[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7613-7615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3368]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7624-1]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Florence Land Recontouring 
Landfill Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II Office 
announces its intent to delete the Florence Land Recontouring Landfill 
Superfund Site (Site) from the National Priorities List (NPL) and 
requests public comment on this action. Within the NPL, this Site is 
listed as being located in the Township of Florence. However, portions 
of the Site are also located in the Townships of Mansfield and 
Springfield, Burlington County, New Jersey. 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) of 1980, as amended. EPA and 
the State of New Jersey, through the Department of Environmental 
Protection (NJDEP), have determined that all appropriate remedial 
actions have been implemented at the Site and no further fund-financed 
remedial action is appropriate under CERCLA. Moreover, EPA and NJDEP 
have determined that the Site poses no significant threat to public 
health or the environment.

DATES: The EPA will accept comments concerning its proposal for 
deletion until March 19, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to: Mark Austin, Remedial Project 
Manager, New Jersey Remediation Branch, Emergency and Remedial Response 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, 290 
Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866.
    Comprehensive information on the Site is contained in the 
Administrative Record and is available for viewing by appointment only 
at: U.S. EPA Records Center, 290 Broadway, Room 1828, New York, New 
York 10007-1866. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.-Monday through Friday. Contact 
the Records Center at (212) 637-4308.
    Information on the Site is also available for viewing at the 
Information Repository located at: Florence Township Library, 1350 
Hornberger Ave, Roebling, New Jersey 08554, (609) 499-0143.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Austin, Remedial Project Manager, 
U.S. EPA, Region II, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, New York 
10007-1866, phone: (212) 637-3954; fax: (212) 637-4429; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II 
announces its intent to delete the Florence Land Recontouring Landfill 
Superfund Site (Site) 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) of 1980, as amended. The NPL is a list maintained by EPA 
of Sites that EPA has determined to present a significant risk to 
public health or the environment. Sites on the NPL may be the subject 
of remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substances Superfund 
(Fund).
    The Site is located on Cedar Lane, in the townships of Florence, 
Mansfield and Springfield, Burlington County, New Jersey. The property 
encompasses approximately 60 acres. Out of the 60 acres, the area which 
contains the actual landfilled wastes is 29 acres. Florence Land 
Recontouring, Inc. operated the Site from 1973 to 1981. The Site was 
utilized as a solid waste landfill to accept sanitary and industrial 
(non-chemical) waste, including septage and sewage sludge.
    At the Site, a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) 
was conducted by an engineering consulting firm under the direction of 
the NJDEP. EPA, along with the NJDEP, selected and implemented the 
remedy. The NJDEP approved an operation and maintenance plan and 
currently implements it.
    EPA will accept comments concerning its intent to delete this Site 
for thirty (30) days after publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register and a newspaper of record.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP established the criteria that the Agency 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. In 
making this determination, EPA, in consultation with the NJDEP, will 
consider whether any of the following criteria have been met:
    (i) Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have 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 to the environment and, 
therefore, taking remedial measures is not appropriate.
    EPA will not conduct any further activities at this Site because 
EPA believes that the Site poses no significant threat to public health 
or to the environment. If new information becomes available which 
indicates the need for further action, EPA may initiate such actions 
under Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP. Pursuant to 40 CFR 300.425(e) of 
the NCP, any site or portion of a site deleted from the NPL remains 
eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if conditions at the site 
warrant such action.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of 
this Site:
    1. The Site was listed on the NPL in September 1984 based on 
investigations by NJDEP and the County of Burlington, New Jersey.
    2. During 1985 and 1986, a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility 
Study (RI/FS) was conducted by Black and Veatch, an engineering 
consulting firm under the direction of the NJDEP, to characterize and 
evaluate Site contamination. NJDEP is the lead Agency for this site and 
EPA is the support Agency.
    3. EPA issued a comprehensive Record of Decision (ROD) for the site 
on June 27, 1986.

[[Page 7614]]

    4. The construction phase of the remediation was completed and 
found to be consistent with the ROD in a Preliminary Closeout Report 
dated September 25, 1998.
    5. In March of 1994, the NJDEP approved an operation and 
maintenance (O&M) plan. The O&M activities are being performed by 
NJDEP, Burlington County, as a NJDEP contractor, and a Potentially 
Responsible Party (PRP), specifically for removing and disposal of 
collected leachate. EPA and NJDEP believe that O&M continues to be 
adequately performed by these parties.
    6. EPA approved the Remedial Action report on September 28, 2001. 
The Remedial Action report contains detailed information on the 
construction and demonstrates that the remedy is operational and 
functional.
    7. NJDEP began a five-year monitoring period for the Site in 
September 1997. Groundwater and surface water data continues to be 
collected. To date, no volatile or semi-volatile compounds have been 
detected. Contamination levels in the monitoring wells have declined 
during the monitoring period. Methane levels continue to be generally 
low.
    8. EPA recommends the deletion of the Site and has prepared the 
relevant documents.
    9. The NJDEP has concurred with the deletion decision in a letter 
dated September 19, 2002.
    10. Concurrent with this national Notice of Intent to Delete, a 
notice has been published in a local newspaper and appropriate notice 
has been distributed to federal, state and local officials, and other 
interested parties. This notice announces a thirty-day public comment 
period on the deletion, which starts on the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register and a newspaper of record.
    11. EPA placed all relevant site documents in the Site information 
repositories identified above.
    12. Upon completion of the thirty (30) day public comment period, 
EPA will evaluate all comments received before issuing the final 
decision on the deletion. EPA will prepare a Responsiveness Summary, if 
appropriate, for comments received during the public comment period 
which will address the concerns raised. The Responsiveness Summary will 
be made available to the public at the information repositories. If, 
after review of all public comments, EPA determines that the deletion 
from the NPL is appropriate, EPA will publish a final notice of 
deletion in the Federal Register. Deletion of the Site does not 
actually occur until the final Notice of Deletion is published in the 
Federal Register.
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any person's rights or obligations. Deletion from the NPL does 
not alter EPA's right to take appropriate enforcement actions. The NPL 
is designed primarily for informational purposes and to assist Agency 
management.

