[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50380-50383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24486]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7070-2]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete McAdoo Associates Superfund Site 
from the National Priorities List: Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III announces 
its intent to delete the McAdoo Associates Superfund Site (Site) 
located in Kline Township, Schuylkill County, Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, 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), as amended. EPA and the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) 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 November 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Eugene Dennis (3HS21), Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 
Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103-2029.
    Comprehensive information, including the deletion docket, on this 
Site is available for viewing at the Site information repositories at 
the following locations: Regional Center for Environmental Information, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103,

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215-814-5254 or 800-553-2509, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m.; McAdoo-Kelayers Library, 15 Kelayers Road, McAdoo, Pennsylvania 
18237, 570-929-1120.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eugene Dennis (3HS21), Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 
Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103-2029. Telephone 215-814-
3202 or 800-553-2509, e-mail address: [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, Region III announces its 
intent to delete the McAdoo Associates Superfund Site, Schuylkill 
County, Pennsylvania from the NPL, Appendix B of the National Oil and 
Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), which constitutes 
40 CFR Part 300, and requests public comments on this proposed action. 
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 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 
(PADEP) have determined that remedial activities conducted at the Site 
have been successfully executed.
    EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this Site for 
thirty calendar 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 McAdoo Associates Superfund 
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) The 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 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 will conduct a 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 remedial actions. Whenever there is a 
significant release from a site deleted from the NPL, the site may be 
restored to the NPL without the application of the Hazard Ranking 
System.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of 
this Site:
    1. EPA Region III has recommended deletion and has prepared the 
relevant documents. All appropriate response actions required under 
CERCLA have been implemented and no further response by EPA is 
appropriate.
    2. PADEP 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 thirty (30) 
day public comment period on EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete.
    4. The EPA Region III Office has made all relevant documents 
supporting the proposed deletion available for the public to review in 
the Site information repositories identified above.
    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, Section 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, a Notice of Deletion, in the Federal Register. Generally, the 
NPL will reflect deletions in the final update. Public notices and 
copies of the Responsiveness Summary will be made available to the 
public by the EPA Regional Office.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

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

Site Location

    The McAdoo Associates Site consists of two operable units (OUs) 
that are located approximately 3 miles apart from one another. Operable 
Unit 1 is known as the McAdoo Kline Township (MKT) location and is 
located approximately 1.5 miles south of McAdoo Borough, due east of 
U.S.Route 309 in Kline Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. 
Operable Unit 2 is known as the McAdoo Blaine Street (MBS) location and 
is located in the Borough of McAdoo, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

Site History

    The MKT location consists of approximately 8 acres and is situated 
at the site of an old (subsurface and surface strip) coal mine which 
operated sporadically from the 1880's to the 1960's. In 1975 McAdoo 
Associates acquired the site property and installed two rotary kiln 
furnaces and an upright liquid waste incinerator which were operated to 
reclaim metals from waste sludges, reportedly using waste solvents as 
fuel. The MKT location was ordered closed in 1979 by the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Resources (now known as the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environmental Protection) as a result of numerous 
environmental compliance problems. At the time of closure in April 
1979, the MKT location was inventoried and found to contain 6,790 drums 
of hazardous waste, four above ground 15,000 gallon storage tanks, 
three above ground 10,000 gallon storage tanks and miscellaneous 
debris. Between January 1981 and October 1982 the Potentially 
Responsible Parties (PRP's) removed all of the drums and all site 
features, with the exception of one 15,000 gallon storage tank from the 
MKT location.
    The MBS location consists of a small lot (approximately 100' x 
150') situated at the intersection of west Fourth street and north 
Harrison street in a residential area of McAdoo Borough. Prior to 1972, 
the MBS location was the site of a heating oil and gasoline storage

[[Page 50382]]

business which utilized five underground storage tanks. From 1972 to 
1979 the property allegedly was used by the owners of McAdoo Associates 
for temporary storage of various liquid wastes in the underground 
tanks. The waste was reportedly used as fuel to be burned at the MKT 
location. Operations at the MBS location were discontinued in 1979.
    Because both locations were operated as one facility involving the 
same ownership and waste, they were combined and collectively called 
the McAdoo Associates site for evaluation in the Hazard Ranking System 
(HRS) scoring process. The site received a score of 63.03 and the 
McAdoo Associates site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) 
in September, 1983.

