[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53317-53321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20446]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7258-6]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct final notice of deletion of Operable Unit (OU) No. 2 of 
the Tex Tin Corporation Superfund site from the National Priorities 
List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is 
publishing a direct final notice of deletion of OU No. 2 of the Tex Tin 
Superfund site, located in Texas City, Galveston County, Texas, from 
the National Priorities List (NPL).
    The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 
1980, as amended, is appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the 
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). 
This direct final notice of deletion is being published by EPA with the 
concurrence of the State of Texas, through the Texas Natural Resource 
Conservation Commission (TNRCC), because EPA has determined that all 
appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed and, 
therefore, further remedial action pursuant to CERCLA is not 
appropriate.

DATES: This direct final deletion will be effective October 15, 2002, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 16, 2002. If adverse 
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final deletion in the Federal Register informing the public that 
the deletion will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Donn Walters, Community Relations 
Coordinator U.S. EPA (6SF-P), 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas, 75202-
2733. Comments can also be sent by e-mail to: [email protected].
    Information Repositories: Comprehensive information about the Tex 
Tin Superfund site is available for viewing and copying at the 
information repositories located at: U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency Region 6, 12th Floor Library, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 
75202-2733, (214) 665-6427, Monday through Friday 7:30 am to 4:30 pm; 
Moore Memorial Public Library, 1701 Ninth Avenue North, Texas City, 
Texas 77590, (409) 643-5979, Monday through Wednesday 9 am to 9 pm, 
Thursday and Friday 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday 10 am to 4 pm; Texas Natural 
Resource Conservation Commission, Building D, Record Management, Room 
190, 12100 North Interstate Highway 35, Austin, Texas 78753, (512) 239-
2920, Monday through Friday 8 a.m to 5 pm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carlos A. Sanchez, Remedial Project 
Manager (RPM) (6SF-A), EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue--Suite 1200, 
Dallas, Texas, 75202-2733, (214) 665-8507 or by e-mail, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

[[Page 53318]]

I. Introduction

    EPA Region 6 is publishing this direct final notice of deletion of 
OU No. 2 of the Tex Tin Superfund site from the NPL.
    The 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. As described in Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites 
deleted from the NPL remain eligible for remedial actions if conditions 
at a deleted site warrant such action.
    Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and 
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of 
intent to delete. This action will be effective October 15, 2002, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 16, 2002, on this 
notice or the parallel notice of intent to delete published in the 
Proposed Rules section of today's Federal Register. If adverse comments 
are received within the 30-day public comment period on this notice or 
the notice of intent to delete EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of 
this direct final notice of deletion before the effective date of the 
deletion and the deletion will not take effect. EPA will, as 
appropriate, prepare a response to comments and continue with the 
deletion process on the basis of the notice of intent to delete and the 
comments already received. There will be no additional opportunity to 
comment.
    Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting 
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using 
for this action. Section IV discusses OU No. 2 of the Tex Tin Superfund 
site and demonstrates how it meets the deletion criteria. Section V 
discusses EPA's action to delete OU No. 2 from the NPL unless adverse 
comments are received during the public comment period.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that releases may be deleted 
from 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;
    ii. All appropriate Fund-financed (Hazardous Substance Superfund 
Response Trust Fund) 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, 
the taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
    Even if a site is deleted from the NPL, where hazardous substances, 
pollutants, or contaminants remain at the deleted site above levels 
that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, CERCLA section 
121(c), 42 U.S.C. 9621(c) requires that a subsequent review of the site 
be conducted at least every five years after the initiation of the 
remedial action at the deleted site to ensure that the action 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 deleted site may be restored to the 
NPL without application of the hazard ranking system.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures apply to deletion of OU No. 2:
    (1) The EPA consulted with the State of Texas through the Texas 
Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) on the deletion of the 
Tex Tin OU No. 2 site from the NPL prior to developing this direct 
final notice of deletion.
    (2) The State of Texas through the TNRCC concurred with deletion of 
OU No. 2 from the NPL.
    (3) Concurrently with the publication of this direct final notice 
of deletion, a notice of the availability of the parallel notice of 
intent to delete published today in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of 
the Federal Register is being published in a major local newspaper of 
general circulation at or near the Tex Tin OU No. 2 site and is being 
distributed to appropriate federal, state, and local government 
officials and other interested parties; the newspaper notice announces 
the 30-day public comment period concerning the notice of intent to 
delete OU No. 2 from the NPL.
    (4) The EPA placed copies of documents supporting the deletion in 
the Tex Tin site information repositories identified above.
    (5) If adverse comments are received within the 30-day public 
comment period on this notice or the companion notice of intent to 
delete also published in today's Federal Register, EPA will publish a 
timely notice of withdrawal of this direct final notice of deletion 
before its effective date and will prepare a response to comments and 
continue with the deletion process on the basis of the notice of intent 
to delete and the comments already received.
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. Deletion of a site from 
the NPL does not in any way alter EPA's right to take enforcement 
actions, as appropriate. The NPL is designed primarily for 
informational purposes and to assist EPA management. 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, should 
future conditions warrant such actions. Additionally, deletion of the 
Tex Tin OU No. 2 site from the NPL will not alter BP Amoco's 
requirements under the Texas Voluntary Cleanup Program (Texas VCP).

