[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 7, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41179-41182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19751]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7026-9]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the Times Beach Site from the 
National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 announces 
the intent to delete the Times Beach site (the site) 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 
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) of 
1980, as amended. The EPA and the State of Missouri Department of 
Natural Resources (MDNR) have determined that the remedial action for 
the site has been successfully executed.

DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of this site from the 
NPL may be submitted on or before September 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Robert Feild, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 7, 901 N. 5th Street, SUPR, Kansas City, 
Kansas, 66101.
    Information Repositories: Comprehensive information on this site is 
available through the Region 7 public docket which is available for 
viewing by appointment only. Appointments for copies of the background 
information from the Regional public docket should be directed to the 
EPA Region 7 Docket office at the following address: Regional Records 
Center, U.S. Environmental

[[Page 41180]]

Protection Agency, Region 7, 901 N. 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas, 
66101.
    The deletion docket is also available for viewing at the following 
location: Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), 97 North 
Outer Road at Lewis Road, Eureka, Missouri, 63025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If additional information is needed, 
please contact Robert Feild at (913) 551-7697 or e-mail at 
[email protected]. The EPA Region 7 toll-free phone number is 1-800-
223-0425.

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 7 announces 
its intent to delete the Times Beach site in St. Louis County, 
Missouri, 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 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) 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. The 
EPA and the MDNR have determined that the remedial action for the site 
has been successfully executed.
    The EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this site 
for thirty (30) days after publication of this document in Federal 
Register.
    Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting 
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses the procedures EPA is using 
for this action. Section IV discusses the Times Beach site and explains 
how the site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e)(1) of the NCP provides that releases 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:
    (i) Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have 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, 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 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 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) All appropriate response under CERCLA has been implemented, and 
no further action by EPA is appropriate;
    (2) The State of Missouri has concurred with the proposed deletion 
decision;
    (3) 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
    (4) 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 EPA 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 on EPA's 
Notice of Intent to Delete before making a final decision to delete. If 
necessary, the EPA will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any 
significant public comments received. 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 EPA's rationale for the 
proposal to delete this site from the NPL.

Site Background and History

    Times Beach was formerly an incorporated city in southwest St. 
Louis County, approximately 20 miles southwest of the City of St. 
Louis. The site encompasses approximately 0.8 square miles, bordered on 
the north and east by unincorporated areas of St. Louis County, on the 
south by unincorporated areas of Jefferson County, and on the west by 
the City of Eureka. The City of Times Beach was disincorporated in 
1985.
    On the north and east, the site is contiguous to the Meramec River, 
the dominant hydrological feature in the area. The site is bisected at 
the southern end by Interstate 44. Burlington Northern Railroad lines 
are adjacent to Times Beach to the west. Much of the site is located in 
the five-year flood plain, and the entire site is within the 25-year 
flood plain. The area's topography is level to slightly sloping, with 
an average slope of less than one percent. Residential development has 
historically constituted the major land use. Commercial land use has 
been minimal, and the city had no industrial development. The 
surrounding areas have a mixture of residential and agricultural uses.
    The unpaved roadways of the former town of Times Beach, located in 
St. Louis County, Missouri, were sprayed for dust control in the early 
1970s with dioxin-contaminated waste oil. Investigation into the 
disposal practices of a southwestern Missouri chemical manufacturing 
facility led EPA to the Bliss Waste Oil Company and subsequently to a 
number of sites that had potentially been sprayed with dioxin-
contaminated waste oil for dust control, including the Times Beach 
site.
    The Times Beach site was proposed for the NPL on March 4, 1983, and 
finalized on the NPL on September 8, 1983.

Response Actions

    The presence of dioxin contamination at initial concentrations up 
to 127 parts per billion (ppb) was confirmed by EPA through sampling 
conducted in

[[Page 41181]]

