[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 21, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2726-2730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1144]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7440-1]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete a portion of the Former Nansemond 
Ordnance Depot Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III 
announces its intent to delete soil in the Impregnation Kit Area of the 
Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot site (Nansemond) from the National 
Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this action. The 
NPL constitutes appendix B to the National Oil and Hazardous Substances 
Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR part 300, which EPA 
promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). EPA and the 
Commonwealth of Virginia (Commonwealth), acting through the Department 
of Environmental Quality, have determined that all appropriate CERCLA 
response actions have been implemented for the soil and that no further 
action for soil is appropriate. This partial deletion pertains only to 
the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area and does not include the ground 
water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area, nor any other portion of 
Nansemond.

DATES: EPA will accept comments concerning its proposal for partial 
deletion until February 20, 2003, and publication of a notice of 
availability of this document in a newspaper of record.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Mr. Robert Thomson, PE, 
Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA, Region III (3HS13), 1650 Arch 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029, Telephone: (215) 814-
3357, e-mail [email protected].
    Information Repositories: Comprehensive information on the 
Nansemond site, information specific to this proposed partial deletion, 
the Administrative Record and the Deletion Docket for this partial 
deletion are available for review at the following Nansemond document/
information repositories:

Tidewater Community College (Frederick Campus) Library, Information 
Desk, 7000 College Drive, Portsmouth, Virginia 23703, (757) 822-2130, 
Hours of Operation: Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 8 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
U.S. EPA Region III Library, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-
2029, (215) 814-5254, Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-
5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Thomson, PE, Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. EPA Region III (3HS13), 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029, (215) 814-3357, e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

I. Introduction

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III 
announces its intent to delete a portion of the Former Nansemond 
Ordnance Depot site (Nansemond) located in

[[Page 2727]]

