[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 21, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38476-38478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15393]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6719-1]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent for partial deletion of the Cimarron Mining 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 announces 
its intent for partial deletion of the Cimarron Mining Superfund Site 
from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on 
this action. All public comments regarding this proposed action will be 
considered by EPA. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is codified as Appendix B to the National 
Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR 
part 300. The proposed partial deletion of the Cimarron Mining Site is 
in accordance with 40 CFR 300.425 (e) and the Notice of Policy Change: 
Partial Deletion of Sites Listed on the NPL. EPA, in consultation with 
the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), has determined that all 
appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been implemented to 
protect human health, welfare, and the environment at the portions of 
the site for which deletion is being proposed. This partial deletion 
includes all portions of the Cimarron Operable Unit (OU1) and the 
Sierra Blanca Operable Unit (OU2) except for the long-term ground water 
remedy at OU1.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by July 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Ms. Petra Sanchez, Remedial 
Project Manager (6SF-LT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
6 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, (214) 665-6686 or (800) 
533-3508.
    Information Repositories: Comprehensive information on the site has 
been compiled in a public deletion docket which may be reviewed and 
copied during normal business hours at the following information 
repositories:

U.S. EPA Region 6 Library (12th Floor) 1445 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 
75202-2733
New Mexico Environment Department, P.O. Box 26110, 11909 St. Francis 
Dr., Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503
Carrizozo City Hall P.O. Box 247, Carrizozo, New Mexico 88301

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Petra Sanchez, Remedial Project 
Manager (6SF-LT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6,1445 
Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 75202-2733 (214) 665-6686, 1-800-533-3508.
    Mr. David Henry, New Mexico Environment Department, 1190 St. 
Francis Dr., P.O. Box 26110, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503, (505) 827-
0037.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents:

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

I. Introduction

    This document was prepared by EPA Region 6 as Notice of Intent for 
Partial Deletion (Notice or NOIPD) of the Cimarron Mining Superfund 
Site (EPA Site Spill No. 06B5; CERCLIS No. NMD980749378), from the 
National

[[Page 38477]]

Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is the list compiled by EPA pursuant to 
CERCLA section 105 of uncontrolled hazardous substance release sites in 
the United States that are priorities for long-term remedial evaluation 
and response. As described in 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the National 
Contingency Plan (NCP), sites deleted from the NPL remain eligible for 
remedial actions in the unlikely event that conditions at the site 
warrant such action.
    The EPA will consider comments concerning this document which are 
submitted within thirty days of the date of this Notice. The EPA has 
also published an advertisement of the availability of this Notice in 
the Albuquerque Journal and Lincoln County News.
    Section II of this Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion explains 
the National Contingency Plan criteria for deleting sites from the 
National Priorities List. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is 
using for this action. Section IV discusses the Cimarron Mining 
Superfund Site and explains that portions of the site meet the NCP 
deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP, at 40 CFR 300.425(e), provides that sites may be deleted 
from the NPL if no further response is appropriate. In making a 
determination to delete a site 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 \1\ response under CERCLA has 
been implemented, and no further action by responsible parties is 
appropriate; or
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    \1\ The ``Fund'' referred to here is the Hazardous Substance 
Superfund established by section 9507 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986.
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    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.
    If, at the site of a release, EPA selects a remedial action that 
results in any hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants 
remaining at the site, CERCLA subsection 121(c), 42 U.S.C. 121(c), 
requires that EPA review such remedial action no less often than each 5 
years to ensure that human health and the environment are being 
protected by the remedial action. Since hazardous substances will 
remain at the site,\2\ EPA shall conduct such reviews. If new 
information becomes available which indicates a need for further 
action, EPA may 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 application of the Hazard Ranking System 
(HRS).\3\
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    \2\ Treated soil remains on the Site at the Sierra Blanca 
Operable Unit (OU2). EPA considers this treated soil area to be 
protective of unrestricted use; i.e., residential or industrial 
future use nonetheless, since hazardous substances will remain on 
the Site, EPA is required to conduct a five-year review.
    \3\ The Hazardous Ranking System, Appendix A to 40 CFR part 300, 
is the method used by EPA to evaluate the relative potential of 
hazardous substance releases to cause health or safety problems, or 
ecological or environmental damage.
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III. Partial Deletion Procedures

