[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 160 (Thursday, August 19, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45224-45226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21316]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6422-8]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the release from the Taylor Borough 
Superfund site from the National Priorities List (NPL) and request for 
comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces 
its intent to delete the release from the Taylor Borough Site (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 Substance Pollution Continency 
Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 
1980, as amended, (CERCLA). EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) 
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 
September 20, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Maria de los A. Garcia, (3HS21), 
Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1650 
Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-814-3199, Fax 215-814-3002, e-
mail [email protected]. Comprehensive information on this Site is 
available through the public docket which is available for viewing at 
the Site information repositories at the following locations: U.S. EPA 
Region III, Administrative Records, 1650 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 
19103, 215-566-3157; and the Taylor Borough Municipal Building, 122 
Union Street, Taylor, PA 18517.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria de los A. Garcia (3HS21), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1650 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, 
215-814-3199, Fax 215-814-3002, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces 
its intent to delete the release from the Taylor Borough Site, Taylor 
Borough, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, 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 the proposed 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. EPA and 
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have determined that the remedial 
action for the Site has been successfully executed. EPA will accept 
comments on the proposal to delete the release from the NPL 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 Taylor Borough Site and 
explains how the Site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that releases may be deleted 
from, or recategorized on the NPL where no further response is 
appropriate. In making a determination to delete a release from the 
NPL, EPA shall consider, in consultation with the state, whether any of 
the following criteria has 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 of remedial measures is not appropriate.
    Even if the release 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 this Site, EPA conducted a five year review 
in March 1993 and a second one in September 1998. Based on these 
reviews, EPA determined that conditions at the Site remain protective 
of public health and the environment. As explained below, the Site 
meets the NCP's deletion criteria listed above. If

[[Page 45225]]

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 shall be 
restored to the NPL without the application of the Hazard Ranking 
System (HRS).

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of the 
release from the Site:
    (1) All appropriate response under CERCLA has been implemented and 
no further action by EPA is appropriate; (2) The Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) concurred 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 in the local Site information repositories.
    For deletion of the release from the NPL, 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, responding to each 
significant comment submitted during the public comment period. 
Deletion of the release from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. 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 release from a site from the NPL does 
not preclude eligibility for future response actions.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The following site summary provides the Agency's rational for the 
proposal to delete this release from the NPL.

Site Background and History

    The Taylor Borough Site is located in Lackawanna County, 
Pennsylvania and the entire Site encompasses approximately 125 acres. 
The Site is a former municipal landfill located in the Lackawanna 
Valley, which has historically been extensively mined for anthracite 
coal. A series of underground mines underlie the Taylor Borough Site. 
Following the mining operations at the Site, the City of Scranton used 
the unreclaimed strip mine pits as a municipal landfill from 
approximately 1967 through 1968. Records from PADEP also document the 
disposal of industrial wastes. After the landfill operations ceased, 
drummed industrial wastes were found on the surface of the Site. 
Beginning in 1981, EPA Region III and PADEP conducted field inspections 
of the Site. The majority of the surface drums were concentrated in six 
areas of the Site. Most drums were open and the contents may have 
spilled during the dumping. Many had also been punctured by bullet 
holes. Air sampling close to the drums identified the presence of 
volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Drum and drum spill samples were 
analyzed in 1982 and were found to contain benzene, toluene, and other 
substituted benzene, phthalate acid esters, polynuclear aromatic 
hydrocarbons (PAHs), tricholoroethene (TCE), chloroform, and other 
organic chemicals. In 1983, a fire occurred on the surface of the 
landfill. It is believed that mine spoil was pushed over burning areas 
to extinguish the fire. As a result, some drums were partially buried. 
Because the fire had engulfed several drums, EPA instituted an 
Emergency Removal Action under Section 104 of CERCLA. From September 
through November of 1983, 1,141 drums were removed from the Site. In 
1983, the Site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) and 
authorization to proceed with a Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility 
Study (RI/FS) was approved that same year. In 1986 the RI/FS was 
completed. Records of Decision (RODs) for soil and ground water were 
signed in 1985 and in 1986, respectively. The selected remedial action 
in the 1985 ROD included the following activities: removal and off-site 
disposal at a qualified facility of approximately 125 crushed and 
intact drums and remnants that remained on the site surface or 
partially buried; collection and treatment of contaminated surface 
water in on-site Ponds 1 and 2, located adjacent to Drum Storage Areas 
1 and 2; excavation of contaminated soils and waste from former Drum 
Storage Areas 1 and 2 and sediments in Ponds 1 and 2 for off-site 
disposal to a qualified RCRA facility; proper backfilling and placement 
of a 24-inch soil cover over the former Drum Storage Areas 3 and 6, all 
of the area between them, and the former Drum Storage Area 4; 
installation of a chain-link fence around the perimeter of both soil-
covered areas. The selection of remedial activities for ground water 
was deferred in the June 1985 ROD until ground water was further 
assessed. In March 1986, the EPA issued a ROD concerning ground water. 
It selected no remedial action for ground water, but required ground 
water monitoring.