Suffolk, Virginia from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests 
comments on this proposal. The NPL constitutes appendix B of the 
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 
40 CFR part 300. This proposal for partial deletion pertains to the 
soil in the Impregnation Kit Area of Nansemond.
    Nansemond is located in Suffolk, Virginia, near the northwestern 
end of State Route 135. It was once a U.S. military facility. It is 
situated at the mouth of and to the east of the Nansemond River, on the 
south side of Hampton Roads, and contains approximately 975 acres. It 
is bordered to the west by the Nansemond River, to the north by the 
James River (Hampton Roads) and to the east by Streeter Creek.
    The Impregnation Kit Area (also known as the ``Impregnite Kit'' or 
``XXCC3'' area) is an approximately 300,000 square foot, rectangular 
area in the southwestern portion of Nansemond, about 1000 feet from the 
Nansemond River. Only soil in this area is proposed for deletion from 
the NPL; ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area is not proposed 
for deletion.
    The U.S. Department of the Army apparently disposed of 
``impregnation'' or ``impregnite'' kits in this area. Impregnation kits 
consist of two substances: (a) XXCC3, which is a fine, white, granular, 
crystal powder consisting of 90-92% octachlor carbonilide 
(C13H4Cl8N2O) and 8-10% 
zinc oxide, and (b) a ``honey-like syrup'' or ``black waxy material.'' 
XXCC3 was used to neutralize chemical agents, and the impregnation kits 
disposed of in the Impregnation Kit Area were probably used as a 
protective coating on an under garment for older military issue 
chemical suits. EPA found several hazardous substances in the soil of 
the Impregnation Kit Area at concentrations greater than background 
concentrations, including zinc (11,100 milligrams per kilogram), carbon 
tetrachloride (20,700 micrograms per kilogram (ug/kg)), chloroform 
(20,600 ug/kg), and TNT (279 ug/kg).
    A contractor for the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the 
Corps) removed the buried kits and surrounding contaminated soil in 
December 1998 and January 1999. In all, the contractor removed 857 tons 
of impregnation kits and associated soil. Confirmation sampling shows 
that the contractor successfully removed the impregnation kits and 
associated contaminated soil. In the process, the Corps and EPA found 
that disposal activities and associated soil contamination were limited 
to a circle approximately 270 feet in diameter, covering 57,255 square 
feet, rather than 300,000 square feet, as originally estimated in EPA's 
Final Hazard Ranking System (``HRS'') Package. No further response 
action is appropriate to protect human health, welfare, and the 
environment in relation to the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area (all 
300,000 square feet) and, therefore, EPA proposes to delete the soil in 
this area from the NPL.
    Ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area has not been fully 
characterized and is not proposed for deletion from the NPL. Although 
some sampling and evaluation has been completed, more study is needed 
to better understand whether the ground water is contaminated and, if 
so, to what extent. Hazardous substances, including explosives, have 
been detected in ground water at other locations within Nansemond. It 
has not been clearly demonstrated that hazardous substances, pollutants 
or contaminants have been, or continue to be, released into the ground 
water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area at levels of concern to human 
health or the environment. Data gathered so far do not appear to 
indicate unacceptable human health threats from ground water beneath 
the Impregnation Kit Area, except perhaps if used for drinking water. 
Accordingly, the present owner of the property has agreed to prohibit 
drinking of ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area through a 
restrictive covenant, or similar legal device, in a deed. In addition, 
a City of Suffolk ordinance, section 90-126, requires all new premises, 
buildings or dwellings abutting a city water main to connect to the 
water main. This means that, under current law, any new buildings on 
the Impregnation Kit Area would connect to the city water main, 
reducing the likelihood that people would choose to drill wells and use 
ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area. The EPA and Corps plan 
future investigations to determine whether the ground water beneath the 
Impregnation Kit Area, and other areas within Nansemond, poses a risk 
to human health or the environment.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    This partial deletion is proposed in accordance with 40 CFR 
300.425(e) and the Notice of Policy Change: Partial Deletion of Sites 
Listed on the National Priorities List, 60 FR 55466 (November 1, 1995). 
The NCP establishes the criteria that EPA uses to delete sites from the 
NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be deleted from 
the NPL where no further response is appropriate to protect public 
health or the environment. In making such a determination pursuant to 
Sec.  300.425(e), EPA will consider, in consultation with the 
Commonwealth, whether any of the following criteria have been met:
    [sbull] Section 300.425(e)(1)(i). Responsible parties or other 
persons have implemented all appropriate response actions required; or
    [sbull] Section 300.425(e)(1)(ii). All appropriate responses under 
CERCLA have been implemented, and no further response action by 
responsible parties is appropriate; or
    [sbull] Section 300.425(e)(1)(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.
    Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for subsequent CERCLA actions at the area deleted if future 
site conditions warrant such actions. Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP 
provides that CERCLA actions may be taken at sites that have been 
deleted from the NPL. A partial deletion of a site from the NPL does 
not affect or impede EPA's ability to conduct CERCLA response 
activities at areas not deleted and remaining on the NPL. In addition, 
deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not affect the 
liability of responsible parties or impede agency efforts to recover 
costs associated with response efforts.

III. Deletion Procedures

    Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not itself 
create, alter, or revoke a person's rights or obligations. The NPL is 
designed primarily for informational purposes and to assist agency 
management. The following procedures were used for the proposed 
deletion of the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area at Nansemond:
    1. In December 1998 and January 1999, a contractor for the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers removed impregnation kits and associated 
contaminated soil from the Impregnation Kit Area. Subsequent soil 
sampling confirmed that the kits and contaminated soil had been 
successfully removed. Residual concentrations of hazardous substances, 
pollutants and contaminants in the soil are less than EPA Region III's 
Risk-Based Concentrations for soil in residential use and less than 
concentrations that might contaminate ground water, with the exception 
of arsenic. The arsenic concentrations, however, are within the range 
of concentrations that occurs naturally in the soil in this region of 
Virginia. A geophysical investigation of the Impregnation Kit Area and 
20

[[Page 2728]]

