[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 10, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48398-48400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18142]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-7799-3]


National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan 
National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct Final Notice of Deletion of the San Fernando Valley 
Basin Area 3, Verdugo Study Area Superfund Site from the National 
Priorities List (NPL).

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX, is 
publishing this Direct Final Notice of Deletion for the San Fernando 
Valley Basin Area 3, Verdugo Study Area Superfund Site (Site). The Site 
is in the eastern portion of the San Fernando Valley Basin in Los 
Angeles, California.
    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). 
The NCP sets criteria that must be met to delete a site from the NPL. 
EPA, in consultation with the State of California, has determined that 
this Site meets the following criterion for site deletion: ``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.'' This deletion does not preclude 
future actions under Superfund, based on new information or conditions.

DATES: Because this deletion is considered to be noncontroversial, to 
streamline the deletion process EPA is publishing the Notice of Intent 
to Delete in the Federal Register concurrent with this Direct Final 
Notice of Deletion. This Direct Final Notice of Deletion will be 
effective October 12, 2004 without any further EPA action, unless EPA 
receives adverse comment(s) on the Notice of Intent to Delete by 
September 9, 2004. If adverse comment(s) are received, EPA will publish 
a timely withdrawal of the Direct Final Notice of Deletion before it 
takes 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.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Jackie Lane, Community Involvement 
Coordinator, U.S. EPA Region IX (SFD-3), 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, California 94105, (415) 972-3236.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charnjit Bhullar, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. EPA Region IX (SFD 7-1), 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, California 94105, (415) 972-3960.
    Information Repositories: Information supporting the deletion is 
available in the Deletion Docket at the EPA Region IX Records Center 
and detailed Site information is available at the Information 
Repositories listed below:

U.S. EPA Superfund Record Center, 95 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, 
California 94105-3901, (415) 536-2000, La Canada Library, 4545 Oakwood 
Ave., La Canada, CA 91011, (818) 952-0603.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Powers, 111 North Hope Street, Rm. 
516, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 367-1995.
Glendale Public Library, 222 East Harvard Street, Glendale, CA 91205, 
(818) 548-2021.

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 IX is publishing this Direct Final Notice of Deletion 
from the NPL for the San Fernando Valley Basin Area 3, Verdugo Study 
Area Superfund Site. 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 or new information warrant such 
action.
    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 San Fernando Valley Basin 
Area 3, Verdugo Study Area 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

[[Page 48399]]

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 must determine, in 
consultation with the State, that one of the following criteria have 
been met:
    (1) Responsible parties or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
    (2) 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
    (3) 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.
    As a No Action decision was made for this Site, a Five-Year Review 
is not required under CERCLA section 121(c). However, EPA may decide to 
conduct a discretionary review to confirm that the No Action decision 
remains appropriate, in the future. 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.
    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 
new information or conditions warrant such actions.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were followed for deletion of this Site:
    (1) The EPA consulted with State of California, Department of Toxic 
Substances Control (DTSC) on the deletion of this Site from the NPL, 
prior to developing the Direct Final Notice of Deletion. EPA also 
provided notices to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board 
(RWQCB), and Department of Health Services (DHS);
    (2) The State of California, DTSC and RWQCB have concurred with 
deletion of the Site from the NPL;
    (3) Concurrently with the publication of this Direct Final Notice 
of Deletion, a Notice of Intent to Delete is being published today in 
the Proposed Rules section of the Federal Register and in a major local 
newspaper of general circulation near the Site. The newspaper notice 
announces the 30-day public comment period for the Notice of Intent to 
Delete the Site from the NPL. The Notice of Intent to Delete is also 
being distributed to appropriate Federal, State, and local government 
officials and other interested parties; and
    (4) The EPA placed copies of documents supporting the deletion in 
the Deletion Docket and the Site Information Repositories identified 
above.

IV. Basis for Site Deletion

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

Site Location

    The Verdugo Study Area comprises approximately 2,000 of the 4,400 
acre Verdugo Basin, which is situated in the eastern portion of the San 
Fernando Valley Basin (SFVB), Los Angeles, California.

