[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 221 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64806-64809]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28574]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7586-6]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct final deletion of the Follansbee Superfund Site from the 
National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III, is 
publishing a direct final notice of deletion of the Follansbee, 
Superfund Site (Site), located north of the city of Follansbee, West 
Virginia, 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 West Virginia, through the West Virginia 
Department of Environmental Protection, 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 January 16, 2004 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by December 17, 2003. 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: Anthony C. Iacobone, Remedial 
Project Manager (RPM) 3HS23, [email protected], U.S. EPA Region 
III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029, (215 ) 814-5237 or 
1-800-352-1973.
    Information Repositories: Comprehensive information about the Site 
is available for viewing and copying

[[Page 64807]]

at the Site information repositories located at: U.S. EPA Region III, 
Regional Center for Environmental Information (RCEI), 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029, (215) 814-5364, Monday through Friday 8 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Follansbee City Library, 844 Main Street, 
Follansbee, WV 26037, (304) 527-0860, Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. 
to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony C. Iacobone, Remedial Project 
Manager (RPM) 3HS23, [email protected], U.S. EPA Region III, 
1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029, (215) 814-5237 or 1-800-
352-1973.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents:

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

I. Introduction

    EPA Region III is publishing this direct final notice of deletion 
of the Follansbee 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 January 16, 2004 unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by December 17, 2003 on this document. If 
adverse comments are received within the 30-day public comment period 
on this document 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. Alternatively, 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 the Follansbee Superfund Site and 
demonstrates how it meets the deletion criteria. Section V discusses 
EPA's action to delete the Site 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 Site 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.

    Consistent with Sec.  300.425(e) of the NCP, EPA proposes deletion 
of this Site because no further response action is appropriate under 
CERCLA, as laid out in EPA's policy entitled ``The National Priorities 
List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites; Deletion Policy for 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA'') Facilities.'' 
Published in the Federal Register on March 20, 1995 (60 FR 14641), this 
policy sets forth the following criteria, all of which should be met, 
and their general application for deleting RCRA facilities from the 
NPL:

    1. If evaluated under EPA's current RCRA/NPL deferral policy the 
site would be eligible for deferral from listing on the NPL;
    2. The CERCLA site is currently being addressed by RCRA corrective 
action authorities under an existing enforceable order or permit 
containing corrective action provisions;
    3. Response under RCRA is progressing adequately; and
    4. Deletion would not disrupt an ongoing CERCLA response action.

    Under this policy EPA has determined that the Site is eligible for 
deletion form the NPL.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures apply to deletion of the Site:

    (1) EPA determined that no further response under CERCLA is 
necessary due to the fact that the Site is being investigated and 
cleaned up using RCRA authorities.
    (2) West Virginia concurred with deletion of the Site 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 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 the Site from 
the NPL.
    (4) The EPA placed copies of documents supporting the deletion in 
the 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 or 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.

IV. Basis for Site Deletion

    The following information provides EPA's rationale for deleting the 
Site from the NPL:

Site Description

    The Follansbee Site is located in the northern panhandle of West 
Virginia along the east bank of the Ohio River in Brooke County, just 
north of the city of Follansbee, West Virginia. The Site is roughly 
rectangular with the approximate dimensions of 3,000 feet in a 
northwest-southeast direction and 500 feet perpendicular to the river. 
The Site occupies 34 acres. The Site is bounded

[[Page 64808]]

to the north, south, and east by a coke-making facility which is owned 
and operated by the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. The Site is 
bounded to the west by the Ohio River.
    The Site consists of process and storage facilities for the 
manufacture of coal tar by-products. Contamination at the Site is due 
to leaking tanks, spills, surface impoundments and poor operation 
practices. The Site is underlain by three geological formations (a 
Perched Zone, an Alluvial Aquifer and a Bedrock Aquifer), each of which 
is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene and toluene, and heavy metals. 
In addition, the Bedrock Aquifer is contaminated with as much as seven 
feet of a coal tar Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL).
    The Site is located in a heavily industrialized area within one 
mile of several population centers. There are an estimated 5,900 people 
living within a 3-mile radius of the Site. The City of Follansbee 
obtains potable water from a radial collector well and a surface water 
intake located approximately 1.5 miles downstream of the Site. Fifty 
private residential wells are within a 3-mile radius, and there are 
public wells located five miles downstream of the Site.

Site History

    American Tar Products Company began operations at the Site in 1914. 
Since then, there have been many physical changes to the processing 
facilities, as well as changes in plant ownership. The Site, however, 
has always operated as a coal-tar processing plant. The northern 
portion of the property is highly contaminated with coal tar 
constituents which have migrated through the groundwater into the 
bedrock. The Site was proposed for inclusion on the NPL in December 
1982 and was listed in September 1983.

