[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 157 (Monday, August 16, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44458-44460]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21007]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6420-7]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Site 
from the National Priority List; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 announces 
its intent to delete the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Site from the National 
Priority 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 Maine Department of Environmental 
Protection (Maine DEP) 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 will be accepted on or before 
September 15, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Address comments to: Terrence Connelly, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. EPA Region 1, 1 Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 
02114-2023.
    Comprehensive information concerning this site is available through 
the EPA Region I public docket, which is located at EPA's Region I 
office. It is available for viewing by appointment only from Monday 
through Friday, excluding holidays. Requests for appointment or copies 
of the contents from the Regional public docket should be directed to 
the EPA Region I Records Center.
    The address for the Region I Records Center is: EPA Records Center, 
1 Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02114-2023, (617) 918-1417.
    Information concerning this Site is also available for viewing at 
the information repository at the following location: Dyer Library, 371 
Main Street, Saco, Maine 04072, (207) 283-3861 or (207) 282-3031.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terrence Connelly at (617) 918-1373.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 announces its 
intent to delete the Saco Tannery Waste Pits (STWP) Site in Saco, Maine 
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 which 
appear to be a significant risk to the public health and welfare or to 
the environment. The NPL is maintained 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 without application of the Hazard 
Ranking System (HRS) in the unlikely event that conditions at the site 
warrant such action.
    EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this site from 
the NPL for thirty days following publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register and in newspapers in the vicinity of Saco, Maine.
    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 history of the Saco 
Tannery Waste Pits Site, the

[[Page 44459]]

remedial action which has been carried out, and explains the manner in 
which the site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e)(1) of the NCP provides that sites may be deleted 
from, or recategorized on the NPL where no further remedial action is 
necessary. When deciding to delete a site from the NPL, EPA shall 
consider, in consultation with the state, whether the following 
criteria have been met:
    i. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
    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 the environment, and, therefore, 
taking further 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. 
In the case of the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Site, the selected remedy is 
protective of human health and the environment, but does not allow for 
unlimited and unrestricted use of the site. Due to this condition, 
surveys of the site will be conducted by the EPA and Maine DEP to 
ensure that the remedial action is meeting the requirements of 
protecting human health and the environment. If new information becomes 
available which indicates a need for further action, EPA will initiate 
further 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 Hazard Ranking System.

III. Deletion Procedures

    EPA has taken the following steps in accordance with the agency's 
deletion procedures:
    i. EPA and the Maine DEP surveyed the Saco Tannery Waste Pit Site 
and declared that the remedial actions are complete and remain 
protective of human health and the environment. Following the survey, a 
Final Closure Report has documented that no further remedial action is 
necessary.
    ii. EPA has obtained Maine DEP concurrence with the proposed 
deletion decision;
    iii. A notice has been published in the local newspaper and has 
been distributed to appropriate state and local officials and other 
interested parties announcing the commencement of a 30-day public 
comment period of EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete;
    iv. All relevant documents have been made available for public 
review in the EPA Region 1 Records Center and in local Site information 
repository.
    Deletion of the Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or responsibilities. The NPL is designed 
primarily for informational purposes and to assist EPA 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 render the 
site ineligible for further response actions.
    Prior to deletion of the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Site, EPA's Region 
1 Office will accept and evaluate public comments on EPA's Notice of 
Intent to Delete the Site before making a final decision to delete. If 
necessary, the EPA will prepare a Responsive Summary to address any 
significant public comments received.
    A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator or his or her 
designee 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 of Intended Site Deletion