Site History

    The Verdugo Study Area includes the groundwater in and around 
several water supply well fields in the Verdugo Basin. The Verdugo 
Basin is bounded on the northeast by the San Gabriel Mountains, on the 
west by the Verdugo Mountains, and on the southeast by the San Rafael 
Hills. The Verdugo Basin is generally considered a small tributary of 
the larger San Fernando Valley groundwater basin. Land use in the 
Verdugo Basin is primarily residential along the floor of the valley, 
and open space in the surrounding mountains, with limited commercial 
and agricultural activity. No significant industrial development is 
present and the Site does not appear to have any primary sources of 
groundwater contamination.
    In 1986, at the request of the State of California (State), EPA 
placed four areas within the SFVB on the National Priorities List (NPL) 
as individual Superfund sites, due to the presence of volatile organic 
compounds (VOCs) in groundwater at concentrations exceeding State and 
Federal drinking water standards. The four areas are: North Hollywood 
(Area 1), containing the North Hollywood Operable Unit (OU) and the 
Burbank OU; Crystal Springs (Area 2), containing the Glendale North and 
South OUs; Verdugo Study Area (Area 3); and Pollock (Area 4).
    Groundwater is used as a potable supply by two purveyors in the 
Verdugo Study Area, the City of Glendale and the Crescenta Valley Water 
District (CVWD). The City of Glendale operates the Glorietta well field 
in the southern portion of the Site and the CVWD operates the Glenwood 
and Mills well fields in the north-central part of the Site. 
Perchloroethene (PCE) in groundwater is the primary contaminant of 
concern (COC) for the Verdugo Study Area. Historically, the PCE plume 
in the Verdugo Study Area extended from the Glenwood well field in the 
north to the Glorietta well field in the south, and appears to flow in 
the direction of groundwater. The geometry of the Verdugo Basin is such 
that it funnels flow from the broader northern area to the more narrow 
southern area. The maximum historic concentration of PCE from sampling 
efforts in 1982 was 52 parts per billion (ppb) in the northern portion 
of the Site, but by 2002 the maximum level was below the maximum 
contaminant level (MCL) at 2.5 ppb PCE in the southern end of the Site. 
Based on consistently decreasing levels of contamination over time to 
below MCLs and risks falling within the EPA risk range, EPA selected 
the no action remedy for this site in a Record of Decision, signed on 
February 24, 2004.

Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

    In 1981, prior to the Site being listed on the NPL, the Los Angeles 
Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began a 2-year study to assess 
groundwater contamination in the SFVB, including wells located in the 
Glenwood, Mills and Glorietta well fields in the Verdugo Study Area. 
More than 600 water supply wells were sampled in the SFVB as part of 
this program. Additional work included a review of existing 
hydrogeologic data and industrial site surveys. Results of this work 
are presented in the Groundwater Quality Management Plan for the San 
Fernando Valley Basin, and indicate that 45 percent of LADWP supply 
wells in the eastern SFVB contained trichloroethene (TCE) in excess of 
the federal MCL and/or PCE in excess of the State action level (LADWP, 
1983) of 4 ppb. The State adopted a 5 ppb MCL for PCE in May 1989. 
However, in the Verdugo Study Area, no TCE above the MCL was detected. 
PCE was the most prevalent organic contaminant at the Site. The 
historic high of 52 ppb PCE at the Site was detected during this study, 
in

[[Page 48400]]