IV. Basis for Site Deletion

    The following information provides EPA's rationale for deleting the 
Tex Tin OU No. 2 site from the NPL:

Site Location

    Operable Unit No. 2 of the Tex Tin Corporation Superfund site is 
located in Texas City, Galveston County, Texas, CERCLIS ID # 
TXD062113329. The former Tex Tin Corporation smelter facility, which at 
one time consisted of OU No. 1 and OU No. 2, is located in the 
southeast quadrant of the intersection of State Highway (SH) 146 and 
Farm-to-Market (FM) Road 519. The area north and east of the former 
smelter facility is dominated by large petrochemical facilities. There 
is a densely populated residential neighborhood approximately 2,000 
feet west-northwest of the former facility in the city of La Marque, 
Texas. More than 10,000 people reside within a 1 mile radius of the 
former smelter facility. A municipal golf course, an industrial waste 
disposal facility, and marsh areas are located less than 0.5 mile to 
the south and southwest of the former facility.

Site History

    The Tex Tin smelter was constructed by a corporation under contract 
to the United States government as an emergency tin supply plant for 
World War II, and operated under a government contract from 1941 to 
1956 as the Tin Processing Corporation. The smelting operations were 
conducted in the areas currently referred to as OU No. 1 and OU No. 2. 
The facility was sold to private industry in 1957 and was operated by a 
succession of companies until it ceased operations in 1991.
    From 1941 through 1989, the facility primarily produced tin. A 
secondary copper smelting process replaced the tin

[[Page 53319]]

smelting operations in 1989 and continued through 1991. In 1969, Amoco 
Chemical Company purchased approximately 27 acres of land (OU No. 2) 
from Wah Chang Corporation, owner of the smelter at that time.
    EPA first proposed the Tex Tin site for inclusion on the NPL in 
1988. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the site 
removed from the NPL in 1993. On June 17, 1996, EPA again proposed to 
add the Tex Tin Corporation site to the NPL of Superfund sites. 61 FR 
30575 (June 17, 1996). The Tex Tin NPL listing became final on 
September 18, 1998. 63 FR 49855.
    The Tex Tin Superfund site consists of four operable units. Primary 
and secondary tin and copper smelting operations were conducted in the 
area currently referred to as OU No. 1, which encompasses approximately 
140 acres and includes ponds outside the fenced area. OU No. 3 is the 
La Marque residential area located approximately 2,000 feet west-
northwest from the former smelter facility. OU No. 4 includes the Swan 
Lake ecosystem located between the hurricane levee and the shell 
barrier islands separating Swan Lake from Galveston Bay and portions of 
Swan Lake, its associated salt marsh habitats, and the Wah Chang ditch 
east of Loop 197. OU No. 2, the focus of this proposed direct deletion, 
encompasses approximately 27 acres, where unlined pits created for 
storage of waste acid solution from smelter operations were 
historically located. In April of 1996, Amoco applied to the Texas VCP 
to perform response activities on its property, OU No. 2. After 
consultation between EPA and TNRCC, Amoco was accepted into the VCP. 
EPA provided technical assistance to TNRCC in overseeing the Amoco 
response action.

Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

    Tex Tin OU No. 2 includes an area of approximately 27 acres that 
was part of the Tex Tin smelter facility until 1969, when the property 
was purchased by Amoco (now BP Amoco). OU No. 2 is referred to in the 
RI and other early reports as Area H. Area H included six (6) ponds 
(Ponds 9 through 14) that at one time were used to dispose of acidic 
ferrous-chloride waste solution from the tin smelting process. 
Beginning in 1969, when Amoco bought the property, the ponds were no 
longer used for disposal of smelter waste. In 1988 they were drained 
and backfilled by Amoco. OU No. 2 is currently part of Amoco's Plant C 
property, a total of approximately 71 undeveloped acres situated across 
FM 519 from the Amoco Refinery and the Amoco Chemical Plant in Texas 
City.
    The RI conducted in 1992 for the Tex Tin site included OU No. 2. 
The RI found metal concentrations in the surface soils, near-surface 
soils, and fill material in the OU No. 2 area that exceeded health 
based levels. Arsenic and lead are the metals that were found at the 
highest concentrations and which contributed the highest health risk at 
OU No. 2. Lead as high as 3,505 mg/kg was detected in Pond 13 and 
arsenic as high as 2,537 mg/kg was detected in Pond 14.
    Additional investigations for OU No. 2 were conducted in 1996 by 
KMA Environmental (now Meridian Alliance Group) for Amoco. Results of 
the investigations conducted by KMA are presented in the Surface Soils 
Response Action Work Plan and the Groundwater Response Action Work Plan 
which are included in the Response Action Work Plan dated October 1996. 
Test results found lead concentrations at 3,120 mg/kg, arsenic at 1,550 
mg/kg, and chromium at 25.8 mg/kg.
    Findings from KMA investigations and the RI indicated that 
contaminants were present at OU No. 2 that may pose a risk to human 
health and the environment. Because the extensive RI conducted in 1992 
for the former smelter facility included both OU No. 1 and OU No. 2, 
the selection of contaminants of concern (COCs) and the preliminary 
remediation goals (PRGs) identified for OU No. 1 are applicable for OU 
No. 2. Likewise, soil and ground water remedies selected in the ROD for 
OU No. 1, for an industrial setting, are applicable to OU No. 2.

Record of Decision Findings

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 
signed a No Further Action Record of Decision (ROD) on September 27, 
2001, for Operable Unit (OU) No. 2 (Amoco Property) of the Tex Tin 
Corporation Superfund site which is located in Texas City, Texas. The 
EPA based its decision on the results of the remedial investigation and 
human health risk assessment conducted for the Tex Tin site and the 
successful completion of a Response Action by Amoco Chemical Company 
(Amoco) (now known as BP Amoco Chemical Company) under the Texas 
Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) from November 1997 through June 1998. 
The EPA determined that the Amoco Response Action had eliminated the 
need to conduct further remedial action at OU No. 2 by addressing the 
human health risk associated with the high concentrations of arsenic 
and lead. The State of Texas concurred with the Record of Decision of 
No Further Action necessary under CERCLA.

Characterization of Risk

    A human health risk assessment for OU No. 2 was conducted by KMA in 
1996. The risk assessment results indicated that the risk associated 
with arsenic, lead, and chromium contamination in the surface soils 
exceeded allowable risks for industrial workers. The model identified 
the baseline (prior to response action) risk to site workers associated 
with contaminants found in OU No. 2 surface soils. The model indicated 
that the cancer risk was exceeded for industrial workers at the site. 
The calculated cancer risk for industrial workers was 2.04E-4 which 
exceeds EPA's acceptable risk range of one in ten thousand to one in 
one million (expressed as 1  x  10-4 to 1  x  
10-6) lifetime excess cancer incidents which is the remedial 
goal for Superfund sites.
    The Remedial Action Objectives (RAOs) formulated for OU No. 1 
contaminants that are also applicable to OU No. 2 consist of:
     Preventing direct contact, ingestion, and inhalation of 
contaminants that exceed PRGs.
     Preventing further degradation of the ground water outside 
the site boundaries in the shallow and medium transmissive zones.
     Preventing migration of contaminated ground water outside 
the site boundaries to the deep transmissive zone by addressing the 
site source materials and preventing further degradation of the shallow 
and medium transmissive zones.

Response Action

    The Tex Tin OU No. 2 response action, conducted under the authority 
of the Texas Voluntary Cleanup Program, met EPA's CERCLA standards and 
the RAOs for OU No. 1 which are also applicable to OU No. 2. The 
implemented remedy for OU No. 2 included the following elements:
     Placement of a minimum 2-foot soil/vegetative cover over 
the entire OU No. 2 area (to prevent exposure to surface soil 
contaminants above health-based action levels found on portions of the 
property);
     Construction of a bentonite/soil (slurry) cutoff wall 
along the Amoco (OU No. 2) and Tex Tin (OU No. 1) property boundary to 
prevent further movement of the contaminated shallow ground water from 
OU No. 1 to OU No. 2;
     Initiation of a long-term ground water monitoring program 
and placing deed restrictions on the property to

[[Page 53320]]

prevent use of the ground water for purposes other than monitoring and 
remediation; and
     Filing deed restrictions to restrict site use for 
industrial purposes only and to notify potential users of the remaining 
site contaminants.
    The response action taken at OU No. 2 by Amoco has eliminated the 
exposure pathway between human or environmental receptors and surface 
or subsurface contaminants by creating a permanent clean cover over the 
entire OU No. 2 property. Unacceptable levels of risk to industrial 
workers caused by exposure to hazardous substances at OU No. 2 have 
been abated by the VCP response action.
    A comparison of the selected remedy for OU No. 1, which met the 
nine evaluation criteria used in selecting remedies for Superfund 
sites, with the remedy implemented for OU No. 2 under the Texas VCP 
indicates that the remedy for OU No. 2 is consistent with the remedy 
selected for OU No. 1.