    EPA followed these procedures regarding the proposed partial 
deletion:
    (1) EPA Region 6 made a determination that no further response 
action is necessary and that portions of the site may be deleted from 
the NPL;
    (2) EPA has consulted with the appropriate environmental agency, 
the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), and NMED concurs with 
EPA's partial deletion decision;
    (3) EPA has published, in a major local newspaper of general 
circulation at or near the site, an advertisement of availability of 
this Notice, which includes an announcement of a 30-day public comment 
period regarding the Notice, and EPA distributed the Notice to 
appropriate State, local and Federal officials, and to other interested 
parties; and
    (4) EPA placed copies of information supporting the proposed 
deletion (i.e., the public deletion docket) in the site information 
repositories (the locations of these repositories are identified 
above).
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. As mentioned in Section 
II of this Notice, 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states that the 
deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility of the 
site for future response actions.
    EPA Region 6 will accept and evaluate public comments on this 
Notice before making a final decision to delete. If necessary, EPA will 
prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public 
comments received.

IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

A. Site Location and Description

    The Cimarron Mining Site has two operable units (OUs). The first 
operable unit (OU-1) is located approximately \1/4\ mile east of 
Carrizozo, Lincoln County, New Mexico, and approximately 100 miles 
south-southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The site is about 10.6 
acres in size, and is located in the NE\1/4\ of Section 2, Township 8S, 
Range 10E, on the north side of Highway 380 (see Appendix A). The site 
consisted of a conventional agitation mill, which resulted in 
unpermitted discharge of contaminated liquids and the stockpiling of 
contaminated liquids, tailings and other waste sediment. Access to the 
site is restricted by an 8-foot fence. Approximately 1500 people live 
within a two mile radius of the site.
    The Sierra Blanca Operable Unit (OU2) is located approximately one 
mile south of OU1 and comprises approximately 7.5 acres. The Sierra 
Blanca OU was designed and operated similarly to the Cimarron mill with 
the exception that cyanide was apparently not used at Sierra Blanca. 
The site file information from EPA and NMED discusses a possible spill 
occurring at Cimarron that most likely prompted milling operations to 
be relocated to Sierra Blanca in June of 1982. The Sierra Blanca 
milling location included two buildings, four discharge pits, one 
cinder block trench, a septic tank system, and numerous process tanks 
and material piles.

B. History

    The Cimarron Mining Corporation site is an inactive milling 
facility originally owned by Zia Steel Inc., and used to recover iron 
from ores transported to the site. The iron recovery process took place 
between the late 1960's and 1979 and involved crushing of the ore 
material, creating a liquid slurry by mixing with water and collecting 
the ferric (iron) portion of the mix by using a magnetic separator. 
Cyanide was not used in this original process. Tailings from the 
process were transported away from the site and used as fill material 
in local construction projects. In 1979, the site was sold to Southwest 
Minerals Corporation. Southwest Minerals began using cyanide soon 
thereafter to extract precious metals from ore. Details on the 
operation between 1979 and 1981 are not available other than a 1980 New 
Mexico Environmental Improvement Division (NMEID) sample analysis 
report. The report cited the presence of cyanide contamination in OU 1. 
Southwest Minerals, a subsidiary of Sierra Blanca Mining and Milling 
Company, operated at the site without the permits required for 
conducting cyanide processing. In mid-1981, the operation was expanded 
by adding several large mixing tanks, cyanide solution tanks and 
associated pumping and conveyance equipment. The NMEID

