[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 160 (Thursday, August 19, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45222-45224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21317]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6422-6]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete Lackawanna Refuse site from the 
National Priorities List; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces 
its intent to delete the Lackawanna Refuse Superfund 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 Substances Pollution 
Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. EPA and the Pennsylvania Department 
of Environmental Protection (PADEP) have determined that all 
appropriate CERCLA response actions have been implemented and that no 
further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate. Moreover, EPA 
and the Commonwealth have determined that remedial activities conducted 
at the Site have been protective of public health, welfare, and the 
environment.

DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of this Site from the 
NPL may be submitted on or before September 20, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to: Ms. Andrea Lord, (3HS21), 
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103 (215) 814-5053.
    Comprehensive information on this Site is available for viewing at 
the Site information repositories at the following locations:
    Regional Center for Environmental Information, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 
(215) 814-5364; Old Forge Borough Hall, 312 South Main Street, Old 
Forge, PA 18518.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Andrea Lord (3HS21), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch St., 
Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 814-5053.

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, Region III announces its 
intent to delete the Lackawanna Refuse Superfund Site, Old Forge, 
Pennsylvania, from the National Priorities List (NPL), appendix B of 
the National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan 
(NCP), and requests public comments on this proposed action. 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 remedial activities conducted at the Site have been 
successfully executed.
    EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this Site for 
thirty calendar 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 Lackawanna Refuse 
Superfund 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), sites may be 
deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In 
making this determination, EPA shall consider whether any of the 
following criteria have been met:
    (i) EPA, in consultation with PADEP, has determined that the 
responsible parties or other parties have implemented all appropriate 
response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have been 
implemented, and EPA, in consultation with PADEP, has determined that 
no further cleanup by responsible parties is appropriate; or
    (iii) The remedial investigation has shown that the release at the 
Site 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 substances, 
pollutants, or contaminants remain at the site above levels that allow 
for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, EPA's policy is that a 
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. If new 
information becomes available which indicates a need for further 
action, EPA may initiate additional remedial actions. Whenever there is 
a significant release from a deleted site from the NPL, the site may be 
restored to the NPL without application of the Hazard Ranking System.
    In the case of the Lackawanna Refuse Site, EPA has determined that 
the selected remedy is protective of human health and the environment. 
Consistent with the State Superfund Contract, between EPA and PADEP, 
PADEP has agreed to take over operation and maintenance of the Site and 
conduct an annual inspection. EPA has conducted the first two five-year 
reviews of the final remedy, and will also perform future five-year 
reviews.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of 
this site:
    (i) EPA Region III has recommended deletion and has prepared the 
relevant documents.
    (ii) The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has concurred with the 
deletion decision. Concurrent with this National Notice of Intent to 
Delete, local notice will be published in local newspapers and 
distributed to appropriate federal, state, and local officials and 
other interested parties. This local notice presents information on the 
Site and announces the commencement of the thirty (30) day public 
comment period on the deletion package.
    (iii) The Region has made all relevant documents available for 
public review in the Regional Office and the local Site information 
repository.
    Deletion of the Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. The

[[Page 45223]]

