[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 122 (Friday, June 25, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34180-34183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-15976]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6365-6]


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

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Munisport Landfill Superfund 
Site from the National Priorities List (NPL); request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: EPA, Region IV, announces its intent to delete the Munisport 
Landfill Superfund (Site) in North Miami, Dade County, Florida, from 
the NPL and requests public comment on this action. The NPL constitutes 
Appendix B, 40 CFR Part 300; the National Oil and Hazardous Substances 
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) promulgated by the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to Section 105 of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 
1980 (CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the Florida Department of 
Environmental Protection (FDEP) have determined that all appropriate 
response actions under CERCLA have been implemented by the Potentially 
Responsible Party, the City of North Miami, and that no further 
response actions under CERCLA are needed. Moreover, EPA and the FDEP 
have determined that the remedial actions conducted at the Site to date 
are protective of human health and the environment, such that further 
federal response under CERCLA is not warranted.

DATES: Comments on the proposed deletion from the NPL should be 
submitted on or before July 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Kevin S. Misenheimer, Remedial 
Project Manager, South Site Management Branch, Waste Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV, 61 Forsyth 
St., SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.
    Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the 
EPA, Region IV, public docket located at the regional office. The 
deletion docket is available for viewing, by appointment, from 9:00 
a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Requests 
for appointments or copies of the background information from the EPA 
regional office should be directed to Debbie Jourdan, EPA, Region IV, 
docket office at 61 Forsyth St, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. Ms. Jourdan 
may also be contacted by telephone at (404) 562-8862.
    The Deletion Docket and background information from the regional 
public docket is also available for viewing at the Site information 
repository located at Florida International University, North Campus 
Library, 3000 NE 145th St, North Miami, FL 33181-3601. Appointments can 
be scheduled to review the documents locally by contacting the library 
at (305) 919-5726.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin S. Misenheimer, Remedial Project 
Manager, EPA, Region IV, 61 Forsyth St. SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, 
(404) 562-8922.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

I. Introduction

    EPA, Region IV, announces its intent to delete the Munisport 
Landfill Superfund Site from the NPL (Appendix B of the NCP), and 
requests public comment on this proposed action. EPA identifies sites 
that pose a significant threat to public health, welfare, or the 
environment and maintains an inventory of these sites through the NPL. 
Sites on the NPL may be the subject of remedial actions financed by the 
Hazardous Substances Superfund Response Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to 
40 CFR 300.66(c) (8), any site deleted

[[Page 34181]]

from the NPL remains eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if new 
or changing conditions warrant such actions.
    In view of EPA's findings from the Remedial Investigation (RI) and 
Baseline Risk Assessment, and based on the results from the 1996 
reassessment of the Preserve, there is nothing that would prevent 
unlimited use and unrestricted exposure at the site pursuant to CERCLA. 
Therefore, no five-year review of the site is needed. EPA believes data 
used to make this determination is consistent with, and in some cases 
exceeds, the database used to develop the original Record of Decision 
(ROD). EPA will accept comments concerning the proposed deletion of 
this site from the NPL until July 26, 1999.
    Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting 
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses the procedures EPA is using 
for this action. Section IV discusses the Munisport Landfill Site and 
explains how the 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), releases may 
be deleted from 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 are met:
     Responsible or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate actions required; or
     All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have 
been implemented, and no further cleanup by responsible parties is 
appropriate, or
     The remedial investigation has shown that the release 
poses no significant threat to public health, welfare, or the 
environment, and therefore, the taking of additional remedial measures 
is not appropriate.

