[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 170 (Thursday, August 31, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52948-52950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22377]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6861-9]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct Final Deletion of the Wheeling Disposal Service Company, 
Incorporated, Landfill Site from the National Priorities List (NPL).

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SUMMARY: EPA Region VII announces the deletion of the Wheeling Disposal 
Service Company, Incorporated Landfill site (site) from the (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 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 and the Missouri 
Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) have determined that all 
appropriate response actions have been implemented and the site poses 
no significant threat to public health or the environment and, 
therefore, further remedial measures pursuant to CERCLA are not 
appropriate.

DATES: This ``direct final'' action will be effective October 30, 2000 
unless EPA receives significant adverse or critical comments by October 
2, 2000. If adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing 
the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Catherine Barrett, Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. EPA, Superfund Division, 901 North 5th Street, 
Kansas City, KS 66101, telephone (913) 551-7704, fax (913) 551-7063. 
Comprehensive information on this site is available through the public 
docket which is available for viewing at the Site Information 
Repository at U.S. EPA Region VII, Superfund Division Records Center, 
901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101 or the Wheeling Local 
Repository, Rolling Hills Library, 514 West Main Street, Savannah, 
Missouri.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Barrett, U.S. EPA, Superfund 
Division, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101, telephone (913) 
551-7704, fax (913) 551-7063.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The EPA Region VII announces the deletion of the Wheeling Disposal 
Service Company, Incorporated, Landfill site, Amazonia, Missouri, from 
the NPL, Appendix B of the NCP, 40 CFR Part 300. 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 MDNR have determined that the remedial action for the site has 
been successfully executed. EPA will accept comments on this notice 
thirty days after publication of this notice 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 history of the Wheeling 
Disposal Service Company, Incorporated, Landfill site and explains how 
the site meets the deletion criteria. Section V states EPA's action to 
delete the releases of the site from the NPL unless dissenting comments 
are received during the comment period.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that sites 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 shall consider, in consultation with the state, whether any of 
the following criteria have been met:

[[Page 52949]]

    (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 the 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 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 remedy remains protective of human health and the 
environment. A 5-year review was conducted for the Wheeling Disposal 
Service Company, Incorporated, Landfill in 1999. Based on that review, 
EPA in consultation with the State, determined that conditions at the 
site remain protective of public health and the environment. As 
explained below, the site meets the NCP's deletion criteria listed 
above. 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 
release from the site: (1) All appropriate response under CERCLA has 
been implemented and no further action by EPA is appropriate; (2) The 
MDNR concurred with the proposed deletion decision; (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 dissenting public 
review. EPA is requesting only dissenting comments on the Direct Final 
Action to Delete; and (4) All relevant documents have been made 
available in the local site information repository.
    For deletion of the release from the site, EPA's Regional Office 
will accept and evaluate public comments on EPA's Final Notice 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 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 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.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

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

Site Background and History

    The Wheeling Disposal Service Company, Incorporated, Landfill site 
is located in Andrew County, Missouri, and is a 20-acre site, centrally 
located on two adjacent areas totaling about 200 acres. The shallow 
groundwater below the site supplies water to a deeper aquifer. The site 
was added to the NPL on October 4, 1989.
    The landfill was established in the early 1970s and the facility 
received a State permit in 1975 to operate as an industrial waste 
disposal facility. Between 1980 and 1981, the company voluntarily 
ceased operations. The facility resumed operations under the authority 
of a special waste disposal permit issued by the State of Missouri 
until it voluntarily closed in 1986. The MDNR periodically inspected 
the site and monitored groundwater when the landfill was in operation. 
Based on MDNR hazardous waste records, wastes containing pesticides, 
heavy metals, paint, solvents, and leather tanning sludge were disposed 
of in the landfill. In field investigations conducted by the EPA, 
contaminants were detected in monitoring wells and springs on the site.
    The groundwater and soil on site were contaminated with various 
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals including arsenic, 
chromium, nickel, and lead from the former waste disposal activities. 
Several seeps on the north side of the site were contaminated, 
indicating that local surface water was potentially threatened.
    In late 1990, the potentially responsible parties completed site 
investigations. In a Proposed Plan, the proposed remedy for the site 
included the following: well plugging, surface water and groundwater 
monitoring, and upgrading the existing landfill cover to comply with 
State and Federal standards. A Community Relations Plan was completed 
for the Wheeling Disposal Service Company, Incorporated, Landfill site. 
The Proposed Plan and the Administrative Record were available for 
public review during the public comment period. A public meeting was 
held to present the Proposed Plan for the remedy and to answer 
questions and receive any written comments. A Record of Decision 
explaining the remedy for the site was signed by EPA on September, 27, 
1990.
    A Consent Decree, Civil Action No. 92-0132-CV-W-1, which addressed 
the Remedial Design and Remedial Action (RD/RA) at the site, was 
entered by the court on October 1, 1992. The Wheeling Disposal Site RD/
RA Trust hired a contractor to assist them in the implementation of the 
RD/RA. Construction documents were generated by the responsible party 
contractor and contractors were procured to carry out the bid 
contracts. The EPA approved RD documents on September 30, 1993.
    In compliance with the Consent Decree, the responsible party 
completed all RA construction within the Consent Decree schedule. The 
pre-final site inspection by EPA was conducted on July 27, 1994. The 
EPA provided final Construction Completion Notification on September 1, 
1994.
    The RA construction completed included previous monitoring well and 
farm well closure according to MDNR regulations, placement of 10 new 
monitoring wells, surface water and groundwater monitoring, and 
upgrading the existing landfill cover to comply with State and Federal 
standards. The landfill upgrading included gas vent system 
installation, geotextile installation, 24-inch depth final soil cap, 
surface terraces, berms, and riprap channel installation, and topsoil 
placement and seeding.

Operations and Maintenance

    Long-term maintenance and groundwater monitoring is being conducted 
by the parties potentially responsible for site contamination. The 
operation and maintenance (O&M) activities being conducted include 
ground water monitoring and surface water monitoring through a sampling 
program, and maintenance of the landfill cover. Sampling is to continue 
to be conducted annually by the responsible party in accordance with 
the Consent Decree.

Five-Year Review

    CERCLA requires a five-year review of all sites with hazardous 
substances remaining above the health-based levels for unrestricted use 
of the site. Since hazardous materials remain at the Site, the five-
year review process will be

[[Page 52950]]

used to insure that the landfill cover is still intact and the remedy 
is protective of human health and the environment. EPA issued a five-
year review report in 1999 which was an evaluation of the results of 
the maintenance and monitoring activities at the Site. This report 
concluded that the Wheeling Disposal Service Company, Incorporated, 
Landfill site is protective of human health and the environment. The 
five-year review recommended continuing the O&M activities, including 
maintenance of the landfill cap and groundwater and surface water 
sampling.

V. Action

    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 MDNR find that the remedy implemented continues 
to provide adequate protection of human health and the environment.
    The EPA, with concurrence of the State of Missouri, has determined 
that the criteria for deletion of the release have been met. Therefore, 
EPA is deleting the site from the NPL.
    This action will be effective October 30, 2000. However, if EPA 
receives dissenting comments by October 2, 2000, EPA will publish a 
document that withdraws this action.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

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

    August 18, 2000.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    Part 300, title 40 of chapter 1 of the Code of 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, 56FR 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 ``Wheeling Disposal Service Co. Landfill, Amazonia, 
Missouri.''
[FR Doc. 00-22377 Filed 8-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P