[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 250 (Thursday, December 30, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 73423-73427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33523]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6516-1]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 
Region 8, announces the deletion of the Monticello Radioactive 
Contaminated Properties Site (Site), located in Monticello, Utah, from 
the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is the National Oil and 
Hazardous Substances Pollution and Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA 
promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA). 
EPA, with the preliminary concurrence of the State of Utah Department 
of Environmental Quality (UDEQ), has determined that responsible 
parties have implemented all appropriate response actions required and 
that no further response at the Site is appropriate.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 28, 2000, 
unless EPA receives significant adverse or critical comments by January 
31, 2000. If significant adverse or critical comments are received, EPA 
will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the

[[Page 73424]]

Federal Register informing the public that the Rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Mr. Jerry Cross (8EPR-F), 
Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
8, 999 18th Street, Suite 500, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466, telephone 
(303) 312-6664.
    Information repositories: Comprehensive information on the Site is 
available for viewing and copying at the Site information repositories 
at the following locations: U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction 
Office Public Reading Room, 2597 B\3/4\ Road, Grand Junction, Colorado 
81503, (970) 248-6344; Monticello City Offices, 17 North First East 
Street, Monticello, Utah 84535, (435) 587-2271.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jerry Cross (8EPR-F), Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, 999 
18th Street, Suite 500, Denver, Colorado 80202-2466, (303) 312-6664; 
Mr. Joel Berwick, Project Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, 2597 B\3/
4\ Road, Grand Junction, Colorado, 81503, (970) 248-6020; Mr. David 
Bird, Project Manager, State of Utah Department of Environmental 
Quality, 168 North 1950 West, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84116, (801) 536-
4219.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis For Site Deletion
V. Action

I. Introduction

    The United States environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, 
announces the deletion of the releases from the Monticello Radioactive 
Contaminated Properties Site (Site), located in Monticello, Utah, from 
the National Priorities List (NPL), appendix B of the National Oil and 
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR part 300. 
EPA identifies sites that appear to present a significant risk to 
public health or the environment and maintains the NPL as the list of 
those sites. As stated in Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted 
from the NPL remain eligible for further remedial actions financed by 
the Hazardous Substances Superfund (Fund), should future conditions at 
a site warrant such action.
    EPA will accept comments concerning this action for 30 days after 
publication of this document in the Federal Register. If no significant 
adverse or critical comments are received, the Site will be deleted 
from the NPL effective February 28, 2000. However, if significant 
adverse or critical comments are received within the 30 day comment 
period, EPA will publish a notice of withdrawal of this direct final 
rule within 60 days of publication of this direct final rule. All 
public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule, 
if appropriate, based on the Proposal to Delete located in the proposed 
rules section of this Federal Register. If, after consideration of the 
public comments, EPA proceeds with a subsequent final rulemaking, a 
second public comment period will not be instituted. Any parties 
interested in commenting should do so at this time.
    Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting 
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures EPA is using for 
this action. Section IV discusses the Site and how the Site meets the 
deletion criteria. Section V states EPA's action to delete the Site 
from the NPL.

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 must consider, in consultation with the state in which the 
release was located, whether any of 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 of remedial measures is not appropriate.
    Even if a 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, 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. 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 that has been deleted from the NPL, the 
site will be restored to the NPL without application of the hazard 
ranking system.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures apply to the deletion of the Site:
    (1) All appropriate response under CERCLA has been implemented and 
no further action by EPA is appropriate;
    (2) EPA provided the State of Utah at least 30 working days for 
review of this Direct Final Rule prior to its publication in the 
Federal Register.
    (3) Concurrent with publication of this direct final rule, a notice 
of availability of this action is being published in a major local 
newspaper of general circulation at or near the Site and is being 
distributed to appropriate federal, state, and local officials and 
other interested parties. The notice of availability announces the 30-
day public comment period concerning the deletion.
    (4) EPA has placed copies of information supporting the deletion in 
the information repositories which are available for public inspection 
and copying.
    Deletion of a site 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 EPA management.
    EPA Region 8 will accept and evaluate public comments on this 
direct final rule before making a final decision. If necessary, EPA 
will prepare a responsiveness summary to address any significant public 
comments received. If no significant adverse or critical comments are 
received during the comment period, the Site will be deleted from the 
NPL effective February 28, 2000.