[[Page 38478]]

sent a certified notice of violation to the property owner on June 22, 
1982, for discharging into a non-permitted discharge pit and, in July 
1982, the site ceased operation. No legal action was taken by the 
State; the company filed for bankruptcy in July 1983, and a court 
assigned bankruptcy trustee was appointed for the site.
    Field inspections of the site by NMEID in February 1980, June 1982, 
and in May and June 1984, revealed the presence of cyanide and elevated 
metals in shallow ground water, soil and mill tailings. An Expanded 
Site Inspection (ESI) was conducted from January to October 1987 by an 
EPA Field Investigation Team (FIT). The objective of the ESI was to 
collect additional data for the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) and to 
facilitate the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) 
planning.
    On-site activities performed during the ESI included surface and 
subsurface soil sampling, visual inspection of process tanks, sampling 
of remnant materials in the tanks, quantifying waste volumes, sampling 
and geologically describing subsurface soil borings during installation 
of monitoring wells, sampling ground water in the monitoring wells and 
in nearby water supply wells, testing insitu permeability at the 
monitor wells, and identifying adjacent land uses.
    Based on the findings of site investigations and the preparation of 
the HRS package, the Cimarron Mining Corporation Site was proposed for 
addition to the National Priorities List (NPL) on June 24, 1988, and 
finalized on October 4, 1989.
    The OU1 selected remedy for ground water treatment consists of 
extracting contaminated shallow ground water and discharging to the 
City of Carrizozo sewage treatment plant, meeting all pretreatment 
requirements prior to discharge. Ground water treatment in OU1 will 
continue as long as it demonstrates effective, or, until the site is 
taken over by the state in 2004. The OU2 selected remedy includes the 
excavation and treatment of arsenic and lead contaminated soils by 
mixing the soils with cement and placing them in the on-site discharge 
pit with a native soil cover and native re-vegetation. Pursuant to 
section 104(c)(6) of CERCLA, EPA is authorized to share the cost of 
restoration of the ground water for a period of up to ten years or 
until the level of protectiveness, as defined in the Record of 
Decision, is achieved. The ten-year period began when the ground water 
remedy at the Cimarron Unit became operational and functional and 
adheres to the statutory provisions in 40 CFR 300.435(f)(3) and 
300.435(f)(4). Based on mutual agreement between EPA and NMED, the 
ground water extraction and treatment system was deemed operational and 
functional beginning January 30, 1994.

C. Characterization of Risk

    Due to remedial actions by EPA and NMED, and the long term remedial 
action for contaminated ground water, EPA verifies the implemented 
remedy for the portions of the site proposed to be deleted is 
protective of human health and the environment.

D. Community Involvement

    Public participation activities have been satisfied as required in 
CERCLA subsection 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and in CERCLA section 117, 
42 U.S.C. 9617. Documents in the deletion docket on which EPA relied 
for recommendation of the site partial deletion from the NPL have been 
made available to the public in the three information repositories as 
specified above.

E. Proposed Action

    In consultation with NMED, EPA has concluded that all appropriate 
response actions required at portions of the site proposed to be 
deleted have been met. Neither the CERCLA-required five-year reviews 
nor operation and maintenance of the ground water remedy are considered 
further response action for these purposes. The ground water remedy for 
OU 1, which is the portion of the site not being proposed for deletion, 
will continue until the remedial action level for cyanide has been met 
or an alternate treatment and/or remedial action level is selected by 
EPA and the State.
    In a letter dated January 25, 1999, NMED formally concurred with 
the partial deletion of the site and stated NMED's satisfaction with 
all completed remedial tasks as defined in the ROD. Moreover, EPA, in 
consultation with NMED, has determined that site surface soils at both 
OU 1 (Cimarron) and OU 2 (Sierra Blanca) now pose no significant threat 
to public health or the environment and that the Sierra Blanca site is 
suitable for future redevelopment. Consequently, EPA proposes this 
partial deletion of the Cimarron Mining Superfund Site.

    Dated: May 31, 2000.
Lynda Carroll,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 00-15393 Filed 6-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-01-P