Record of Decision--MBS Location

    EPA conducted investigations of the underground tanks at the MBS 
location in 1982, and response activities also began in 1982 when EPA 
ordered the PRPs to pump 11,000 gallons of waste liquids from four of 
the underground tanks. The liquid waste was described as petroleum 
distillates and PAHs. Gasoline and water were reported to be contained 
in one tank, and oils and solvents were identified in the other tanks. 
Based on the results of the investigations, EPA issued a Record of 
Decision (ROD) for Interim Remedial Measures (IRM) on June 5, 1984, 
calling for cleaning and removal of the underground tanks, the removal 
of contaminated soil, and the sampling of subsurface soils. The 
implementation of the ROD began in March 1985 with the excavation and 
removal of the tanks and was completed in June 1985 when the MBS 
location was backfilled and graded.

Record of Decision--MKT Location

    EPA conducted a Remedial Investigation (RI) at the MKT location in 
1984. The results of the RI indicated elevated levels of metals in the 
mine pool underlying the site and in the site fill. Based on the 
results of the RI and subsequent Feasibility Study (FS), EPA issued a 
Record of Decision on June 28, 1985, for the MKT location, which 
selected a remedial action alternative that included the following 
components:
     Implementing a mine subsidence study (MSS) to determine 
the risk and magnitude of mine subsidence;
     Removing and disposing of miscellaneous surface debris and 
the remaining 15,000 gallon above ground tank;
     Implementing a soil sampling program to define the extent 
of soil contamination;
     Excavating and offsite disposal of contaminated soils and 
backfilling of the excavated areas with clean fill;
     Regrading, constructing a cap with surface water diversion 
and re-vegetation; and
     Performing operation and maintenance (O&M), including 
groundwater monitoring, for up to 30 years.
    The PRP's began remedial activities at the MKT location in 1988 
with the removal of the remaining storage tank and the MSS required by 
the ROD. Excavation and disposal of contaminated soils in two areas 
defined by the soil sampling program and MSS were performed in 1990. 
The construction of the cap was initiated on July 20, 1991, and was 
completed on November 14, 1991.

Record of Decision--Both MKT and MBS Locations

    In 1990/1991 EPA conducted a focused RI/FS at the MBS and MKT 
locations to investigate outstanding concerns not addressed by RODs 
previously issued for these locations. The scope of the focused RI/FS 
was to evaluate the surface water, sediment and groundwater at the MKT 
location and groundwater at the MBS location. The focused RI/FS was 
completed in July 30, 1991. Based on the results of the focused RI/FS, 
EPA issued a ROD on September 30, 1991. The ROD stated that no further 
actions beyond those already implemented at the MKT and MBS locations 
were required. At the same time, however, the 1991 ROD required long-
term groundwater monitoring at both locations. The major components of 
the monitoring program include:
     Expansion of the long-term water quality monitoring 
program as needed at the MKT location (originally included as part of 
the 1985 ROD) to include additional sampling of all existing monitoring 
wells;
     Installation of four groundwater monitoring wells at the 
MBS location to be used for long-term monitoring of groundwater 
quality.
    The Operations and Maintenance Plan, attached to the 1988 Consent 
Decree for the MKT location, was amended in June, 1998 to expand the 
groundwater monitoring program to include the requirements of the 1991 
ROD. Subsequently, annual groundwater monitoring was initiated by the 
PRP's in October, 1998 at the MKT location.
    Since no agreement had been formulated between EPA and the PRP's 
for the MBS location, the wells required by the 1991 ROD for the MBS 
location were installed by EPA in May and June, 1992. Groundwater 
samples were then collected and the results indicated that petroleum-
related organic compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds were 
present in the monitoring wells located down-gradient of the former 
tank location. Subsequent groundwater sampling was performed as part of 
a Focused Feasibility Study (FFS) conducted by EPA in the Spring of 
1993. The results of the FFS sampling confirmed the presence of organic 
contaminants in the groundwater as well as a free product (in one 
monitoring well) determined to be weathered fuel oil and gasoline. 
Based on the results of the FFS, EPA issued a ROD Amendment for the MBS 
location on September 30, 1993. The major components of the ROD 
Amendment are:
     Installation of new groundwater extraction wells at the 
MBS location and extraction of contaminated groundwater;
     Installation and operation of a free product removal 
system to extract the fuel and gasoline;
     Installation of a groundwater treatment system to include 
oil/water separation, air stripping, and polishing using granular 
activated carbon;
     Performance of groundwater monitoring; and
     The establishment of Performance Standards for Benzene, 
Ethylbenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane Bis(2-ethylhexyl)pthalate and 
Manganese.
    Phase one of the Remedial Action (RA) at the MBS location was 
implemented by EPA on March 28, 1995 with the installation of five 
groundwater extraction wells and the recovery of free product from an 
existing monitoring well. After installation of the groundwater 
extraction wells EPA determined, through groundwater extraction, that a 
pumping rate of 15 gallons per minute could not be sustained by pumping 
these wells individually or collectively. The capacity of the aquifer 
to recharge the wells and produce the amount of water needed for 
treatment was not sufficient. As a result, EPA terminated the RA for 
the MBS location after Phase One.
    Following the termination of the RA at the MBS location, EPA issued 
an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) on September 26, 1995. 
The ESD identified several Significant Differences that warranted 
changes to the remedy presented in the 1993 ROD Amendment for the MBS 
location. The

