[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 18, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37439-37442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17832]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7012-7]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Western Pacific Railroad 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 announces 
its intent to delete the Western Pacific Railroad Superfund Site (Site) 
located in Oroville, California, from the National Priorities List 
(NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. The NPL, 
promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, 
is found

[[Page 37440]]

at Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 of the National Oil and Hazardous 
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of 
California, through the California EPA Department of Toxic Substances 
Control (DTSC), have determined that all appropriate response actions 
under CERCLA, other than maintenance and five-year reviews, have been 
completed. Because the Site poses no significant threat to human health 
or the environment, further remedial measures pursuant to CERCLA are 
not appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of this Site from the 
NPL must be submitted on or before August 17, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed to: Holly Hadlock, 
Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA, Region 9, SFD-3, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

INFORMATION REPOSITORIES: Comprehensive information on this site is 
available through the Region 9 public docket which is available for 
viewing at the EPA Region 9 Superfund Records Center, 95 Hawthorne 
Street, Suite 403S, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 536-2000, Monday 
through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Deletion Docket is also 
available for viewing at the Butte County Library, 1820 Mitchell 
Street, Oroville, CA, 95966, (530) 538-7642, Tuesday and Wednesday 
10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. 
to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Holly Hadlock, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. EPA, Region 9, SFD-7-1, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 744-2244; or Jacqueline Lane, Community 
Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA, Region 9, SFD-3, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 744-2267 or (800) 231-3075.

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 9 announces 
its intent to delete the Western Pacific Site in Oroville, Butte 
County, California, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and 
requests public comment on this proposed action. The NPL constitutes 
Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is the 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) of 1980, as amended. 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 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the 
NPL remain eligible for remedial action in the unlikely event that 
conditions at the site warrant such action.
    EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this site for 
thirty (30) days after publication of this document 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 Western Pacific Railroad Site 
and explains how the Site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that sites may be deleted 
from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In making a 
determination to delete a site from the NPL, EPA in consultation with 
the state, shall consider whether any of the following criteria have 
been met:
    (i) Responsible parties or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed 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 of 
hazardous substances poses no significant threat to public health or 
the environment and, therefore, remedial measures are not appropriate.
    Even if a site is deleted from the NPL, where hazardous substances, 
pollutants, or contaminants remain at the site above levels that allow 
for unlimited use and restricted exposure, EPA is required, by statute, 
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. If 
new information becomes available which indicates a need for further 
action, EPA may initiate additional remedial actions. Whenever there is 
a significant release from a deleted site from the NPL, the site may be 
restored to the NPL without application of the Hazard Ranking System.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of 
this site: (1) EPA Region 9 issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on 
September 30, 1997, that selected the remedial action activities; (2) 
All appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been implemented as 
documented in the Final Close Out Report dated June 26, 2001; (3) DTSC 
has concurred with the proposed deletion; (4) a notice has been 
published in the local newspapers 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 (5) all relevant documents 
have been made available in the local Site information repository.
    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 notice, Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the 
NCP states that the deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for future response actions.
    For deletion of this site, EPA's Regional Office will accept and 
evaluate public comments before making a final decision to delete. If 
comments are received, the Agency will prepare a Responsiveness Summary 
to address those comments. The Responsiveness Summary will be available 
for review in the Deletion Docket.
    A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a final 
notice 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 of Intended Site Deletion

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

Site Background and History

    The Western Pacific Railroad Site occupies approximately 90 acres 
at the southern end of the City of Oroville in Butte County, 
California. The Western Pacific Railroad Company operated a fueling and 
maintenance yard at the Site from the 1880's until 1970. Activities at 
the Site included locomotive fueling, routine maintenance, and railcar 
repair such as welding, painting, fabricating, and machining of 
railcars.
    In 1989 the State of California's Regional Water Quality Control 
Board

[[Page 37441]]

issued an Order requiring the current owner, Union Pacific Railroad 
(UPRR), to investigate an on-site waste pond and the Site groundwater. 
In 1989 the waste pond was excavated and backfilled with clean fill and 
a leaking underground storage tank in the Fueling Area was removed. 
This leaking tank was the source of a plume of groundwater contaminated 
with volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). EPA placed the Site on the NPL 
in 1990 due to concerns about groundwater that was contaminated with 
VOCs and the potential for these chemicals to reach a nearby public 
drinking water well. In 1991 UPRR dismantled the remaining fueling and 
maintenance structures on the Site. Currently UPRR uses the rail line 
on the property to run trains.