adjacent acres found no ordnance, no explosives and only one piece of 
ordnance-related scrap. Based on this, EPA and the Corps believe that 
no further response action is appropriate for soil in the Impregnation 
Kit Area.
    2. EPA has recommended the partial deletion and the Corps and EPA 
have prepared the relevant documents. These documents have been 
compiled into a Deletion Docket.
    3. The Commonwealth of Virginia, through the Virginia Department of 
Environmental Quality, concurs with this partial deletion.
    4. Concurrent with this national notice of intent for partial 
deletion, a notice has been published in a local newspaper of record 
and has been distributed to appropriate Federal, State, and local 
officials, and other interested parties. These notices announce a 30 
day public comment period on the deletion package, which commences on 
the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register and 
publication of a notice of availability of this notice in a newspaper 
of record.
    5. EPA and the Corps have made all relevant documents available at 
the information repositories listed previously.
    This Federal Register document, and a concurrent notice in a 
newspaper of record, announce the initiation of a 30 day public comment 
period and the availability of the notice of intent for partial 
deletion. The public is asked to comment on EPA's proposal to delete 
the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area of Nansemond from the NPL. All 
critical documents needed to evaluate EPA's decision are included in 
the Deletion Docket and are available for review at the information 
repositories.
    Upon completion of the 30 day comment period, EPA will evaluate all 
comments received before issuing the final decision on the partial 
deletion. EPA will prepare a Responsiveness Summary for comments 
received during the public comment period and will address concerns 
presented in the comments. The Responsiveness Summary will be made 
available to the public at the information repositories listed 
previously. Members of the public are encouraged to contact EPA Region 
III to obtain a copy of the Responsiveness Summary. If, after review of 
all public comments, EPA determines that the partial deletion from the 
NPL is appropriate, EPA will publish a final notice of partial deletion 
in the Federal Register. Deletion of the area does not actually occur 
until the final Notice of Partial Deletion is published in the Federal 
Register.

IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

    The following provides EPA's rationale for deletion of the soil in 
the Impregnation Kit Area from the NPL and EPA's finding that the 
criteria in 40 CFR 300.425(e) are satisfied.

Background

    The Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot site (Nansemond) is located in 
Suffolk, Virginia, near the northwestern end of State Route 135. It was 
once a U.S. military facility. It is situated at the mouth of and to 
the east of the Nansemond River, on the south side of Hampton Roads, 
and contains approximately 975 acres. It is bordered to the west by the 
Nansemond River, to the north by the James River (Hampton Roads) and to 
the east by Streeter Creek.
    From its establishment in 1917 until 1950, Nansemond was occupied 
by the U.S. Army for ammunition supply, maintenance, and disposal 
functions. In 1950, the site was transferred to the Department of the 
Navy, and was subsequently named the Marine Corps Supply Forwarding 
Annex. Following Navy operation, Nansemond was deactivated in 1960, and 
ownership of the property was transferred to the Beazley Foundation. 
The land of the former depot is now principally occupied by Tidewater 
Community College; the General Electric Company Jet Engine Division 
(GE); and the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD). Smaller parcels 
of land are owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation, 
Interstate 664; Dominion Lands, Inc.; Continental Properties; and SYSCO 
Food Services.
    Soil and ground water at Nansemond have been contaminated by past 
operations, including the storage, handling, reconditioning and 
disposal of ordnance. Types of contamination at Nansemond include, but 
are not limited to, semi-volatile organic compounds, heavy metals and 
compounds used in explosives (e.g., TNT) in soil; and compounds used in 
explosives (e.g., hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (``RDX'')) in 
ground water.
    Nansemond is classified as a ``Formerly Used Defense Site'' or 
``FUDS.'' Pursuant to Public Law 98-212 and the Defense Environmental 
Restoration Program (chapter 160 of the Superfund Amendments and 
Reauthorization Act of 1986), the Department of Defense (DOD) is 
responsible for investigating and remedying releases of hazardous 
substances at FUDS that resulted from DOD activities. DOD has assigned 
those responsibilities to the United States Army Corps of Engineers 
(the Corps).
    Environmental contamination from past military operations at 
Nansemond came to the attention of the Corps and EPA at least as early 
as 1987, when a boy found a piece of crystalline TNT near the entrance 
to Tidewater Community College. Beginning in 1987 and continuing to the 
present, the Corps and EPA have cooperated to remove TNT, buried 
ordnance and other contamination from soil at Nansemond. In addition, 
the Corps and EPA have cooperated in investigating soil and ground 
water contamination at Nansemond.