IV. Basis For Site Deletion

    The following information provides the EPA's rationale for deleting 
this Site from the NPL:

A. Site Background and History

    The Site, which is also commonly referred to as the Monticello 
Vicinity Properties Site, is located in the City of Monticello, San 
Juan County, Utah, approximately 65 miles south of Moab, Utah. The Site 
consists of private and commercial properties covering approximately 
nine square miles in and around the City of Monticello. Four hundred 
and twenty-four (424) properties, divided into Operable Units (OUs) A 
through H, are included in the Site. The properties are used for 
residential, commercial, and agricultural purposes. Montezuma Creek, a 
largely seasonal stream, traverses several properties on the south end 
of the Site before it flows east

[[Page 73425]]

through the former Monticello Millsite and eventually terminates in the 
San Juan River.
    The source of the contamination that has been remediated at the 
Site was the original Monticello Millsite. The Millsite was constructed 
with government funding by the Vanadium Corporation of America (VCA) in 
1941 to provide vanadium, a steel hardener, for the Manhattan Engineer 
District during World War II. The VCA operated the Millsite until early 
1944 and again from 1945 through 1946, producing vanadium, as well as a 
waste uranium-vanadium sludge. Vanadium is found in the same ore with 
uranium and radium and, as a result, the processed wastes contain 
significant uranic radioactivity. In 1948, the U.S. Atomic Energy 
Commission (AEC) purchased the Site. Uranium and vanadium milling 
operations began again in 1949 under the auspices of the AEC. Vanadium 
milling operations ceased in 1955. Uranium milling continued until 1960 
when the Millsite was permanently closed.
    Four tailings piles, the result of the ore milling process, were 
left at the Millsite following the cessation of milling operations. 
Contaminated dust from the Millsite tailings piles was wind deposited 
throughout the City of Monticello and surrounding areas, and tailings 
from the Millsite were used as construction material and backfill on 
properties in and around the City. The main contaminants of concern 
include radium-226 and associated radon gas. The contaminants posed 
potential threats to human health and the environment resulting from 
exposure to radiation emanating from soils contaminated with uranium 
mill tailings and from radon gas inhalation.

B. Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study Activities

    The United States Department of Energy (DOE) initiated cleanup 
activities at the Site in 1984 pursuant to the DOE Surplus Facilities 
Management Program. In conjunction with this effort, and prior to the 
Site being added to the NPL, DOE commenced property investigations and 
completed remedial actions on some of the properties at the Site. EPA 
proposed the Site for placement on the NPL on October 15, 1984, and 
thereafter added it to the NPL on June 10, 1986. After the Site was 
added to the NPL, DOE, pursuant to section 120 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 
9620, entered into a Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA) with EPA and 
UDEQ. The FFA became effective on or about February 1989. Among other 
things, the FFA required that DOE perform a Remedial Investigation /
Feasibility Study (RI/FS) or functional equivalent at the Site. After 
reviewing information submitted by DOE documenting the efforts it had 
already performed at the Site, EPA and UDEQ concluded that DOE had in 
fact performed the functional equivalent of an RI/FS at the Site. The 
Monticello Vicinity Properties Equivalency of Documentation was 
approved on May 24, 1984.
    DOE is the Responsible Party and the lead agency for remediation at 
the Site, and provides principal staff and resources to plan and 
implement response actions. Responsibility for oversight of activities 
performed by DOE under the FFA were shared by EPA and UDEQ. EPA is the 
lead regulatory agency with ultimate responsibility and authority, but 
shares its decision making with UDEQ.

