[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 12197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2245]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8043-4]


Proposed CERCLA Administrative Agreement for Recovery of Past 
Response Costs; Stringfellow Acid Pits Superfund Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 122(i) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended by 
the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (``CERCLA''), 42 
U.S.C. 9622(i), notice is hereby given of a proposed Agreement for 
Recovery of Past Response Costs (``Agreement,'' Region 9 Docket No. 9-
2006-0004) pursuant to section 122(h) of CERCLA concerning the 
Stringfellow Acid Pits Superfund Site (the ``Site''), located near Glen 
Avon, California. The respondent to the Agreement is the state of 
California (the ``State'').
    The issues resolved in the Agreement stem from the fact that, from 
1983 to 1996, the Agency provided federal funds to the State through a 
State Superfund Contract as a cooperative means to further the 
remediation of the Site. Section 104(c)(3) of CERCLA requires that, in 
such a cooperative agreement, the State shall nonetheless be 
responsible for 10% of the remedial action costs, or 50-100% of the 
total response costs if the State was an ``operator'' of the Site. 
Because the State was involved in selecting the original location and 
management techniques for the Site as a hazardous waste disposal 
facility, in 1995, a federal district court ruled that the State's role 
at the facility made it a liable ``operator'' for the purpose section 
107(a) of CERCLA. This court ruling potentially affected the share of 
response costs for which the State would be liable pursuant to section 
104(c)(3) of CERCLA. In November 2004, the Agency's Office of Inspector 
General concluded an audit of the assistance accounts accessed by the 
State through the State Superfund Contract and made recommendations on 
the balance due to the State for its response work, but also 
recommended that the State was not entitled to reimbursement for 
substantial claims for interest accrued on its incurred costs. The 
Office of Inspector General did not consider in its recommendation the 
State's potential liability as an ``operator'' of the Site.
    Through the proposed Agreement, the Agency will reimburse the State 
in an amount consistent with the recommendations of the Office of the 
Inspector General, and will not seek additional costs from the State 
for its potential liability as an ``operator'' of the Site. The State 
covenants to accept the settlement as a final determination of the 
amount of its reimbursement, precluding further claims for recovery of 
the interest accrued on the State's response costs. A portion of the 
payments from the Agency to the State will go specifically toward 
further investigation and response to the recently discovered 
perchlorate contamination at the Site.
    For thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this 
Notice, the Agency will receive written comments relating to the 
proposed Agreement. The Agency's response to any comments will be 
available for public inspection at the Agency's Region IX offices, 
located at 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 10, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The proposed Agreement may be obtained from Judith Winchell, 
Docket Clerk, telephone (415) 972-3124. Comments regarding the proposed 
Agreement should be addressed to Judith Winchell (SFD-7) at EPA Region 
IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105, and should 
reference the Stringfellow Acid Pits Superfund Site, Glen Avon, 
California, and USEPA Docket No. 9-2006-0004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Helmlinger, Office of Regional 
Counsel, telephone (415) 972-3904, USEPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, California 94105.

    Dated: February 28, 2006.
Elizabeth Adams,
 Acting Director, Superfund Division.
[FR Doc. 06-2245 Filed 3-8-06; 8:45 am]
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