[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 189 (Tuesday, September 30, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56195-56196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24775]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7564-9]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of deletion for the Celtor Chemical Works Superfund Site 
from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX is issuing 
a Notice of Deletion for the Celtor Chemical Works Superfund Site 
(Site) located in Hoopa, California, from the National Priorities List 
(NPL). The NPL is 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 of 1980 
(CERCLA), as amended. The EPA, Hoopa Valley Tribe and the State of 
California, through the California Department of Toxic Substances 
Control, have determined that all appropriate response actions under 
CERCLA have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude 
future actions under Superfund.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 30, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debbie Schechter, Section Chief, U.S. 
EPA, Region IX, SFD-7-2, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-
3901, (415) 972-3230 or (800) 231-3075.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Site to be deleted from the NPL is the 
Celtor Chemical Works Superfund Site, in Hoopa, California.
    A Notice of Intent to Delete for this Site was published in the 
Federal Register on August 18, 2003 (68 FR 49406). The closing date for 
comments on the Notice of Intent to Delete was September 17, 2003. A 
Responsiveness Summary was prepared for comments received regarding 
delisting of the site; those responses are part of the NOD below. EPA 
identifies sites that appear to present a significant risk to public 
health, welfare, or the environment, and it maintains the NPL as the 
list of those

[[Page 56196]]

sites. Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states that Fund-financed 
actions may be taken at sites deleted from the NPL in the unlikely 
event that conditions at these sites warrant such actions. Deletion of 
a site from the NPL does not affect responsible party liability or 
impede EPA's efforts to recover costs associated with response efforts.

Public Comments Received During August 13, 2003 Public Meeting on 
Proposed De-listing

    Question: What was the basis for the cleanup levels in the 1985 
Record of Decision?
    Response: The Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) or the Drinking 
Water Regulations (DWRs) are the basis for the water quality criteria 
for the gully, the surface water running into the gully, and the ground 
water. Action levels for the Trinity River were based upon Water 
Quality Criteria for the Protection of Freshwater Aquatic Life (WQCAL). 
Action levels for contaminants in soil were primarily based on the 
acceptable range of contaminant levels in soil as derived from the EPA 
National Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Protection of Human Health 
(WQCHH). An acceptable daily dose was computed by multiplying the WQCHH 
or MCL for a given contaminant by two liters, which is the maximum 
daily ingestion rate for the WQCHH or MCL to protect human health. This 
computed dose was then divided by 10 grams or 0.1 grams, which is the 
United States Center for Disease Control's (CDC) maximum estimated 
ingestion rate of soil for a child or an adult, respectively. The 
result is a range of contaminant concentrations in soil which will 
fully protect human health. Other considerations were also evaluated in 
setting the action levels. The action level for arsenic was based upon 
an advisory from the CDC. In our most recent comprehensive sampling, we 
compared the results to the Primary Remediation Goals for residential 
non-cancer standards. The action level for cadmium was based upon a 
cleanup level for unrestricted residential use. The action levels for 
copper and zinc were established at the California Assessment Manual 
Total Threshold Limit Concentrations (CAM TTLC).
    Question: After de-listing, would Celtor Chemical be put back on 
the National Priorities List if contaminants were found?
    Response: Deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for subsequent Fund-financed remedial action. If future 
conditions warrant, the NCP (40 CFR 300.425(e)(3)) provides that Fund-
financed remedial actions may be taken at sites deleted from the NPL. 
When there is a significant release from a site deleted from the NPL, 
the site may be restored to the NPL without rescoring the site.
    Question: Orange-colored soil has been seen on the gravel bar. Is 
this contamination from the Site?
    Response: Orange stained sediments appear on the Trinity River's 
gravel bar on occasion. It is unknown whether these stained sediments 
are associated with the Celtor Site. No visible connection to a source 
has been identified. Stains were sampled by EPA in 1996, but the stains 
were not present during the 1998, 2001 and 2003 site visits. Some 
samples of the 1996 orange colored sediments had elevated levels of 
contaminants. Other samples did not show elevated levels of 
contaminants. Areas of the gravel bar were sampled to determine if 
contamination was present in the absence of the orange stains, and no 
elevated levels of contaminants were found. The Trinity River flows 
through a highly mineralized area, and there are upstream mining 
operations that could be the source of the stains. The orange color is 
also an indication of oxidation (rusting) and is not necessarily 
associated with contamination. No orange colored sediments have been 
seen on the gravel bar by EPA or the Tribe since 1996.
    Question: Has the contamination affected the river water?
    Response: When the processor was operating, there were large 
quantities of tailings released to the Trinity River that caused fish 
kills. Current samples of surface water do not show elevated levels of 
contaminants entering the river.
    Question: Is it safe to grow a garden in the pasture?
    Response: The pasture was sampled for site related contamination. 
There were no elevated levels of contaminants found in the soil. There 
is no unacceptable risk from growing a garden in the pasture with 
respect to site related contamination.
    Question: There is a concern that fill from an area by the gravel 
bar of the Trinity River near the site was used as fill for yards. Is 
there a potential health risk for the people who live in these houses?
    Response: According to sources from the Tribal Environmental 
Protection Agency (TEPA), it is not known if this fill was actually 
used in the yards of homes, or if it was, in what houses it may have 
been used. There is no reason to suspect that fill used in yards taken 
from near the gravel bar had elevated levels of site related 
contaminants. The area where the fill is located was not at the site of 
the remedial action, but further down the river access road behind the 
gravel bar.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

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

    Dated: September 19, 2003.
Deborah Jordan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 40 CFR part 300 is amended as 
follows:

PART 300--[AMENDED]

0
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]

0
2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended by removing the entry 
for the Celtor Chemical Works Superfund Site in Hoopa, California.

[FR Doc. 03-24775 Filed 9-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P