November and December 1982. In response to discovery of dioxin 
contamination and a health advisory issued by the Centers for Disease 
Control, EPA announced the permanent relocation of nearly two thousand 
residents of Times Beach in February 1983. In June 1983, a permanent 
relocation contract was signed between the State of Missouri, St. Louis 
County, a trustee appointed for the City of Times Beach, and the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency. Funds were subsequently 
transferred from EPA to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 
for the buyout. In accordance with the contract, all of the former 
Times Beach properties were conveyed to the State of Missouri once the 
deeds were acquired by FEMA.
    In 1984 an article was published by a toxicologist with the Centers 
for Disease Control, Center for Environmental Health (CDC), 
recommending 1 ppb as a level of concern for dioxin in residential 
soils. In January 1987, EPA proposed clean-up levels to the CDC for the 
excavation of the eastern Missouri dioxin sites, including a proposed 
20 ppb clean-up level for the anticipated future recreational land use 
at Times Beach. Because of the location of Times Beach in the flood 
plain of the Meramec River, future residential use of the site 
following site restoration was deemed impracticable, and no 
institutional controls were considered necessary to control future land 
use. The CDC concurred with the Agency's proposed clean-up levels.
    In 1984, The Regional Administrator signed a Record of Decision 
(ROD) for an Interim Central Storage Facility to temporarily store 
dioxin-contaminated materials from three nearby eastern Missouri sites 
at Times Beach until a final remedy was available. The temporary 
storage portion of this remedy was never implemented. A separate 
component of the selected remedy, however, was the construction of a 
series of spur levees at Times Beach to control the velocity of Meramec 
River flood water during flood events in order to minimize scour and 
erosion of contaminated soils. In 1987, EPA completed the construction 
of the three-phase spur levee project through an Interagency Agreement 
with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
    In September 1988, a ROD was signed by the Assistant Administrator, 
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), that provided for 
a temporary incinerator to be located at Times Beach for the treatment 
of dioxin-contaminated materials from Times Beach and the Minker/Stout/
Romaine Creek sites. The ROD further provided that the temporary 
incinerator would be available to treat dioxin-contaminated materials 
from the other eastern Missouri sites.
    In December 1990, a Consent Decree was entered in the Eastern 
District of Missouri between EPA, the State, and the primary 
potentially responsible party (PRP) group. The Consent Decree provided 
for a mixed work settlement that required each party to undertake 
certain tasks. Generally, EPA was responsible for excavation and 
transportation of dioxin-contaminated soils from 26 eastern Missouri 
dioxin sites to Times Beach for incineration. The EPA also had 
responsibility for collecting and disposing of the household hazardous 
wastes at Times Beach prior to demolition of residences and other 
structures. The State was responsible for assuring a 10 percent cost 
share for remedial actions and for providing long-term management of 
the Times Beach site. The settling defendants were responsible for 
demolition and disposal of structures and debris remaining after the 
permanent relocation, construction of a ring levee to flood-protect an 
incinerator subsite, construction of a temporary incinerator, 
excavation of contaminated soils at Times Beach, incineration of 
dioxin-contaminated materials from the 27 sites (including Times Beach) 
and restoration of Times Beach upon completion of response actions.
    The settling defendants awarded a contract for the temporary 
incinerator in February 1992. Demolition and disposal of structures and 
debris, excavation of dioxin-contaminated soils, construction of a ring 
levee, and mobilization of the temporary incinerator by the settling 
defendants were completed by November 1995. Initial testing of the 
incinerator was performed in December 1995. Full-scale operation of the 
incinerator commenced on March 17, 1996, and was completed June 16, 
1997. A total of 265,354 tons of dioxin-contaminated materials from the 
27 eastern Missouri dioxin sites was treated at Times Beach, including 
37,234 tons of dioxin-contaminated materials excavated from the Times 
Beach site itself. Solid treatment residue from the incineration of 
these materials was land disposed on site after testing confirmed that 
required treatment levels had been achieved. Site restoration was 
completed by the settling defendants in accordance with a design 
approved by the State and EPA.
    An ambient air monitoring network was operated throughout the 
incineration of dioxin-contaminated soils at Times Beach. The network 
included four on-site and two off-site monitoring stations 
incorporating 17 monitors measuring ambient dioxin and PM-10 levels. 
The air monitoring detected no discernible increase in airborne dioxin 
or PM-10 levels at Times Beach resulting from implementation of the 
remedial action.
    In addition to the response work directed at dioxin contamination 
at Times Beach, a removal action was performed by EPA in June 1997, to 
excavate and dispose of soils in an area within the former Times Beach 
city park that had been contaminated by the dumping of bulk liquid 
wastes, unrelated to the contamination affecting roadways throughout 
the site. The hazardous substances present in the former city park were 
primarily toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene. Traces of 
tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene were also present. No dioxin 
was detected in the former city park soils. The contaminated materials 
were characterized as a special waste by St. Louis County, and disposed 
of off site at a facility permitted to receive these materials.

