[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 160 (Thursday, August 17, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50137-50139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20725]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6851-6]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct final deletion of the General Electric (GE) Wiring 
Devices Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region II office, 
announces the deletion of the GE Wiring Devices Superfund Site (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 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 Puerto Rico Environmental Quality 
Board (EQB) have determined that all appropriate CERCLA actions have 
been implemented and that no further cleanup by the responsible party 
is appropriate. Moreover, EPA and the Puerto Rico EQB have determined 
that the Site poses no significant threat to public health and the 
environment.

DATES: This ``direct final'' action will be effective October 16, 2000 
unless EPA receives significant adverse or critical comments by 
September 18, 2000. If written significant adverse or critical comments 
are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the rule in the 
Federal Register, informing the public that the rule will not take 
effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Caroline Kwan, Remedial 
Project Manager, Emergency and Remedial Response Division, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, 290 Broadway, 20th Floor, 
New York, New York 10007-1866.
    Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the 
public docket contained at: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region II, Superfund Records Center, 290 Broadway, Room 1828, New York, 
New York 10007-1866, (212) 637-4308, Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday 
through Friday.
    Information on the Site is also available for viewing at the 
following information repository locations: The Press Office at the 
Mayor's Office, Casa Alcaldia de Juana Diaz, Calle Degetau, (787) 837-
2185, Hours: 8 AM to Noon; 1 PM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Caribbean Environmental 
Protection Division, Centro Europa Building, 1492 Ponce De Leon Avenue, 
Suite 207, Santurce, Puerto Rico 00907, (787) 729-6951 Ext. 263, Hours: 
7 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kwan may be contacted at the above 
address, by telephone at (212) 637-4275, by FAX at (212) 637-4284 or 
via e-mail at [email protected]. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    EPA Region II announces the deletion of the GE Wiring Devices 
Superfund Site (Site), located in the municipality of Juana Diaz, 
Puerto Rico, 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 Substances Pollution 
Contingency Plan (NCP). 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. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of 
remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substances Superfund 
Response Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the 
NCP, any site deleted from the NPL remains eligible for future Fund-
financed remedial actions in the unlikely event that conditions at the 
Site warrant such action.
    EPA will accept comments, concerning this action, for thirty days 
after publication of this action in the Federal Register.
    Section II of this action 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 GE Wiring Devices 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) of the NCP, 
sites may be deleted from the NPL when no further response is 
appropriate. In making this determination, EPA shall consider whether 
any of the following criteria have been met:
    (i) Responsible or other parties have implemented all appropriate 
response actions required; or,
    (ii) All appropriate responses under CERCLA have been implemented, 
and no further 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 remedial measures is not appropriate.
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility for 
subsequent Fund-financed actions at the Site if future Site conditions 
warrant such actions. 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP provides that 
Fund-financed actions may be taken at sites that have been deleted from 
the NPL. Further, deletion of a site from the NPL does not affect the 
liability of responsible parties or impede Agency efforts to recover 
costs associated with response efforts.

[[Page 50138]]