IV. Basis for Site Deletion

    The following summary provides EPA's rationale for deletion of the 
Florence Land Recontouring Landfill Superfund Site from the NPL and 
EPA's finding that the criteria in 40 CFR 300.425(e) are satisfied:

Background

    The Florence Land Recontouring Landfill Superfund Site is listed in 
the NPL as located in the Township of Florence, Burlington County, New 
Jersey. However, the Site extends into Mansfield and Springfield 
Townships. The property boundary encompasses approximately 60 acres. 
Out of the 60 acres, the area which contains the actual landfilled 
wastes is 29 acres. Florence Land Recontouring, Inc. operated the Site 
from 1973 to 1981. The Site was utilized as a solid waste landfill to 
accept sanitary and industrial (non-chemical) waste, including septage 
and sewage sludge. In 1975, an investigation by the NJDEP disclosed 
chemical waste disposal at the Site. In July 1981, Florence Land 
Recontouring, Inc. submitted a final closure plan and operations 
terminated in November 1981. The Site was proposed for listing on the 
NPL in September 1983 and was added to the NPL in September 1984.

Selected Remedy

    During 1985 and 1986, a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility 
Study (RI/FS) was conducted. The RI/FS revealed that the main source of 
environmental concern at the Site was the reported deposition of 
hazardous waste, including phthalates, heavy metals and vinyl chloride 
monomers. Sampling and analysis of leachate in wastefill wells 
indicated the presence of volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.
    On June 27, 1986, EPA, with the NJDEP's concurrence, issued a 
Record of Decision (ROD). The major components of the selected remedy 
consisted of the construction of a synthetic membrane and clay 
composite cap, construction of a circumferential soil/bentonite slurry 
containment wall, construction of an up-gradient groundwater 
interceptor system, construction of a new storm water management 
system, leachate treatment and disposal at a publicly owned treatment 
works, gas collection and treatment, removal and disposal of lagoon 
liquids and sediments, construction of a fence with warning signs, and 
supplemental sampling of groundwater, surface water, and sediments 
during design.

Cleanup

    The landfill cap construction began in April 1993. The work was 
performed by a NJDEP contractor using state and federal funds. All 
construction for the Site required by the ROD was completed in August 
1994. EPA issued a Preliminary Closeout Report on September 25, 1998. 
The only ongoing activities consist of the operation and maintenance of 
the cap and various systems, including the gas and leachate collection 
systems and the groundwater interceptor system. Landfill gas is removed 
from the landfill at an average of 40 cubic feet per minute. Leachate 
generation has slowed from an average of 10,000 gallons per day when 
the collection system was first installed to an average of 30,000 
gallons per week and is expected to continue to diminish.
    Groundwater and surface water monitoring were conducted annually 
for five years in accordance with the NJDEP's 1997 five-year monitoring 
plan, and soil gas monitoring is conducted quarterly in the capped and 
surrounding areas. Methane levels have generally been low. No volatiles 
or semi-volatiles have been detected.
    Post-construction sampling and testing results indicate to EPA and 
the NJDEP that the construction was properly implemented, consistent 
with the requirements of the ROD. This information is also contained in 
a Remedial Action report approved by EPA.
    The cleanup of the Site was performed in compliance with ``clean 
closure'' requirements and consistent with the Resource Conservation 
and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, CERCLA, as amended, and the NCP.
    Hazardous substances remain at this Site above health-based levels. 
It is the policy of EPA (OSWER Directive 9355.7-03B-P) to review 
remedial actions selected in RODs signed prior to the enactment of the 
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). The first 
Five-Year review will be completed prior to September 2003.

Major Community Involvement Activities

    Public participation activities for the Site have been satisfied as 
required in CERCLA section 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and CERCLA 
section 117, 42

[[Page 7615]]

U.S.C. 9617. All documents and information which EPA relied on or 
considered in recommending that no further activities are necessary at 
the Site, and that the Site can be deleted from the NPL, are available 
for the public to review at the information repositories.
    One of the three criteria for site deletion specifies that EPA may 
delete a site from the NPL if ``all appropriate Fund-financed response 
under CERCLA has been implemented, and no further response action by 
responsible parties is appropriate.'' 40 CFR 300.425(e)(1)(ii). EPA, 
with the concurrence of the NJDEP, believes that this criterion for 
deletion has been met. Subsequently, EPA is proposing deletion of this 
Site from the NPL.
    In a letter dated September 19, 2002, the NJDEP concurred with EPA.
    Additionally, although EPA's ROD did not require institutional 
controls, NJDEP independently requires institutional controls, in the 
form of a deed notice, for this landfill under its landfill closure and 
post-closure regulations (New Jersey Solid Waste Regulations, N.J.A.C 
7:26-2A.9). This deed notice would remain in effect in perpetuity, and 
would require prior approval from the NJDEP before any future 
disturbance at the landfill.

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.

    Dated: June 9, 2003.
Anthony Cancro,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 2.

    Editorial note: This document was received at the Office of the 
Federal Register on February 11, 2004.

[FR Doc. 04-3368 Filed 2-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P