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Significant Differences presented in the ESD are as follows:
    (1) Mechanical pumping of the wells at the MBS location, on a 
continuous basis, was determined not to be a viable option due to 
insufficient water volume as described above. The contaminated 
groundwater would have to be manually extracted by hand bailing the 
wells.
    (2) The small volume of ground water capable of being removed from 
the extraction wells did not warrant the construction of a treatment 
system at the MBS location. The manually extracted groundwater would be 
contained and taken off-site for treatment.
    (3) The extraction and treatment of groundwater from the MBS 
location would not be performed on a continuous basis. Rather, the 
manual extraction would be performed on a periodic basis.
    (4) The free product recharge rate was extremely slow and as a 
result a free product recovery system was not warranted. Instead the 
free product was manually removed on the same schedule as the manual 
removal of the contaminated groundwater.
    The ESD for the MBS location was implemented in 1996. Between 1996 
and June, 2001 the wells at the MBS location were purged and sampled 4 
times. A review of the monitoring data indicates the presence of PAHs 
which are constituents of gasoline and fuel oil. Benzene and 
ethylbenzene are present at concentrations above the performance 
standards. These contaminants have been determined not to be compounds 
of concern, but instead residuals of the gasoline and fuel oil once 
stored at the MBS location. Bis(ethylhexyl)pthalate is a suspect 
contaminant present at concentrations slightly above the performance 
standards.
    Based on a thorough evaluation of the results of the groundwater 
data collected from the wells at the MBS location, EPA has determined 
that the volatile organic compounds being found in the groundwater are 
constituents of gasoline and fuel oil and are not compounds of concern 
related to the past storage of waste liquids at the MBS location. Also, 
there are no threats to residents who use groundwater in the area of 
the MBS location, as the source of potable groundwater is located 
approximately 3 miles away and the wells are several hundred feet deep. 
There is no hydraulic connection between the shallow groundwater at the 
MBS location and the public water supply wells. As such, EPA has 
discontinued the manual extraction of groundwater. Groundwater will 
continue to be monitored at the MBS location.

Five-Year Review

    A five-year review for the Site was completed on June 27, 2000. 
Five-year reviews for the Site will continue to be conducted. The next 
Review is scheduled to be completed by September 30, 2004.

Community Involvement

    Public participation activities have been satisfied as required in 
CERCLA Section 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and CERCLA Section 117, 42 
U.S.C. 9617. Documents in the deletion docket on which EPA relied to 
make this recommendation of deletion from the NPL are available to the 
public in the information repositories.

Applicable Deletion Criteria

    EPA is proposing deletion of this Site from the NPL. PADEP has 
concurred with EPA that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have 
been implemented. Documents supporting this action are available from 
the docket. EPA believes that the criteria stated in Section II(i) and 
(ii) for deletion of this Site have been met. Therefore, EPA is 
proposing the deletion of the McAdoo Associates Superfund Site from the 
NPL.

    Dated: September 19, 2001.
Thomas C. Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region III.
[FR Doc. 01-24486 Filed 10-2-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P