Cleanup Standards

    The cleanup standards or preliminary remedial goals (PRGs) 
identified for the former smelter facility (OU No. 1) are applicable 
for OU No. 2. The human health risk-based industrial PRG for arsenic 
was calculated at 194 mg/kg. The PRG for arsenic meets EPA's acceptable 
risk range of 1E-4 to 1E-6 and meets TNRCC's arsenic cleanup level of 
200 mg/kg for an industrial site. The lead PRG of 2,000 mg/kg was based 
on Bower's model for adult lead exposure at an industrial setting. For 
the OU No. 2 contaminants of concern, only arsenic at 2,537 mg/kg and 
lead at 3,505 mg/kg exceeded the PRGs.
    To determine the leaching potential of site contaminants to the 
site ground water, the Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure 
(SPLP) test was conducted by Amoco for OU No. 2. The SPLP tests 
indicated that lead levels in surface soil as high as 3,120 mg/kg and 
arsenic levels in surface soils as high as 1,550 mg/kg would pass the 
SPLP test. The selected PRGs levels for arsenic and lead do not exceed 
the SPLP levels tested and would therefore be protective of the site 
ground water.

Operation and Maintenance

    The long-term ground water monitoring program consists of:
     Sampling twenty-four (24) shallow and seven medium 
transmissive zone wells on a quarterly basis for the first two years, 
semi-annually for the next three years, and yearly thereafter;
     Establishing a compliance monitoring program at the limit 
of the contaminant plume boundary to ensure that no further migration 
of the contaminated shallow ground water is occurring. Samples will be 
collected from nine (9) shallow ground water wells quarterly for a 
minimum of two years. If no migration is indicated during the first two 
years, sampling will be conducted semi-annually for the next three 
years, and annually thereafter. If migration of the contaminated 
shallow ground water is indicated at the compliance monitoring 
locations, a proposed response action will be submitted to TNRCC and 
EPA in a Groundwater Monitoring Response Action Report.

Five-Year Review

    Because the response action resulted in hazardous substances, 
pollutants, or contaminants remaining on-site above health-based 
levels, a review will be conducted to ensure that the remedy continues 
to provide adequate protection of human health and the environment 
within five years after commencement of the response action for OU No. 
2 of the Tex Tin site. The response action began in October 1997; 
therefore, the first five year review for OU No. 2 will be scheduled 
for October 2002. Moreover, Amoco will continue the ground water 
monitoring program to verify that contaminants in the shallow 
transmissive zone are not migrating to the deep transmissive ground 
water zone that can potentially be used as a drinking water source. In 
addition, the Texas VCP will review site conditions on a semiannual 
basis to ensure compliance with the Conditional Certificate of 
Completion.

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 Administrative Record for the Tex Tin 
Superfund site which EPA relied on for recommendation of the deletion 
from the NPL are available to the public in the information 
repositories which can be found at the Moore Memorial Library located 
in Texas City, Texas, the EPA Region 6 library in Dallas, Texas, and 
the TNRCC library in Austin, Texas.

V. Deletion Action

    The EPA, with concurrence of the State of Texas through the TNRCC, 
has determined that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have been 
completed, and that no further response actions, under CERCLA, other 
than O&M and five-year reviews, are necessary. Therefore, EPA is 
deleting OU No. 2 of the Tex Tin Superfund site from the NPL.
    Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and 
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of 
intent to delete. This action will be effective October 15, 2002, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 16, 2002, on a 
parallel notice of intent to delete published in the Proposed Rule 
section of today's Federal Register. If adverse comments are received 
within the 30-day public comment period on the proposal, EPA will 
publish a timely withdrawal of this direct final notice of deletion 
before the effective date of the deletion and it will not take effect 
and, EPA will prepare a response to comments and continue with the 
deletion process on the basis of the notice of intent to delete and the 
comments already received. There will be no additional opportunity to 
comment.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

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

    Dated: July 29, 2002.
Gregg A. Cooke,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

    For the reasons set out in this document, 40 CFR part 300 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 under the State of 
Texas (``TX'') by revising the entry for the ``Tex-Tin Corp.'' 
Superfund site and the city ``Texas City'' Texas to read as follows:

Appendix B to Part 300--National Priorities List

[[Page 53321]]



                                                           Table 1.--General Superfund Section
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                State                                 Site name                                City/County                            Notes (a)
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                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
TX...................................  Tex Tin Superfund.....................  Texas City, Galveston......................  P
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P = Sites with partial deletion(s).

    (a) * * *
[FR Doc. 02-20446 Filed 8-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P