NPL is designed primarily for informational purposes and to assist 
Agency management.
    Comments received during this Notice and comment period will be 
evaluated before the final decision to delete. If necessary, the Agency 
will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public 
comments received.
    A deletion will occur 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 Region III.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The Lackawanna Refuse Site (Site) is located along a section of the 
north-south border between Old Forge Borough and Ransom Township, in 
Lackawanna County, PA. The Site consists of five strip mine pits 
excavated in the nineteenth century and used in the 1970's as a 
permitted municipal refuse landfill. The Site is closely bordered by 
several houses to the east and by the Villa Corporation Trailer Park to 
the south. Austin Heights, a residential section of Old Forge Borough, 
is northeast of the Site. The area west of the Site is forested steep 
hills. Approximately 9000 persons live within one mile of the Site. The 
local residents do not depend on groundwater as a source of drinking 
water, but obtain water through a public system derived from reservoirs 
several miles to the north.
    The Site is located above the flood plains of St. Johns Creek and 
the Lackawanna River. St. Johns Creek, flowing along the lower 
(eastern) edge of the Site, is an intermittent stream that is a 
tributary of the Lackawanna River, which flows into the Susquehanna 
River.
    In 1973, a permit was issued by PADEP (then known as the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources) to the Lackawanna 
Refuse landfill property for the disposal of solid wastes with the 
condition that a leachate collection system be installed within sixty 
days. In 1978 the permit was modified by PADER to allow disposal of 
sludges. Pits 2 and 3 were used for the disposal of municipal refuse, 
until 1976 when they were filled to capacity and disposal began in Pit 
5. All three pits were unlined. Boreholes, air shafts, and rock 
fractures allowed wastes to migrate via seeps and shallow groundwater 
from the pits. The leachate collection system was never installed.
    In March 1979, PADER issued an order to Lackawanna Refuse 
suspending the solid waste permit and requiring immediate cessation of 
the landfill after discovering evidence of the dumping of industrial 
wastes and pollutants into Pit 5. The order also required Lackawanna 
Refuse to dig up and dispose of buried drums containing hazardous 
wastes and all contaminated soil. PADER issued a second order in 1979 
requiring Lackawanna Refuse to construct and operate a leachate 
collection system. Lackawanna Refuse failed to comply with these 
orders, and the owner was brought to trial in 1982 in the Commonwealth 
court on criminal charges and subsequently found guilty of illegal 
dumping.
    During pre-trial hearings, operators of trucking firms testified 
that they brought drums of hazardous waste to the Site and dumped them 
into Pit 5. Estimates ranged between 10,000-20,000 drums. There were 
also allegations that radioactive waste was disposed of at the Site in 
heavy drums that were lined with thick material. Other information 
included allegations that bulk liquid wastes were disposed of in a 
depression on the hillside known as the ``borehole pit,'' and that some 
amount of liquids were sprayed on the site access road for dust 
control.
    In 1980, PADER requested EPA assistance to further excavate and 
analyze the drums in Pit 5. Seven test areas in Pit 5 were excavated, 
uncovering 200 drums at depths of five to thirty feet below the surface 
of the pit. Approximately 90% of the drums were found to be broken or 
crushed when they were excavated.
    Samples were taken from drums containing liquids or sludges and the 
results showed high concentrations of solvents and paint waste material 
with high metal and solvent contents. Metals found included cadmium, 
chromium, copper, lead, and mercury. Organics included benzene, 
toluene, methylene chloride, carbon tetrachloride, and ethylbenzene. No 
evidence of the disposal of radioactive waste was observed in these or 
any subsequent investigations at the Site. A Site investigation by 
EPA's Environmental Response Team (ERT) in 1982 revealed volatile 
organic vapors being released from Pit 5. These gases included vinyl 
chloride, a known carcinogen.
    The Site was scored using the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), 
resulting in an overall score of 36.57. The Site was proposed for the 
NPL on December 12, 1982, with a final listing on September 8, 1983. 
EPA prepared a Remedial Action Master Plan (RAMP) in June 1983, and 
subsequently prepared a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/
FS) workplan in August 1983. Work on the RI began the same month and 
was completed in November 1984. Removal activities were conducted at 
the Site in September, 1983 when EPA installed a chainlink gate at the 
beginning of the access road to control vehicular traffic, and a 
chainlink fence around all three pit areas to prevent unauthorized 
access to the Site. The Record of Decision (ROD) describing the 
selected remedy for the Site was signed by the EPA Regional 
Administrator on March 22, 1985.
    The ROD selected the following remedy for the Site: Removal of all 
drums and highly contaminated municipal refuse from Pit 5 for offsite 
disposal at a qualifying Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 
facility; Construction of a clay cap over Pits 2, 3, and 5 that meets 
RCRA subtitle C requirements; Installation of surface water drainage 
diversion around all three pits and construction of a leachate 
collection and treatment system for Pits 2, 3 and 5; Construction of a 
gas venting system through the caps of all three pits; Removal of the 
top layer of contaminated soil from the borehole pit for offsite 
disposal at a qualifying RCRA facility and returning to grade with a 
soil cover; Removal of the top layer of contaminated soil from the 
access road and reconstruction of the road with appropriate drainage 
and sedimentation controls; Removal of dried paint and contaminated 
soil in the paint spill area for offsite disposal at a qualifying RCRA 
facility; Development of a monitoring program during the remedial 
action, which would include monitoring of the existing wells onsite, 
the gas venting system, and the leachate treatment system; and 
operation and maintenance (O&M) of the cap and the leachate collection 
and treatment system to be implemented by the State.
    EPA entered into an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers (USACE) to perform the Remedial Action at the Site. All 
components of the Remedial Action were constructed with the exception 
of the leachate treatment plant. EPA and PADEP found the levels of 
contamination in the leachate to be lower than expected, and in 
September 1993 EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences 
(ESD) Report which set forth EPA and PADEP's decision not to implement 
the leachate treatment component of the remedy. From 1989 until 1992, 
EPA and PADEP monitored Site conditions on a regular basis by checking 
for leachate ``break outs'; that is, evidence that the level of 
leachate was building up within the

[[Page 45224]]

landfill and ``breaking out'' along the cap perimeter. There were no 
such breakouts during that time period.
    EPA developed a monitoring program during the Remedial Action to 
monitor the existing groundwater wells onsite and the gas venting 
system. All drums and highly contaminated solid wastes were removed, 
and approximately 40,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were 
excavated and disposed offsite. The leachate collection system and the 
synthetic cover were installed in 1989. The final grading and seeding 
of the Site were completed in 1990.
    On May 7, 1991, PADEP commenced operation and maintenance of the 
Remedial Action at the Site. On March 28, 1994, EPA issued a Final Site 
Close Out Report. Pursuant to section 121 (c) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9621 
(c) EPA conducted the first five-year review of the Site in 1995 and 
the report was subsequently issued on September 28, 1995. EPA conducted 
a second five-year review of the Site in February 1999, and 
subsequently issued a report on March 5, 1999. Both five-year reviews 
found the site to be protective of human health and the environment.
    The remedy selected for this Site has been implemented in 
accordance with the Record of Decision. The remedy has resulted in the 
significant reduction of the long-term potential for release of 
hazardous substances. Human health threats and potential environmental 
impacts have been minimized. EPA and PADEP have determined that the 
remedy implemented at the Site continues to provide adequate protection 
of human health and the environment.
    EPA, with concurrence of the PADEP, believes that the criteria for 
deletion of this Site have been met. Therefore, EPA is proposing 
deletion of the Lackawanna Refuse Site from the NPL.

    Dated: August 9, 1999.
Thomas Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 99-21317 Filed 8-18-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P