If necessary, the Agency will 
prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public 
comments received.
    A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a final 
notice in 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 the regional office.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

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

A. Site Background and History

    The Yellow Water Road Dump Site is located off Yellow Water Road 
(Florida State Road 217) about one mile south of Baldwin, Duval County, 
Florida. The Site encompasses approximately 14 acres. The land adjacent 
to the Site is used for commercial and residential purposes.
    In October 1981, the property owner and several independent 
companies formed an enterprise with the intent of incinerating PCBs on 
the property. PCB-contaminated liquid and equipment were stored at the 
Site. The incinerator permit was never obtained, and the PCB-
contaminated materials continued to be stored on site. Valuable metals 
such as copper were salvaged from the transformer carcasses, spilling 
PCB liquid and causing soil contamination at the Site.
    During an emergency removal action conducted by EPA in November 
1984, 719 transformers were drained, steam cleaned, and stored on site. 
Approximately 100,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated fluid were 
transferred to secured, on-site holding tanks, and approximately 3,000 
cubic yards of PCB-contaminated soil were excavated and stockpiled on a 
concrete pad.
    The Yellow Water Road Dump Site was proposed for inclusion on the 
NPL on September 18, 1985 (50 FR 37950) and placed on the NPL on June 
10, 1986.
    In May 1988, EPA entered into an Administrative Order on Consent 
with a group of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) to perform an 
interim surface removal action at the Site. The PRPs completed the 
removal action in July 1988. The removal activities included the 
demolition and disposal of an on-site warehouse, off-site disposal of 
the stockpiled contaminated soil, off-site incineration of 78,854 
gallons of PCB-containing liquid, disposal of 704 transformers, and 
disposal of 18,690 pounds of capacitors.
    Under an Administrative Order on Consent the PRPs began a Remedial 
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) in 1990. The RI included an 
investigation of surface water, soil, sediment, air and ground water 
associated with the Site. The investigation included a wide range of 
analyses to detect volatile organic compounds, base/neutral compounds, 
pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and inorganic compounds. 
The Risk Assessment identified PCB compounds as the only contaminants 
of concern at the Site. Total PCB concentrations of up to 660 mg/kg in 
Site soil and sediment were identified, and total PCB concentrations of 
up to .029 mg/l were detected in Site groundwater.

B. Response Actions

    Based on the results of the RI/FS work and the Risk Assessment, EPA 
issued two Records of Decision (RODs). The Operable Unit One (OU-1) 
ROD, issued on September 28, 1990 called for excavation and 
solidification/stabilization of PCB-contaminated soil and sediment. The 
Operable Unit Two (OU-2) ROD, dated June 30, 1992 called for a long 
term ground water monitoring remedy, with a contingency for ground 
water pump and treat.
    Under an EPA Unilateral Administrative Order issued by EPA, the 
PRP's contractor completed a Remedial Design for the soil and sediment 
remedy in September 1992. A Consent Decree between EPA and the PRPs 
provided for the implementation of the remedy for both operable units. 
The Consent Decree was entered on October 11, 1995. A separate 
agreement under which several federal PRPs would participate in 
implementing the remedy was embodied in an Administrative Order on 
Consent. In January 1996, EPA approved Remedial Action Work Plans 
prepared by the engineering contractor for the OU-1 and non-contingent 
OU-2 remedies. The construction contractor mobilized to the Site and 
began implementing these remedies on May 9, 1996. A volume of 4,472 
cubic yards of contaminated soil and sediment was excavated, stabilized 
and solidified using portland cement, and placed in an on-site 
monolith. A September 17, 1996 construction inspection revealed that 
all components of the OU-1 remedy and the non-contingent portion of the 
OU-2 remedy were constructed in accordance with RD/RA plans and 
specifications.
    A Remedial Action Report dated November 1996, documents the 
completion of the Remedial Action for OU-1 and completion of the non-
contingent portions of the remedy for

[[Page 71054]]

OU-2. EPA approved the RA Report on February 26, 1997.
    On April 6, 1998 an Explanation of Significant Difference (ESD) for 
the OU-2 ROD was finalized. The ESD clarifies the OU-2 ROD to indicate 
that the ground water remedy, based on four consistent monitoring 
events with no detectable PCBs, had attained its performance goal of 
0.5 ppb. On this basis, no further ground water monitoring or 
contingent remedial activities are required.

C. Cleanup Standards

    The remedial action cleanup activities at the Yellow Water Road 
Dump Site are consistent with the objectives of the NCP and provide 
protection to human health and the Environment. The cleanup standards 
for soil PCBs are 10 mg/kg. The cleanup standards for PCBs in ground 
water are 0.5 ppb. All soil containing PCBs at concentrations greater 
that 10 mg/kg was excavated, treated via stabilization/solidification, 
placed in an on-site monolith, covered with one foot of clean soil and 
vegetated. Treated soil achieved performance standards of greater than 
50 psi for compressive strength and less than 60 ug/l for total 
leachable PCBs (TCLP). Extensive confirmatory sampling verifies that 
the Site has achieved the cleanup standards for both soil and ground 
water and that performance standards were achieved or exceeded for 
treated soil.

D. Operation and Maintenance

    The Operation, Maintenance and Monitoring Plan was approved by EPA 
on May 1, 1997. Ongoing operation, maintenance and monitoring 
activities include semi-annual inspections of the Site monolith to 
evaluate the presence of, or potential for, surface cover failures and/
or intrusions including surface cracking, establishment of deep-rooted 
vegetation, animal burrow holes, wash-outs and soil erosion; assessment 
of Site fencing and vegetative cover inspection; and evaluation of the 
monolith integrity. Pursuant to the existing Consent Decree, the Yellow 
Water PRP Group has assumed all responsibility for O&M until the thirty 
year anniversary of the Consent Decree entry in 2026. Following this 
date, federal PRPs will conduct the O&M.

E. Five Year Review

    Because treated waste will remain on site in the monolith, a five 
year review of this project is necessary to ensure continued protection 
of human health and the environment. The five year time frame begins 
with the date of remedial action mobilization to the Site which, for 
this project, is May 9, 1996. Therefore, the five year review should be 
completed prior to May 9, 2001 and will be conducted pursuant to OSWER 
Directive 9355.7-02, ``Structure and Components of Five Year Reviews.''

F. Community Involvement

    EPA published its community Relations Plan in May 1990, after 
interviews with local residents and officials. An information 
repository was established at the Baldwin Town Hall and all of the 
documents used to make remedy decisions were placed there before the 
Records of Decisions were signed. Other community involvement 
activities included an on-site public meeting, routine publication of 
fact sheets at all important milestones during the project and ongoing 
direct communication with the public as the need for information arose.

G. Applicable Deletion Criteria

    One of the three criteria for deletion specifies that responsible 
parties or other parties have implemented all appropriate response 
actions required. EPA, with concurrence of Florida Department of 
Environmental Protection, believes that this criterion for deletion has 
been met. Subsequently, EPA is proposing deletion of this Site from the 
NPL. Documents supporting this action are available from the deletion 
docket.

H. State Concurrence

    EPA has consulted with the Florida Department of Environmental 
Protection (FDEP) in evaluating the Site for deletion. FDEP has 
concluded that activities at the Site have been completed in accordance 
with the site Records of Decision and the remedy is protective of human 
health and the environment.

    Dated: November 30, 1998.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 98-33742 Filed 12-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P