    The following summary provides the Agency's rationale for the 
proposal to delete this site from the NPL.
    The 213-acre STWP Site is located in a rural section of Saco, 
Maine. The Site is bounded by the Maine Turnpike to the east, 
residential property along Hearn Road to the west, the Saco-Scarborough 
town line to the north, and Flag Pond Road to the south. Automotive 
entry to the Site is limited to Flag Pond Road; all-terrain vehicle 
trails enter the Site from the north and west.
    The Site is located in an area which is undergoing a transition 
from rural farming to suburban residential housing. There were 
approximately sixty single family homes located within a half-mile 
radius of the Site at the time of the remedy selection in 1989 and the 
number has gradually increased as farmland is being turned into 
residential properties. Residential development is concentrated along 
Hearn Road and Flag Pond Road. These homes rely on groundwater for 
their water supply from private drinking wells. The groundwater aquifer 
in the area of the Site is classified under federal standards as IIB, 
suitable for public water supplies.
    The majority of the Site is forested, both upland and wetland; 
unforested land consists of remediated areas, scrub-shrub wetlands, and 
bedrock outcrops. A 100-year flood plain is located within the property 
boundaries, but none of the waste pits or lagoons are located within 
the flood plain.
    The Saco Tanning Corporation used the site for waste disposal from 
1959 to the late 1970s. Upon investigation, fifty-seven waste pits, two 
lagoons, and two separate areas beyond the waste pits totaling thirteen 
acres were determined to be contaminated with tannery waste. 
Contaminants within the site include arsenic, chromium, lead, volatile 
organic compounds, and semi-volatile organic compounds.
    After conducting a Remedial Investigation, a Record of Decision 
(ROD) was issued in 1989 for the STWP Site. The Remedial Action 
objectives selected for this site were intended to prevent physical 
contact with the waste and exposure to the groundwater. The first 
objective has been met through the creation of a soil cover acting as a 
physical barrier between humans and wildlife and sludge and sediments 
in the pits, lagoons, wet and seep areas. The second objective has been 
met through the enactment of State legislation designating the Site as 
a Wildlife Preserve. This institutional control prohibits groundwater 
use on the Site. Long-term monitoring has shown that contaminated 
groundwater is not flowing off the STWP Site.
    The primary remedial action includes:
     A soil cover system comprised of geotextile, rock, stone, 
till, and vegetation layers;
     Permanent fencing enclosing the waste pits and lagoons;
     Institutional control of designating the entire site, by 
State of Maine legislative act, as a wildlife preserve;
     Long-term groundwater monitoring;
     Long-term monitoring of surface water and sediments; and
     Wetlands compensation on and offsite for the compensation 
of wetlands lost through the construction of the soil covers.
    The design for the Soil Cover System and Compensatory Wetland 
Construction was completed in September 1992. The remedial action was 
phased with initial site work completed in November 1992 and the soil 
covers phase completed in October

[[Page 44460]]

1993. On September 17, 1993 the EPA and the Maine DEP surveyed the site 
and declared that the soil cover system was completed according to the 
requirements in the ROD. Revegetation of the area was carried out in 
October of 1993. Purchase of 247 acres of the nearby Saco Heath from a 
peat mining company as compensation for the permanent loss of ten 
wetland acres onsite was completed in December 1993, and restoration of 
the remaining excavated wetland was completed in September 1994.
    Maintenance of the site has included quarterly inspections for the 
first five years of remediation and semi-annual inspections since then. 
Per the Superfund State Contract between EPA and Maine DEP, these 
inspections are to be carried out by the State for thirty years 
following the remediation. These inspections of the Site will be 
conducted to ensure that the actions taken to form a physical barrier 
between humans and wildlife and the waste in the pits and lagoons are 
maintained. Monitoring of groundwater, surface water, and sediment will 
continue, as outlined in the O&M Plan, to measure water quality within 
the site and around the perimeter. These State-performed inspections 
and monitoring activities began in April 1995.
    The survey of the Site and approval of the Remedial Action by the 
EPA and Maine DEP demonstrated that the Saco Tannery Waste Pits Site no 
longer poses a threat to human health and welfare or the environment.
    As noted in section II above, EPA may delete a site from the NPL 
when ``all appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA has been 
implemented, and no further response action by responsible parties is 
appropriate''. As EPA, with Maine DEP concurrence, has determined that 
this criterion is met, EPA announces its intent to delete the Saco 
Tannery Waste Pits Site from the National Priorities List.

    Dated: August 2, 1999.
Patricia L. Meaney,
Director, Office of Site Remediation and Restoration.
[FR Doc. 99-21007 Filed 8-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P