C. Record of Decision

    A Record of Decision (ROD) for the Site was issued by EPA on 
November 29, 1989. The ROD identified the following routes of exposure 
to humans:
     Inhalation of radon-222 and daughter products that result 
from the continuous decay of radium-226. The greatest hazard to human 
health results from the inhalation of radon-222 daughters which emit 
alpha radiation that affects the lungs.
     External whole-body gamma exposure directly from 
radionuclides in the mill tailings.
     Inhalation and ingestion of windblown mill-tailings dust.
     Ingestion of groundwater and surface water contaminated 
with radioactive elements, primarily radium-226.
     Ingestion of food potentially contaminated through uptake 
and concentration of radioactive elements through plants and animals.
    Details of the health risks are found in the Monticello Vicinity 
Properties Equivalency of Documentation, specifically within the 
Environmental Evaluation on Proposed Cleanup Activities at Vicinity 
Properties Near the Inactive Uranium Millsite, Monticello, Utah, 
Appendix B, August 1985. The evaluation determined the potential 
ingestion pathways of food, groundwater, and surface water to be 
insignificant exposure routes. The ROD identified exposure in the lungs 
to radon and radon daughters, and exposure to external gamma radiation 
as presenting imminent and substantial endangerment to public health 
and the environment.
    The selected remedy for cleanup of the Site was the removal of 
residual radioactive contaminants, restoration with clean materials, 
and the modification of existing structures to isolate radon sources 
from inhabitants. Cleanup activities required excavation and, in some 
cases, demolition of sidewalks, sheds, patios, and other improvements. 
All affected structures and other improvements were reconstructed or 
the owner was compensated based on the current value of the structure 
or other improvement.

D. Characterization of Risk

    Property Completion Reports (PCR) were prepared for each remediated 
property in the Site. Each PCR included the legal description of the 
property, the name and address of the owner, remediation activities 
performed, and a summary of the assessment results and verification 
surveys. As documented in the PCRs, all properties at the Site were 
either (1) remediated to the standards set forth in 40 CFR part 192, 
subpart B and DOE guidelines for Residual Radioactive Material at 
Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP Guidance); or 
(2) remediated, based on a site specific risk assessment, to the 
Supplemental Standards provided for in 40 CFR 192.22. If Supplemental 
Standards were applied to a property, appropriate institutional 
controls in the form of land use restrictions were also instituted. 
Compliance with the clean-up standards are documented in each of the 
individual PCRs. EPA and UDEQ have approved all 424 PCRs for the Site 
covering Operable Units A through H. Supplemental Standards were 
applied to one privately-owned parcel, four parcels associated with the 
Highway 191 embankment owned by the Utah Department of Transportation, 
to City Streets/Utilities, and the Highway 191 and Highway 666 rights-
of-way. Compliance with the institutional controls required for these 
properties will be monitored under the DOE Long-Term Surveillance and 
Maintenance Plan (LTSM) and the 5-year reviews required under CERCLA 
and the FFA. The remedial actions taken at the Site have reduced the 
environmental risk for approximately 2,200 people within an eight-mile 
radius of the City of Monticello, Utah.

E. Remedial Action Activities

    EPA standards for Remedial Action at Inactive Uranium Processing 
Sites (40 CFR part 192) and DOE FUSRAP Guidance are Applicable or 
Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs) for the selected remedy. 
Remedial activities conducted at the Site include:
     Excavation and disposal of all contaminated soil and 
construction materials exceeding the standards in 40

[[Page 73426]]

CFR part 192, subpart B (except where Supplemental Standards were 
applied). Contaminated material from the properties was disposed of in 
a repository constructed approximately one mile south of the former 
Monticello Millsite, a separate NPL Site. The repository contains a 
double HDPE liner with a leak detection system, meeting the functional 
equivalency of a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Subtitle C 
facility. The repository cover will be 8.5 feet thick, including a 
radon barrier.
     After removal of contaminated material and before 
backfilling, verification surveys were performed in order to 
demonstrate compliance with the 40 CFR part 192, subpart B Standards. 
For the Supplemental Standards properties, contamination was removed to 
risk-based clean-up levels corresponding with future land use 
scenarios.
     Placement of backfill and reconstruction to a physical 
condition comparable to that which existed before remedial action 
activities, and
     Post-construction monitoring of radon levels, where 
applicable, to verify conformance to 40 CFR part 192 standards.
    Supplemental Standards were selected for contaminated materials 
located on one privately-owned parcel, four parcels associated with the 
Highway 191 embankment owned by the Utah Department of Transportation, 
on City Streets/Utilities, and the Highway 191 and Highway 666 rights-
of-way. Supplemental Standards were applied because:
     The remedial action would have caused excessive 
environmental harm when compared to health benefits, and/or
     Because the cost of remedial action at the Site would have 
been unreasonably high relative to long-term benefits for contamination 
that does not pose a clear present or future hazard.