Response Actions

    In 1987, a Consent Decree was signed between the United States and 
five potentially responsible parties (PRPs). A Remedial Design for the 
specific remedial actions, approved by EPA and the Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, was an exhibit to the Consent Decree. Construction 
activities were initiated in July 1987. Remedial activities included 
the solidification of sediments from two ponds (Ponds 1 and 2). The 
sediments from these two ponds were mixed with kiln dust for 
solidification and the solidified sediments were compacted in place. 
Final design contours were achieved by the placement of clean fill over 
this solidified material. Approximately 10 intact drums containing 
solvents were uncovered during the excavation of contaminated soils and 
wastes from former Drum Storage Areas 1 and 2. Those 10 drums along 
with scattered surface drum remnants and approximately 5,000 cubic 
yards of excavated soil and waste material were removed and disposed of 
off-site. Also, a minimum two-foot soil cover was placed on the former 
Drum Storage Areas 3 and 6 and the entire area in between. In addition, 
a two-foot soil cover was placed on the former Drum Storage Area 4. A 
six-foot chainlink fence (1 mile in length) was installed with two 
locking gates prior to the excavation in Drum Storage Areas 1 and 2. 
The fence completely encompasses the remediated areas. Construction 
activities were concluded in May 1988.

Operations and Maintenance

    The 1985 and 1986 RODs for the Site required that post-remediation 
operation and maintenance (O&M) activities be conducted by EPA Region 
III, including ground water and surface water monitoring through a 
sampling program, and maintenance of the soil cover. Surface and 
sediments in St. Johns Creek as well as a specific list of monitoring 
wells, were to be sampled for at least five years. Regular maintenance 
activities have been conducted at the Site and the sampling required in 
the RODs was completed in 1996.

Five-Year Review

    CERCLA requires a five-year review of all sites with hazardous 
substances remaining above the health-based levels for unrestricted use 
of the site. Since hazardous materials remain at the Site,

[[Page 45226]]

the five-year review process will be used to insure that the soil cover 
is still intact. EPA issued a five-year review report in 1993 and 
another one in 1998, where it evaluated the results of the maintenance 
and monitoring activities at the Site. These reports concluded that the 
Taylor Borough Site is protective of human health and the environment. 
Specifically, the 1998 five-year review recommended to continue 
operation and maintenance activities at the Site. These activities 
include: annual vegetative maintenance, drainage control repair, and 
maintenance of the soil cap drainage structures, monitoring wells, and 
other Site structures. In addition, this five-year review recommended 
ground water monitoring activities for 5 years to assess the continued 
effectiveness of the remedial action.

Applicable Deletion Criteria

    The remedy selected for this Site has been implemented in 
accordance with the Records of Decision. Therefore, no further response 
action is necessary. The remedy has resulted in the significant 
reduction of the long-term potential for release of contaminants, 
therefore, human health and potential environmental impacts have been 
minimized. EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania find that the 
remedies implemented continue to provide adequate protection of human 
health and the environment.

    Dated: August 9, 1999.
W. Michael McCabe,
Regional Administrator, Region 3.
[FR Doc. 99-21316 Filed 8-18-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P