Response Actions

    As noted below, the Follansbee Site is currently being addressed by 
a series of RCRA Interim Measures under an existing enforceable order. 
The response under RCRA is progressing adequately as detailed below. 
Deletion of the Site from the NPL will not disrupt the possibility of 
any further CERCLA response action. As such, EPA intends to delete the 
listing of this Site from the NPL under CERCLA based on deferral to 
RCRA.
    In October 1990, EPA and Beazer East (Beazer) the former owner/
operator of the Follansbee Site, entered into a RCRA section 3008(h) 
Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), Docket No. RCRA-III-037CA, 
requiring Beazer East to conduct a RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) 
and to prepare a Corrective Measures Study (CMS). A draft RFI report 
was submitted to EPA in May 1994 and subsequently found to be deficient 
by EPA. Beazer then developed a new work plan which enabled it to 
gather additional information to sufficiently supplement the 1994 RFI 
report. As a result, in June 2000 the final RFI report was approved 
subject to additional sediment sampling by Beazer. Beazer is currently 
operating two interim pump and treat systems to control contaminated 
groundwater migration.
    The first system installed in 1983 by Beazer involves the operation 
of five groundwater recovery wells to provide hydraulic containment for 
portions of the shallow perched zone aquifer. The recovered groundwater 
is processed in an on-site wastewater treatment plant prior to being 
discharged to the Ohio River. The effect of this system has been to 
prevent releases into the neighboring Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel 
Corporation coal pits as well as to mitigate historical plant seeps to 
the banks of the Ohio River. EPA has required that Beazer provide a 
demonstration of the effectiveness of this system. Beazer is presently 
completing additional field investigations to fulfill this objective.
    The second system, initiated pursuant to the 1990 RCRA, Order began 
operation in April 1999. This system provides for the collection of 
DNAPL coal tar product from the bedrock wells on-site. To date, the 
DNAPL removal program has been successful. This system will remain in 
operation until it is no longerr technically feasible to remove DNAPL 
from this area of the Site.
    Beazer has been conducting the RFI in a phased approach which 
resulted in the submission of a comprehensive RFI report in 1994. EPA 
provided technical comments on this report. Beazer responded to these 
comments by performing additional field work to better characterize the 
Site and to address certain identified data gaps. The work has included 
the installation of additional wells, performance of additional 
sampling and analysis, and evaluation of the existing shallow zone pump 
and treat system.
    On June 26, 2000, EPA conditionally approved the RFI report subject 
to additional sediment sampling by Beazer. The river sediment sampling 
was completed in January 2001 and EPA received those results in August 
2001. Actions taken as a result of this sampling will be at the 
discretion of the EPA Region III RCRA program. Additionally, Beazer 
will submit an interim measures program report regarding the 
performance of the DNAPL removal program and the performance of the 
shallow groundwater pump and treat system. Both interim measures are 
expected to be components of the final RCRA remedy at the Site.
    Pursuant to the 1990 RCRA Consent Order and the1984 Consent Decree 
(United States of America and State of West Virginia v. Koppers Company 
Inc. and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. Civil Action No. 83-0127-W(k) 
WV-1984), Beazer submitted a work plan to EPA on July 24, 2002. EPA 
approved this work plan on July 30, 2002. The work to be performed 
under this plan will expand the groundwater monitoring activity at the 
Site to provide useful data allowing EPA to document the effectiveness 
of current and future remedial activities.
    EPA completed construction activities at the Follansbee Site in 
accordance with Close Out Procedures for National Priority List Sites 
(OSWER Directive 9320.2-09A-9) on July 25, 2003. EPA's Superfund 
Division conducted a Pre-Final Inspection on June 17, 2003 and 
determined that the contractors have constructed a remedy in accordance 
with the Interim Measures specified by EPA, and no further Superfund 
response is anticipated.

Exposure Pathways

    Human exposure to contaminated soils is being prevented due to the 
Site being largely paved and secured. Koppers Industries (Koppers), the 
current Site owner, developed and submitted a plan to EPA in February 
of 1998 to increase the extent of paved area at the Site. Koppers also 
provides a full time security staff which limits access to the 
property.
    The area in the vicinity of the Site is serviced by municipal water 
supplies which obtain water from the Ohio River and from wells near the 
river. The nearest surface water intake and the municipal wells are 
located about 1.5 miles downstream from the Site. Three industrial 
wells are located within one mile of the Site but are not used for 
potable purposes. As supported by Site characterization data, there is 
no evidence that the Site contamination has impacted private or 
municipal water supplies due to the remoteness of the water supply 
wells and the surface water intakes as well as the substantial dilution 
effect of the Ohio River.

[[Page 64809]]

Operation and Maintenance

    Operation and Maintenance of all systems at the Site will be 
performed by Beazer under the direction of EPA.

Five-Year Review

    No five-year review is required since no remedy has been selected 
under CERCLA section 121. Future response actions at the Site are 
expected to be taken pursuant to RCRA authority.

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 which EPA relied on for 
recommendation of the deletion of the Site from the NPL are available 
to the public in the information repositories.

V. Deletion Action

    The EPA, with concurrence of the State of West Virginia, has 
determined that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have been 
completed, and that no further response actions under CERCLA are 
necessary and that the Site meets the criteria for deleting RCRA Sites 
from the NPL. (60 FR 14641 dated March 20, 1995).
    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 January 16, 2004 unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by December 17, 2003 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, 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. 
Alternatively, 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

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

Donald S. Welsh,
Regional Administrator, Region III.

0
For the reasons set out in this document, 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 under West Virginia by 
removing ``Follansbee Site, Follansbee, WV.''
[FR Doc. 03-28574 Filed 11-14-03; 8:45 am]
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