    On July 1, 1999, EPA approved, with UDEQ concurrence, DOE's 
applications for Supplemental Standards per 40 CFR part 192.

F. Pre-Final Inspection Activities

    DOE's independent verification contractor (IVC) for Site 
remediation activities was Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 
Grand Junction, Colorado. ORNL provided 100 percent Type A verification 
(document review) of the U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction 
Office (DOE-GJO) Remedial Action Contractor (RAC) remediation 
activities, and 10 percent Type B verifications, which included 
verification of field surveys and measurements, physical sampling, and 
laboratory analyses. EPA and UDEQ also conducted independent 
verification surveys on at least 10 percent of the properties.
    Compliance with the clean-up standards are documented in each of 
the individual PCRs generated for the 424 Site properties. EPA and UDEQ 
have approved all of the PCRs for the Site. Remedial Action Reports 
(RARs) have been prepared for OUs A through H. All RARs have been 
accepted by EPA and UDEQ.

G. Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance

    OU H contains five properties which were approved for Supplemental 
Standards. One is a privately-owned parcel with pinon/juniper woodlands 
and four are associated with the Highway 191 embankment owned by the 
Utah Department of Transportation. Additionally, Supplemental Standards 
were applied to streets and utilities in the City of Monticello rights-
of-way and Highways 191 and 666 rights-of-way. The City streets and 
utilities and the highway rights-of-way have not been included in OU's 
A through H, but are located within the City of Monticello and 
therefore, are considered part of the Site. The remediation of OU H was 
completed on December 10, 1998. The remediation consisted of removal of 
contaminated material to risk-based clean-up levels corresponding with 
intended future land-use scenarios. Since remediation of the OU H 
properties was based on Supplemental Standards that are not as 
protective as the 40 CFR part 192, subpart B standards that were 
applied to the rest of the Site properties, all OU H properties will be 
subject to DOE's LTSM and 5-Year Reviews required by section 121(c) of 
CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9621(c), and the FFA. The next CERCLA 5-Year Review 
report for these Supplemental Standards properties will be completed 
during February 2002, which is 5 years after the initial CERCLA 5-Year 
Review completed on February 13, 1997.

H. Close Out Report

    The Close Out Report (COR) for the Site, completed September 2, 
1999, detailed that all Site response actions were accomplished in 
accordance with CERCLA and consistent with the NCP. Following review of 
all PCRs, RARs and the COR, EPA and UDEQ agree that conditions at the 
Site do not pose any unacceptable risks to human health or the 
environment.
    Based on the completion of the activities listed above, EPA and 
UDEQ conclude that the responsible party, DOE, has implemented all 
appropriate response actions required and that the Site should be 
deleted from the NPL.

I. Community Involvement

    Public participation activities required by section 113(k) of 
CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and section 117 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9617, 
have been satisfied. Documents which EPA relied on for Site deletion 
from the NPL are available to the public in the information 
repositories.

V. Action

    EPA, with the concurrence of the State of Utah, has determined that 
the Site poses no significant threat to human health or the 
environment, that all appropriate responses under CERCLA at the Site 
have been completed, and that no further response actions, other than 
five-year reviews and maintaining institutional controls, are 
necessary. Therefore, EPA is deleting this Site from the NPL.
    Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and 
routine, EPA is taking this action without prior proposal. This Direct 
Final Rule will become effective February 28, 2000, unless EPA receives 
significant adverse or critical comments by January 31, 2000. If 
significant adverse or critical comments are received, EPA will publish 
a timely withdrawal of this action in the Federal Register informing 
the public that the Rule will not take effect.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals, 
Hazardous waste, Hazardous substances, Intergovernmental relations, 
Natural resources, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Superfund, Water pollution control, Water supply.

    Dated: December 15, 1999.
William P. Yellowtail,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 40 CFR Part 300 is amended 
as follows:

PART 300--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for Part 300 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; E.O. 
12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 
2923; 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193.

Appendix B--[Amended]

    2. Table 1 of Appendix B to Part 300 is amended under Utah (``UT'') 
by removing the site name ``Monticello

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Radioactive Contaminated Prop.'' and the city/county ``Monticello.''

[FR Doc. 99-33523 Filed 12-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P