Glenwood well field production well CVCWD-8.
    Pursuant to California Assembly Bill 1803 (AB 1803), wells within 
the SFVB were sampled in 1983 for VOCs, semivolatile organic compounds 
(SVOCs), and pesticides/herbicides. Results of the 1983 sampling again 
revealed concentrations of VOCs above MCLs in several SFVB well fields, 
with TCE and PCE the two most common contaminants. Again, PCE was the 
main contaminant detected in the Verdugo Study Area, and was detected 
in excess of its state action levels in several water supply production 
wells, although the levels were below the 52 ppb detected in 1982.
    After listing the four San Fernando Valley Basin sites on the NPL 
in 1986, EPA entered into a cooperative agreement to have the LADWP 
conduct a Remedial Investigation (RI) for the SFVB sites. In 1989, 
LADWP completed a soil gas sampling and analysis program within the 
SFVB, designed to better define the limits of shallow groundwater 
contamination. In the Verdugo Study Area, 73 soil gas samples were 
obtained and analyzed. Based upon results of soil gas sampling and 
available data from existing production wells, seven vertical profile 
borings in the Verdugo Study Area were converted into shallow 
monitoring wells in 1990.
    A baseline risk assessment was conducted in conjunction with the 
SFVB RI in 1991. This baseline risk assessment was completed on a 
regional scale and did not specifically focus on the Verdugo Study 
Area. The risk assessment addressed compounds that exceeded MCLs in the 
groundwater of the entire eastern portion of the SFVB. Results 
indicated that the total cancer risk in the eastern SFVB was greater 
than EPA's acceptable range for ingestion and inhalation. However, in 
the Verdugo Study Area, the levels of contaminants were significantly 
lower than the concentration levels used to calculate risk for the 
entire SFVB. The primary carcinogenic risk drivers for the SFVB were 
1,1-DCE, carbon tetrachloride, TCE, PCE, 1,2-DCE and arsenic; of these 
only PCE was present in the Verdugo Study Area. In October 2003, a 
screening level human and ecological risk assessment for the Verdugo 
Study Area indicated risks for the Site within the acceptable risk 
range.
    To focus specifically on the Verdugo Study Area, EPA completed a 
hydrogeologic site assessment in 1993 (Site Assessment and Monitoring 
Plan for the Verdugo Basin, Los Angeles County, California, April 17, 
1993). This document assisted in evaluating the nature and extent of 
groundwater contamination in the basin and provided recommendations for 
ongoing monitoring of groundwater contamination.
    Since the completion of the RI in 1992 up through 2002, EPA 
continued to monitor groundwater quality by sampling monitoring wells 
in the Verdugo Study Area four times a year as part of the SFVB 
basinwide monitoring program. Due to the low levels of PCE and low 
risk, no Feasibility Study was prepared for the Verdugo Study Area. 
Groundwater sampling results for this Site from the 1980's through 2002 
are summarized in the ``Final Summary of Groundwater Quality, San 
Fernando Valley Superfund Site, Area 3 (Verdugo Basin),'' dated May 20, 
2003, prepared by CH2M Hill for EPA.

Record of Decision Findings

    On February 24, 2004, consistent with the Remedy Delegation Report 
of March 8, 1985, EPA Region IX approved a Record of Decision (ROD) for 
this Site. The selected remedy was No Action.

Characterization of Risk

    The results from groundwater monitoring conducted from the early 
1980's through December 2002 indicate that the low levels of VOC 
contamination at the Site are within EPA's acceptable risk range and 
meet State and Federal MCLs. No activities using removal authority were 
conducted at this site.
    Site-specific screening-level human health and ecological risk 
assessments were conducted to support EPA's proposal for no remedial 
action for the Verdugo Study Area (CH2M HILL, October 2003). Potential 
risks to human health associated with exposure to chemicals of 
potential concern in groundwater were found to be within EPA's 
acceptable risk range. There were no ecological risks found for the 
compounds present, as no completed exposure pathways exist for eco-
receptors.

Five-Year Review

    As no remedial action is required at this Site, a Five-Year Review 
is not required under CERCLA section 121(c). However, EPA may decide to 
conduct a discretionary review to confirm that the No Action decision 
remains appropriate.

Community Involvement

    Public participation activities including a public meeting at the 
Verdugo Woodland Elementary School on November 18, 2003 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 from the NPL are 
available to the public in the information repositories.

V. Deletion Action

    The EPA, with concurrence of the State of California, has 
determined that based on the Remedial Investigation, the release poses 
no significant threat to public health or the environment, and, 
therefore, taking of remedial measures is not appropriate. Therefore, 
EPA is deleting the Site from the NPL.

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.

    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.

    Dated: July 29, 2004.
Keith Takata,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 04-18142 Filed 8-9-04; 8:45 am]
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