Clean-up Standards

    The 1988 ROD for this site established criteria for the removal of 
soils and other materials contaminated with dioxin (2,3,7,8-
tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) from this site. This criteria was modified 
in an Explanation of Significant Differences issued July 18, 1990. The 
modified criteria required removal of dioxin-contaminated soils 
exceeding 10 ppb and placement of a one-foot vegetated clean soil cover 
over all areas with residual concentrations exceeding 1 ppb.

Operation and Maintenance

    The remedial response at the site was successful in removing 
dioxin-contaminated materials exceeding health-based levels for 
unrestricted use within the boundaries of the NPL site. No operation 
and maintenance activities are necessary to maintain the continued 
effectiveness of the remedy.

Five-Year Review

    Hazardous substances do not remain at the site above health-based 
levels following the completed response actions. Pursuant to CERCLA 
Section 121(c) and as provided in OSWER Directive 9355.7-02, Structure 
and Components of Five-Year Reviews, May 23, 1991, and OSWER Directive 
9355.702A, Supplemental Five-Year Review Guidance, July 26, 1994, EPA 
is not required to conduct a five-year review for this site. No five-
year reviews will be conducted.

[[Page 41182]]

Community Involvement

    Public participation in the selection of a comprehensive final 
remedial action for the eastern Missouri dioxin sites, including the 
Times Beach site, began with the public release of the Feasibility 
Study of Final Remedial Actions for the Minker/Stout/Romaine Creek Site 
in July 1986. This study evaluated remedial alternatives for the 
dioxin-contaminated soil being temporarily stored at the Minker/Stout/
Romaine Creek site, located approximately ten miles south of Times 
Beach. Remedial alternatives evaluated in this study included offsite 
centralized thermal treatment at a nearby facility within 50 miles of 
the Minker/Stout/Romaine Creek site.
    A public comment period was held from August 8, 1986, through 
September 5, 1986, for the Feasibility Study of Final Remedial Actions 
for the Minker/Stout/Romaine Creek Site. A public meeting was held 
August 25, 1986. At that meeting, EPA announced that a feasibility 
study to evaluate Times Beach as a potential location for centralized 
thermal treatment would be completed and released for public comment.
    The Times Beach Feasibility Study was released for public comment 
from December 29, 1986, through March 27, 1987. A public meeting was 
held on February 12, 1987, to discuss alternatives evaluated in the 
study and to present the Agency's proposed remedy.
    The Times Beach and Minker/Stout/Romaine Creek Proposed Plan was 
released for public comment from February 19 through March 18, 1988, 
and a public meeting was held in Eureka, Missouri, on March 10, 1988. 
The proposed plan recommended centralized thermal treatment of 
contaminated soils at Times Beach and the Minker/Stout/Romaine Creek 
site at a temporary thermal treatment facility to be located at Times 
Beach. The proposed remedy was selected in a September 29, 1988, ROD, 
and Implemented through a December 31, 1990, Consent Decree. In 1990, 
an opportunity for public comment was provided for the Times Beach 
Consent Decree prior to entry.
    During the numerous opportunities provided for public comment, the 
local community was primarily concerned that the thermal treatment unit 
would become permanent and that other types of wastes from throughout 
the country would be transported to Times Beach for treatment. In 
response to these concerns, EPA agreed to obtain an operating permit 
under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act that would limit 
operation of the treatment unit. A public hearing for the draft 
operating permit was conducted on January 31, 1995. In addition, three 
public availability sessions were conducted near the site in January 
1995 with representatives from EPA, the state, and local officials in 
attendance.
    From July 1991 through the completion of the clean up of the site, 
EPA participated in regular meetings of the Times Beach Monitoring 
Committee, a group established by the St. Louis County Executive whose 
members included local residents and elected officials. This group 
served in an oversight role and provided information to the community 
regarding clean-up activities. In addition, EPA permanently staffed an 
on-site public information center at Times Beach during implementation 
of response activities.

Applicable Deletion Criteria

    One of the three criteria for site deletion specifies that EPA may 
delete a site from the NPL if ``all appropriate Fund-financed response 
under CERCLA has been implemented, and no further response action by 
responsible parties is appropriate.'' 40 CFR 300.425(e)(1)(ii). EPA, 
with the concurrence of the State of Missouri through the MDNR, 
believes that this criterion for deletion has been met. Subsequently, 
EPA is proposing deletion of this site from the NPL. Documents 
supporting this action are available from the docket.

State Concurrence

    In a letter dated July 30, 2001, the MDNR concurs with the proposed 
deletion of the Times Beach Superfund site from the NPL.

    Dated: July 30, 2001.
William W. Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region 7.
[FR Doc. 01-19751 Filed 8-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P