III. Deletion Procedures

    EPA, Region IV, will accept and evaluate public comments before 
making a final decision to delete this Site from the NPL. Comments from 
the local community may be the most pertinent to the deletion decision. 
The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of this 
Site:
     All appropriate response under CERCLA has been implemented 
and no further action by EPA is appropriate.
     EPA, Region IV, has recommended deletion and has prepared 
the relevant documents.
     The State has concurred with the proposed deletion 
decision.
     Concurrent with this National Notice of Intent to Delete, 
a notice has been published in local newspapers 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.
     The Region has made all relevant documents available in 
the Regional Office and local site information repository.
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself, create, alter, or 
revoke an individual's rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for information purposes and to assist Agency management. As 
mentioned in Section II of this document, 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) provides 
that deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility for 
future Fund-financed response actions nor does it preclude future State 
action pursuant to State law.
    The comments received on EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete during 
the notice and comment period will be evaluated by EPA before making 
the final decision to delete. The Region will prepare a Responsiveness 
Summary, if necessary, to address any comments received during the 
public comment period.
    A deletion occurs when the EPA Regional Administrator publishes a 
final document in the Federal Register. Generally, the NPL will reflect 
deletions in the final update following this Notice of Intent. Public 
notices and copies of the Responsiveness Summary will be made available 
to local residents by Region IV.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The following site summary provides the Agency's rationale for the 
proposal to delete this site from the NPL.
    The Munisport Landfill is the location of a former municipal 
landfill that operated from 1974 to 1981. The landfill resulted from 
the filling of low-lying wetland areas with construction debris and 
solid waste in an effort to raise the elevation of the land for the 
construction of a cultural and trade center known as Interama. Failure 
of the Interama project led to subsequent municipal development efforts 
by Munisport, Inc. The United States Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) first became involved with this project in the late 1970's when 
it opposed the Army Corps of Engineers' plans for a modification of the 
developer's dredge and fill permit to allow for the use of solid waste 
as fill material, in addition to the already permitted construction 
debris. Due to the potential for the release of hazardous substances, 
pollutants, or contaminants to the environment, EPA placed the Site on 
the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983 for cleanup under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980 (CERCLA).
    EPA's thorough investigation of the site during the late 1980's led 
EPA to the conclusion that, although the Site did not pose a threat to 
human health, the migration of landfill-leachate to the underlying 
groundwater and adjacent wetland posed a significant threat to the 
environment. This was due to the fact that the leachate-contaminated 
groundwater contained elevated levels of un-ionized ammonia which is 
highly toxic to aquatic organisms. Although other chemicals were 
detected in the leachate, concentrations of these chemicals were below 
levels that would present a threat to the environment. In an effort to 
abate the threat posed by the ammonia-contaminated leachate, EPA issued 
a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Munisport Landfill Superfund Site in 
July 1990. The ROD provided for the interception of leachate-
contaminated groundwater through a hydraulic barrier prior to its 
discharge to the adjacent wetlands. The remedy also provided for the 
tidal restoration of a portion of wetlands that are a part of the 
Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve (i.e., State Mangrove Preserve) and a 
portion of wetlands that were hydrologically altered by the former 
construction of a dike during the landfill operations (i.e., altered 
wetlands). The City of North Miami subsequently entered into a Consent 
Decree with the United States of America in 1991 to perform the cleanup 
prescribed in the ROD. The Superfund Site was defined in the ROD as the 
release of hazardous substances from the landfill into the Mangrove 
Preserve and that portion of the landfill needed to implement the 
CERCLA remedy.
    Through the mid-1990s, the City completed the tidal restoration of 
the State Mangrove Preserve, construction of a service road, and 
installation of the wells for the hydraulic barrier. Removal of two 40-
foot wide sections of the causeway and 60-inch culverts originally 
installed in the late-1960's was completed in 1995, thus restoring the 
tidal flow from Biscayne Bay with the State Mangrove Preserve. 
Monitoring of the surface water quality in Biscayne Bay and the 
Preserve was conducted both before and after the removal of the two 
sections of the causeway. Results of the water sampling conducted as 
part of the surface water

[[Page 34182]]