Impregnation Kit Area

    The Impregnation Kit Area (also known as the Impregnite Kit or 
XXCC3 area) is an approximately 300,000 square foot, rectangular area 
in the southwestern portion of Nansemond, about 1000 feet from the 
Nansemond River. It was apparently used for the disposal of 
impregnation kits containing XXCC3. Impregnation kits consist of two 
substances: (a) XXCC3, which is a fine, white, granular, crystal 
powder, and (b) a ``honey-like syrup'' or ``black waxy material.'' 
XXCC3 was used to neutralize chemical agents, and the impregnation kits 
disposed of in this area were probably used as a protective coating on 
an under garment for older military issue chemical suits.
    As of 1948, the U.S. Army's recommended methods for disposal of 
surplus XXCC3 included scattering on the ground, burial (at least three 
feet below ground), and burning. Aerial photographs indicate that 
activities such as excavating and grading took place at the 
Impregnation Kit Area during the 1950s. A 1995 excavation by a 
contractor for Dominion Lands, Inc. uncovered wooden crates containing 
the white powder; small metal cans containing the black waxy material; 
and fiber drums. In 1996, the Corps conducted a chemical screening and 
ordnance survey in the Impregnation Kit Area, took soil samples and dug 
test pits. The test pits revealed a thick seam of the white powder in a 
mounded area, and remnants of the kits were visible.
    EPA took a soil sample from the Impregnation Kit Area in 1997. The 
hazardous substances detected at the highest concentrations in this 
sample were zinc (11,100 milligrams per kilogram), carbon tetrachloride 
(20,700 micrograms per kilogram ([mu]g/kg)), chloroform (20,600 [mu]g/
kg), and TNT (279 [mu]g/kg).
    In December 1998 and January 1999, a contractor for the Corps 
excavated the area containing the impregnation kits.

[[Page 2729]]

Two parallel disposal trenches were discovered. A total of 857 tons of 
impregnation kit materials and associated soils were removed and placed 
in a landfill in Hampton, Virginia. Earlier analytical testing 
indicated that the soils and materials removed from the Impregnation 
Kit Area were not a RCRA hazardous waste according to 40 CFR part 261.3 
and the Material Safety Data Sheet for XXCC3. All waste was disposed of 
in a non-hazardous waste landfill in Hampton, Virginia.
    Following the removal, in January 1999, EPA proposed to add 
releases of hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants at 
Nansemond to the National Priorities List (NPL). 64 FR 2950 (January 
19, 1999). EPA added the releases to the NPL in July 1999. 64 FR 39878 
(July 22, 1999). One of the supporting documents, the Hazard Ranking 
System (HRS) Documentation Record, described the Impregnation Kit Area 
as one of seven sources of contamination at Nansemond, based on the 
soil sample taken in 1997. EPA also noted, however, that ``The 
rectangular parcel, identified as Source Area 3 [the Impregnation Kit 
Area] in the HRS Documentation Record, has undergone extensive removal 
activities and EPA anticipates that confirmation sampling will indicate 
that this area also is not of concern to EPA.'' At the time it drafted 
the HRS Documentation Record, EPA estimated the Impregnation Kit Area 
covered approximately 300,000 square feet.
    In the summer of 1999, a contractor for the Corps took samples of 
the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area to confirm that the excavation 
had successfully removed contaminated soil and to check for hazardous 
substances, pollutants and contaminants in 20 acres surrounding the 
excavation. The contractor also performed a geophysical investigation 
to identify geophysical anomalies that might indicate ordnance buried 
in the Impregnation Kit Area.
    The Confirmation Sampling Report shows that the excavation 
successfully removed the impregnation kits and associated contaminated 
soil. Residual concentrations of hazardous substances, pollutants and 
contaminants in soil samples were less than EPA Region III's Risk-Based 
Concentrations for residential use, and less than concentrations that 
might contaminate ground water, except that all the soil samples 
contained arsenic, at levels up to 4.6 mg/kg. These arsenic 
concentrations, however, are within the range of naturally occurring 
background concentrations for soils in this region of Virginia. Under 
CERCLA, the Corps and EPA generally do not clean up naturally occurring 
substances in their unaltered form (or altered solely through naturally 
occurring processes) from locations where they are naturally found.
    The geophysical investigation found 16 geophysical anomalies. 
However, after excavating each location, the anomalies were shown to be 
caused by innocuous metal items, such as wire and pipes. A single piece 
of ordnance-related scrap was found at Anomaly 1, shown as square 1 on 
Figure 2 of the Corps' Post Removal Action Confirmation Sampling Report 
(2002) (the ``Confirmation Sampling Report''). The scrap did not 
contain explosives, nor were any other ordnance or explosives found.
    The Confirmation Sampling Report concludes that ``based on the 
results of the confirmation sampling investigation, no further action 
is recommended for the site [the Impregnation Kit Area].'' Furthermore, 
the report states that the Corps, EPA and VDEQ have agreed to redefine 
the boundaries of the Impregnation Kit Area to reflect the actual size 
of the removal area. The removal occurred within a 270 foot diameter 
circle, with an area of about 57,255 square feet. EPA has no data at 
this time that show releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or 
contaminants in the rest of the approximately 300,000 square foot 
rectangle described in EPA's 1999 HRS Documentation Record. EPA bases 
its proposal to delete the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area (all 
300,000 square feet) on the results of the Corps' Post Removal Action 
Confirmation Sampling Report and the other documents in the Deletion 
Docket. Based on these documents, EPA, with the concurrence of the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, has determined that the Corps has implemented 
all appropriate response actions for the soil in the Impregnation Kit 
Area and no further response action is appropriate for the soil in this 
area.
    Ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area has not been fully 
characterized and is not proposed for deletion from the NPL. Although 
some sampling and evaluation has been completed, more study is needed 
to better understand whether the ground water is contaminated and, if 
so, to what extent. Hazardous substances, including explosives, have 
been detected in ground water at other locations within Nansemond. It 
has not been clearly demonstrated that hazardous substances, pollutants 
or contaminants have been, or continue to be, released into the ground 
water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area at levels of concern to human 
health or the environment. Data gathered so far do not appear to 
indicate unacceptable human health threats from ground water beneath 
the Impregnation Kit Area, except perhaps if used for drinking water. 
Accordingly, the present owner of the property has agreed to prohibit 
drinking of ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area through a 
restrictive covenant, or similar legal device, in a deed. In addition, 
a City of Suffolk ordinance, section 90-126, requires all new premises, 
buildings or dwellings abutting a city water main to connect to the 
water main. This means that, under current law, any new buildings on 
the Impregnation Kit Area would connect to the city water main, 
reducing the likelihood that people would choose to drill wells and use 
ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area. The EPA and Corps plan 
future investigations to determine whether the ground water beneath the 
Impregnation Kit Area, and other areas within Nansemond, poses a risk 
to human health or the environment.