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures are being used for the intended deletion 
of this Site:
    (1) EPA Region II issued a Record of Decision (ROD) in September 
1988, which described the selected remedy at the Site. Thereafter, 
following excavation and physical separation of wastes, EPA Region II 
issued a ROD Amendment in July 1999, which allowed for off-site waste 
disposal in place of the treatment method specified in the 1988 ROD.
    (2) A Remedial Action (RA) contractor hired by the Potentially 
Responsible Party (PRP) conducted waste excavation and physical 
separation activities for the Phase I RA at the Site. The PRP also 
hired contractors to complete excavation of remaining waste materials 
as well as off-site waste transportation and disposal activities for 
the Phase II RA. EPA and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico oversaw the 
Phase I and Phase II RA activities. EPA prepared a Final Closeout 
Report, which documents that the remedy was implemented in accordance 
with the 1988 ROD and 1999 ROD Amendment.
    (3) The results obtained from confirmatory soil samples and post-RA 
groundwater samples support that the ROD cleanup requirements have been 
achieved. The remedy is protective of human health and the environment, 
and achieves long-term effectiveness and permanence.
    (4) EPA Region II issued a Final Closeout Report, dated June 20, 
2000, which found that the responsible party implemented all 
appropriate response actions.
    (5) EPA Region II recommends deletion and has made all the relevant 
documents available in the regional office and local information 
repository locations.
    (6) The Puerto Rico EQB has concurred with the deletion decision in 
a letter dated July 10, 2000.
    (7) A notice has been published in a local newspaper and has been 
distributed to appropriate Federal, state and local officials and other 
interested parties, announcing a thirty (30) day public comment period 
on EPA's Direct Final Action to Delete.
    EPA is requesting public comments on the Direct Final Action to 
Delete. The NCP provides that EPA shall not delete a site from the NPL 
until the public has been afforded an opportunity to comment on the 
proposed deletion. Deletion of a site from the NPL does not affect 
responsible party liability or impede Agency efforts to recover costs 
associated with response efforts. The NPL is designed primarily for 
informational purposes and to assist Agency management of Superfund 
sites.
    EPA Region II will accept and evaluate public comments before 
making a final decision to delete. If necessary, EPA Region II will 
prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any significant comments 
received during the public comment period.
    If EPA does not receive significant adverse or critical comments 
and/or significant new data submitted during the comment period, the 
Site will be deleted from the NPL effective October 16, 2000.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The GE Wiring Devices Superfund Site (Site) is located in the south 
central part of the island of Puerto Rico on Calle Carrion Maduro Final 
(Carr. 149, Km. 67) in the municipality of Juana Diaz. The Site is 
located northeast of Ponce, close to the intersection of Routes 14 and 
149. The General Electric Company (GE) operated a wiring devices plant 
at the Site that manufactured various residential, institutional, and 
commercial electrical devices. The plant occupies approximately six 
acres of property, which included a 1.1-acre fill area where mercury-
contaminated materials were historically disposed.
    The fill area or West Field, was located west of the GE plant and 
extended onto the adjacent property to the west, which is owned by the 
Puerto Rico Industrial Development Corporation (PRIDCO). The West Field 
is bounded to the north and east by GE's manufacturing and storage 
buildings, and several residences are located approximately 400 feet 
south. The groundwater underlying the Site is used as a source of 
potable water with the nearest public supply well located approximately 
1,500 feet to the west.
    From 1957 until 1969, GE used the West Field to dispose of 
defective electrical components, including parts from silent mercury 
switches. GE discontinued the use of mercury in its manufacturing 
processes at the Juana Diaz plant in 1970.
    In 1979, GE initiated remedial investigation activities. Early 
sample data revealed the presence of waste fill materials containing up 
to 60,000 parts per million (ppm; equivalent to milligrams per 
kilogram) of mercury in the West Field. An unspecified amount of waste 
material was also removed and sent to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for 
reclamation.
    The Site was included on the National Priorities List of hazardous 
sites in December 1982.
    On January 16, 1984, GE entered into an Administrative Consent 
Order with EPA to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study 
(RI/FS) and to remediate the Site.
    On September 30, 1988, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD). The 
selected remedy included: (1) Further treatability studies to insure 
the implementability of hydrometallurgical processes; (2) on-site 
hydrometallurgical treatment of the waste fill, perched water, and 
contaminated near-surface soils; (3) treatment of the material to below 
the health-based levels, backfilling the waste fill area with the 
treated materials, and covering it with 2 feet of clean soil; (4) 
additional investigation of the groundwater; (5) limited groundwater 
monitoring; and (6) confirmatory air monitoring and re-sampling of soil 
in residential yards.
    From 1994 to 1997, GE patented a mercury removal process called the 
GE Mercury Extraction Process (GEMEP) treatment system with oversight 
by EPA. GE contracted Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. (M&E) to design, fabricate, 
and operate the system. In June 1997, M&E completed construction of the 
physical treatment system; waste excavation and physical separation of 
wastes were performed concurrently. The quantity of material requiring 
excavation and physical separation was more than double the amount 
originally expected (11,700 tons versus 5,005 tons), and (2) the actual 
clay content of the material that underwent treatment was much higher 
than expected (63 percent versus 18 percent). This resulted in the 
physical separation step requiring 34 weeks, instead of the design 
estimate of 4 weeks. Consequently, after completing most of the 
excavation, GE suspended Site activities as a result of the changes in 
material encountered.
    In March 1999, GE completed a Supplemental Focused Feasibility 
Study (FFS), which recommended off-site landfilling of excavated waste 
to a RCRA, Subtitle C (hazardous waste) facility on the mainland United 
States. On July 1, 1999, EPA signed a ROD Amendment, which modified the 
remedy.
    From June to early-July, 1999, stockpiled waste materials were 
loaded into waste shipment containers and disposed off-site.
    From November 1999 to January 2000, excavation of remaining waste 
materials from the cold storage building and the transformer areas was 
completed and was also disposed off-site.
    The final Remedial Action Report was approved by EPA on May 25, 
2000. The Final Closeout Report, dated June 20, 2000 was signed by EPA.

[[Page 50139]]

    The Site cleanup was based on the most conservative exposure 
scenario (future residential development and site use). Results 
obtained from confirmatory soil samples and post-RA groundwater samples 
indicate that the ROD cleanup requirements have been achieved so that 
the Site has no restrictions on Site use or the exposure of persons at 
the Site. Therefore, a subsequent five-year review of the remedy for 
this Site by EPA is not required.

V. Action

    GE has completed all appropriate response actions at this Site 
which are protective of human health and the environment, and achieve a 
permanent cleanup without the need for further remedial action.
    The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico concurs with EPA that the criteria 
for deletion of the Site have been met. Therefore, EPA is deleting the 
Site from the NPL.
    This action will be effective October 16, 2000. However, if EPA 
receives dissenting comments by September 18, 2000, EPA will publish a 
document that withdraws this action.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances, 
Hazardous wastes, Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Superfund, 
Water pollution control, Water supply.

    Dated: July 28, 2000.
William J. Muszynski,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region II.


    Part 300, title 40 of chapter I of the Code of the Federal 
Regulations 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 by removing the 
site for the ``GE Wiring Devices, Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico''.

[FR Doc. 00-20725 Filed 8-16-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U