Response Actions

    EPA made the decision in 1993 to initiate a time-critical removal 
to contain the VOC plume and prevent it from reaching the nearby 
downgradient public drinking water well. In August 1993, EPA issued an 
Action Memorandum with a streamlined risk evaluation selecting 
groundwater extraction and treatment to contain the contaminants of 
concern in the groundwater at the Site. That same month EPA and UPRR 
signed an Administrative Order on Consent, an agreement in which UPRR 
agreed to perform the groundwater cleanup required by EPA.
    In 1994 UPRR installed a groundwater treatment system to pump and 
treat the VOC-contaminated groundwater. By July 1997 the level of VOCs 
dropped below the cleanup levels and in November 1999 the groundwater 
treatment system was turned off. Post-remedial groundwater sampling 
confirmed that the VOCs were below state and federal drinking water 
standards.
    After the groundwater cleanup was started, UPRR, under a second 
Administrative Order on Consent, conducted a Remedial Investigation 
(RI) for the Site soils. The Remedial Investigation and Risk Assessment 
Report concluded that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 
arsenic were present in elevated levels in the top one foot of soil in 
one acre of the railyard. Because of the Site history and UPRR's future 
plans for the Site, the risk assessment evaluated the risks for 
industrial use only, not residential use. The risk assessment concluded 
that contamination in the Site soil presented an elevated risk to on-
site workers and trespassers through dermal contact with soil 
contaminated with PAHs and arsenic.
    The Feasibility Study (FS) evaluated remedial action alternatives 
for the contaminated soils in the area identified in the RI and Risk 
Assessment. The FS then provided a detailed analysis of alternatives: 
(1) Institutional controls only; (2) limited Fueling Area (1 acre) 
excavation and off-site disposal with institutional controls; and (3) 
entire Fueling Area (10 acres) excavation and off-site disposal with 
institutional controls.

Cleanup Standards

    On September 30, 1997, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) which 
selected the following remedy:
     Limited excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 
1 acre of PAH-contaminated soil,
     Institutional control(s) that will limit the future use of 
the property to industrial use only; and
     Extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater.

The ROD specified that the residual mean concentration for PAHs, 
converted and presented as benzo(a) pyrene equivalents (B(a)P), must be 
reduced to 0.41 mg/kg or less. The ROD also concluded that due to the 
collocation of PAHs and arsenic in soils, by excavating surface soils 
with PAHs above cleanup levels, all soils contaminated with arsenic at 
levels of potential concern would also be addressed.
    The selected remedy called for the cleanup of the one acre at the 
Site with the highest levels of contamination. The contamination levels 
in the other nine acres in the Fueling Area were below action levels 
for industrial workers and trespassers. The groundwater cleanup, which 
had been initiated using EPA's removal authority, was incorporated into 
the ROD, with state and federal Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) as 
the cleanup standards.
    In 1998 UPRR excavated approximately 1,720 tons of contaminated 
soil, placed it in railcars, and shipped it for disposal to the ECDC 
Environmental landfill near Price, Utah. Post-excavation confirmation 
sampling was conducted twice at the site, in July and in December 1998. 
This sampling confirmed that the residual mean concentration level for 
PAHs as expressed as B(a)P equivalents was reduced to 0.41 mg/kg or 
less. The cumulative cancer risk from PAHs and arsenic in the Fueling 
Area soil was reduced to an excess cancer risk level of approximately 1 
 x  10-\5\ (one in one hundred thousand) for on-site 
workers, which is the level established in the ROD. Final groundwater 
sampling was conducted in July 2000, with all contaminants remaining 
below state and federal MCLs. On March 1, 2001, UPRR filed the Covenant 
to Restrict Use of Property for the Site with Butte County. This 
covenant prohibits the property's use for:
    (a) A residence;
    (b) A hospital for humans;
    (c) A public or private school for persons under 21 years of age;
    (d) A day care center; and
    (e) Any other purpose involving residential occupancy on a 24-hour 
basis.

Operation and Maintenance

    UPRR continues to own the property and run trains on its rail 
lines. Pursuant to the Administrative Order issued by EPA on June 17, 
1998, site operation and maintenance to be performed by UPRR includes 
maintenance of the perimeter fence, informing EPA of any plans to 
remove contaminated soils during future construction activities, and 
informing EPA and DTSC of any transfer of property ownership.

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 the cleanup of the Western Pacific Railroad Site 
utilized a restrictive covenant to limit the Site use, five-year 
reviews will be required at the Site to ensure that the remedy selected 
for the Site remains protective of human health and the environment. 
EPA plans to complete the first Five-Year Review prior to September 30, 
2002.

Community Involvement

    Community relations activities included the publication and 
distribution of several fact sheets, including the proposed cleanup 
plan, to local residents. EPA held a public meeting in July 1997 to 
discuss with the community the previously implemented removal action 
and the proposed remedial action. EPA received and addressed public 
comments in the Responsiveness Summary portion of the ROD dated 
September 30, 1997. A local information repository was established at 
the Butte County Library in Oroville.

Applicable Deletion Criteria/State Concurrence

    All the completion requirements for this site have been met as 
described in the Final Close Out Report (FCOR) dated June 26, 2001. One 
of the three criteria for site deletion specifies that EPA may delete a 
site from the NPL if ``responsible parties or other parties have 
implemented all appropriate response actions required.'' EPA, with

[[Page 37442]]

the concurrence of the State of California through its Department of 
Toxic Substances Control in a letter dated June 21, 2001, believes that 
this criterion for deletion has been met. Consequently, EPA is 
proposing deletion of this site from the NPL. Documents supporting this 
action are available in the Deletion Docket.

    Dated: July 6, 2001.
Jane Diamond,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 9.
[FR Doc. 01-17832 Filed 7-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P