[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49528-49529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20426]



[[Page 49528]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6849-7]


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 Route 940 Drum 
Dump from the National Priorities List (NPL).

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces 
its intent to delete the release from the Route 940 Drum Dump (Site) 
from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on 
this 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 (CERCLA), as amended, EPA and 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 13, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Donna Santiago, (3HS22), Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 
Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-814-3222, 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 Tobyhanna Township Municipal Building, State 
Ave, Pocono Pines, PA 15065.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Santiago (3HS22), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch St., 
Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-814-3222, 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 Route 940 Drum Dump, Pocono 
Summit, Monroe 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 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. As described in 
Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the NPL remain 
eligible for remedial actions in the unlikely event that conditions at 
the site warrant action.
    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 notice in the Federal Register.
    Section II of this notice 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 Route 940 Drum Dump 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 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 PADEP, 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 when 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 is 
required, by statue or policy, to conduct a subsequent review of the 
site 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 1997. Based on this review, EPA determined that 
conditions at the Site remain 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 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 
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; (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 repository.
    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.
    A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a final 
action 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 for Intended Site Deletion

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

[[Page 49529]]

Site Background and History

    The Route 940 Drum Dump (Site) is located in Tobyhanna Township 
near Pocono Summit, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The Site consists of a 
grass-covered open clearing consisting of approximately 2.5 acres. 
Landmark International purchased the property in 1976 from the J.E.M. 
Partnership, which had owned the property since 1974. Between 1974 and 
1978, approximately 600 drums of unknown contents from an unknown 
source were stored on the site. In 1978 the property owner arranged for 
removal of the drums. However in 1983 it was discovered that some of 
the drums had been buried on site and the contents of some of the drums 
were dumped on the surface of the ground on Site. The US EPA and PADEP 
initiated investigations and discovered rusted remains of several 
crushed 55-gallon drums in shallow trenches. Following EPA and PADEP 
response actions at the Site, Landmark conducted further investigations 
and actions at the Site in 1983. Contaminated soils were excavated and 
approximately 3000 tons of contaminated soil were removed from the 
Site. In 1987 an additional 4,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil were 
removed from the Site. In 1985 the Site was proposed for inclusion on 
the National Priorities List, 40 CFR part 300, and was finalized in 
July 1987.
    In 1987, Landmark entered into a Consent Order with PADEP to 
undertake an RI/FS for the Site. In 1990, Landmark's performance of the 
RI/FS pursuant to the consent order was suspended due to non-
compliance. The Site was subsequently turned back to EPA and a fund 
lead RI/FS was initiated. EPA's goals for Site investigation were to 
identify risks posed by the Site, to develop remedial alternatives to 
address those risks, and to protect human health and the environment. 
There were no principal threats identified at this Site based on the 
EPA criteria. As part of the RI a risk assessment was conducted to 
evaluate the potential impacts of the Site on human health and the 
environment. Upon review of the baseline risk assessment, it was 
determined that under the various risk scenarios evaluated for 
contaminants of concern at the Site, the Site contaminants did not pose 
any risks or threat to human health or the environment which would 
warrant EPA undertaking a remedial action. It should be noted that 
while there are naturally occurring metals, which at the concentrations 
detected in groundwater samples could potentially pose a health threat 
to those who use it as a drinking water source, EPA can take no action. 
Under the Superfund Law, EPA is unable to address any risks that are 
posed by naturally occurring elements within an area except in 
conjunction with the remediation of any Site related contamination that 
is not naturally occurring. The Record of Decision (ROD) for the Site 
was signed in 1992. The selected remedial action in the ROD was, No 
Action. Under this alternative EPA will not undertake any type of 
remedial action since there were no site related risks which would 
warrant EPA to implement a remedial action.

Response Actions

    The 1992 ROD which identifies No Action as the selected remedy 
indicates that EPA will not undertake any type of remedial action since 
there were no site related risks which would warrant EPA to implement a 
remedial action. It has been determined that the previous actions which 
were completed by EPA, PADEP and Landmark have remediated the Site to 
the point where the residual risks posed by the Site are below health-
based standards and therefore do not warrant any further remedial 
action.

Monitoring

    The 1992 ROD for the Site required that ground water monitoring be 
conducted for a period of at least five years to assure that changes 
have not occurred which would pose a risk to human health or the 
environment. Five years of annual ground water monitoring activities 
have been conducted at the Site. Monitoring results at the Site 
indicate that the selected alternative identified in the 1992 ROD 
remains protective of human health and the environment.

Five-Year Review

    EPA completed a five-year review report in 1997, where it evaluated 
the results of the monitoring activities at the Site. This report 
concluded that the Route 940 Site is protective of human health and the 
environment. Specifically, the 1997 five-year review recommended to 
continue monitoring activities at the Site for an additional year as 
required in the ROD 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 Record 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 
remedy implemented continues to provide adequate protection of human 
health and the environment.

    Dated: August 3, 2000.
Thomas C. Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 3.
[FR Doc. 00-20426 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
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