monitoring indicated that the tidal restoration of the Mangrove 
Preserve had a greater affect on the mitigation of the toxicity of the 
landfill leachate to aquatic organisms in the preserve than originally 
anticipated.
    Reassessment of water quality and toxicity in the Mangrove Preserve 
showed that there has been a significant reduction in the ammonia 
contamination and toxicity formerly documented by EPA in the Water 
Quality and Toxic Assessment Study, Mangrove Preserve, 1989, report. 
The scope of the reassessment incorporated critical elements of the 
1989 study and was refined based on information collected during the 
remedial design studies and treatability studies. Most importantly, EPA 
concluded that these studies established the cause of the toxicity 
documented in the 1989 study. Concerns had been expressed by EPA, other 
agencies, and members of the community that not all of the toxicity 
documented in 1989 may have been the result of elevated levels of 
ammonia and that some of the toxicity may be associated with elevated 
levels of metals, organic compounds, or other toxicants. However, EPA 
has concluded that data collected during the design and treatability 
study show that the toxicity documented in the 1989 studies was the 
result of elevated levels of ammonia, potentially compounded by low 
levels of dissolved oxygen in the water.
    The 1996 reassessment included screening of 12 sampling locations, 
which were monitored in the 1989 study, for the presence of ammonia and 
other water quality parameters. Four samples were collected from the 
Preserve that represented a range of high to low ammonia 
concentrations. Samples were also collected from the confluence of the 
east and west causeway breaches in Biscayne Bay and three reference 
points in Biscayne Bay. Samples were collected from these stations 
during high and low tides. The samples were analyzed for ammonia, 
organic compounds, metals, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls. 
Toxicity tests were also conducted using a coastal minnow, Menidia 
beryllina, and a single cell species of algae, Minutocellus 
polymorphus. Changes in the hydrology of the Mangrove Preserve were 
also evaluated. Results from the 1996 reassessment confirmed that 
implementation of the Mangrove Preserve tidal restoration component of 
the remedy substantially reduced the ammonia concentrations and 
toxicity formerly documented in the surface waters of the Preserve. Due 
to concerns that the ammonia levels and toxicity may have been masked 
by summer rainfall, EPA resampled the Preserve locations on March 6, 
1997, during an extended dry period. The samples were analyzed for 
ammonia and were consistent with the data collected in August 1996.
    EPA believes that results from the August 1996 and March 1997 
studies confirm that indeed there has been a significant reduction in 
the ammonia levels and toxicity originally documented in the 1989 
study, such that no further action under Superfund is warranted. A copy 
of the Water Quality and Toxicity Reassessment Study, Mangrove 
Preserve, Munisport Landfill, April 1997, report, which provides a 
detailed discussion of the results, is available for review in the 
Deletion Docket for this site.
    As a result of this determination, a no further action amendment to 
the ROD under CERCLA was signed September 5, 1997. Therefore, cleanup 
of the site under CERCLA is now complete. Issuance of the ROD Amendment 
serves as certification of completion of all remedial activities at the 
Munisport Landfill Site, as well as, a final Site Close-Out Report. No 
institutional controls, long-term groundwater monitoring, or Five-Year 
Reviews, are required under CERCLA, because no hazardous substances 
remain at the Site as defined in the ROD that would result in unlimited 
use and restricted exposures.

Community Involvement

    The Munisport Landfill Superfund project has involved extensive 
community participation dating back to the early 1980's. Over the years 
various community-based organizations such as homeowner associations 
and activist groups, as well as, local chapters of national 
environmental organizations have commented on various aspects of the 
project. Sections 5.0 and 3.0 of the ROD and ROD Amendment, 
respectively, describe the extensive community involvement that has 
occurred over the years.
    After the issuance of the ROD, EPA continued to involve the 
community in the remedial process. The community's main group is the 
Munisport Dump Coalition (MDC), the recipient of a Technical Assistance 
Grant (TAG) from EPA. Through the MDC, the community has had an 
opportunity to comment on documents required by the National 
Contingency Plan (NCP), and other documents relating to the design and 
construction of components of the remedy set forth in the ROD. In an 
effort to encourage community participation throughout the process, EPA 
has issued several deviations from the original $50,000 grant, bringing 
the total funding for the TAG to $150,000.
    In addition to the coordination with the MDC, EPA has also worked 
with representatives of local groups such as the Friends of the Oleta 
River, Keystone Point Homeowners Association, Highland Village 
Homeowners Association, Florida and Tropical Audubon Societies, and 
Concerned Citizens for the Public Use of Munisport. EPA has also held 
numerous public and technical meetings and issued numerous fact sheets 
to keep the community apprized of the progress and to solicit input 
during the design and construction process.
    The community has also been involved in this project through the 
Consent Decree entered by the United States District Court in 1992. 
Although the only parties to the Consent Decree are the United States 
of America and the City of North Miami, the District Court has allowed 
interested non-parties in the community to file information and express 
concerns with regard to the implementation of the remedy set forth in 
the ROD.

Applicable Deletion Criteria

    One of the three criteria for site deletion, 40 CFR 
300.425(e)(l)(ii), specifies that EPA may delete a site from the NPL if 
``all appropriate Fund-Financed Response under CERCLA has been 
implemented, and no further response action by responsible parties is 
appropriate''. EPA, with the concurrence of FDEP, believes that this 
criterion for deletion has been met and the site is protective of human 
health and the environment. Subsequently, EPA is proposing the deletion 
of this site from the NPL. Documents supporting this action are 
available for review in the docket.

State Concurrence

    The Florida Department of Environmental Protection concurs with the 
proposed deletion of the Munisport Landfill Superfund Site from the 
NPL. Although EPA issued an amendment to the ROD in September 1997 that 
provided for no further action under CERCLA, proper closure of the 
landfill and response to groundwater contamination is warranted in 
accordance with State and local regulations. EPA continues to encourage 
the State and County in this effort. Reports that contain extensive 
Site characterization information are available for review, along with 
the ROD and ROD Amendment, in the Administrative Record for this Site 
and are located with the deletion docket.


[[Page 34183]]


    Dated: May 26, 1999.
John H. Hankinson, Jr.,
Regional Administrator, Region IV.
[FR Doc. 99-15976 Filed 6-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P