Community Involvement

    The Corps and EPA have had a comprehensive public involvement 
program for several years at Nansemond. The Corps prepared its first 
community relations plan for Nansemond in 1996 and in 1997 organized a 
Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) to solicit the views of local citizens 
and other interested parties on the environmental restoration at 
Nansemond. RAB members include representatives of the Corps, EPA, VDEQ 
and community members. RAB members meet every second month to review 
and comment on technical documents and plans relating to the ongoing 
environmental restoration activities at Nansemond. Meetings are open to 
all members of the public. The 1998 removal, the post confirmation 
sampling and plans to partially delete the Impregnation Kit Area have 
been discussed at RAB meetings.
    The Corps and EPA have also established document repositories, 
described above, to make available to the public information about the 
investigation and cleanup at Nansemond.

Current Status

    Removal of impregnation kits and associated contaminated soil in 
the Impregnation Kit Area has been successfully completed. No further 
response action is planned or scheduled for the soil in this area. 
Ground water, however, may be the subject of future response actions 
under CERCLA. In the

[[Page 2730]]

future, five-year reviews may be required at Nansemond if other 
remedies are selected that leave waste on site above levels that allow 
for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure.
    While EPA does not believe that any future response actions will be 
needed for the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area, if future conditions 
warrant such action, the proposed deletion area remains eligible for 
future response actions. Furthermore, this partial deletion does not 
alter the status of any other areas at Nansemond that are not proposed 
for deletion and remain on the NPL, including, but not limited to, the 
ground water beneath the Impregnation Kit Area.
    EPA, together with Corps and with concurrence from the Commonwealth 
of Virginia, has determined that all appropriate CERCLA response 
actions have been completed for the soil in the Impregnation Kit Area 
and protection of human health and the environment has been achieved in 
these areas. Therefore, EPA makes this proposal to delete the soil in 
the Impregnation Kit Area of Nansemond site from the NPL.

    Dated: January 9, 2003.
Thomas Voltaggio,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 03-1144 Filed 1-17-03; 8:45 am]
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