[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 5, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31055-31056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-10733]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Palmer Barge Superfund Site in Jefferson County, TX; Settlement 
Agreement and Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a proposed Settlement Agreement and 
Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for ecological 
injuries and service losses associated with the Palmer Barge Superfund 
Site in Jefferson County, Texas and of a 30-day period for public 
comment on the Settlement Agreement and the Draft Restoration Plan and 
Environmental Assessment beginning July 5, 2007.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 43 CFR 11.32 and 11.81-.82, notice is hereby given 
that a proposed Settlement Agreement in resolution of the Natural 
Resource Trustees' claim for natural resource damages (Agreement) 
associated with the Palmer Barge Superfund Site and the ``Draft 
Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Palmer Barge 
Waste Site, Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas'' (Draft DARP/EA) are 
available for public review and comment. This document has been 
approved by the state and federal Natural Resource Trustee agencies to 
address natural resource injuries and resource services losses of an 
ecological nature attributable to releases of hazardous substances from 
the Palmer Barge Superfund Site (Site).The natural resource trustees 
include: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce; United States Department of the Interior (DOI); Texas Parks 
and Wildlife Department (TPWD); Texas General Land Office (GLO); and 
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The Natural Resource 
Trustees have reached a proposed agreement with E.I. du Pont de Nemours 
and Company, Texaco Inc., Ashland Inc. and Kirby Inland Marine to 
resolve their liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) for damages to natural 
resources resulting from releases of hazardous substances from the 
Site. This draft DARP/EA presents the Trustees' assessment of these 
natural resource injuries and service losses attributable to the Site, 
and the plan for restoring ecological resources and services to 
compensate for those injuries and losses. The Trustees will consider 
input received during the public comment period before finalizing the 
DARP/EA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Comments must be submitted in writing on or 
before thirty (30) days from the publication of this notice to Richard 
Seiler of the TCEQ or Jessica White of NOAA at the addresses listed in 
the previous paragraph. The Trustees will consider all written comments 
prior to finalizing the DARP/EA.
    To receive a copy of the proposed Agreement, the Draft DARP/EA, or 
any other related information, interested members of the public are 
invited to contact Richard Seiler at the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality, Remediation Division MC 225, P.O. Box 13087, 
Austin, Texas 78711-3087, (512) 239-2523 (phone) or (512) 239-4814 
(fax), or contact Jessica White of NOAA at NOAA c/o US EPA, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, MC 6SF\T, Dallas, TX 75202, (214) 665-2217 (phone) or (214) 
665-6460 (fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Site consists of approximately 17 acres 
located 4.5 miles northeast of the city of Port Arthur in Jefferson 
County along Ferry (or Old Yacht Club) Road on Pleasure Islet, 
approximately one-half mile southwest of the confluence of the Neches 
River and the Sabine-Neches Ship Channel. The Site is bordered by the 
State Marine Superfund site to the south, Sabine Lake to the east, Old 
Yacht Club Road to the West, and vacant property to the north.
    The Site was originally used as a municipal landfill for the city 
of Port Arthur, which operated the landfill from 1956 until the mid-
1980s. In 1982, the city of Port Arthur sold the property and it was 
subsequently used as a marine barge cleaning operation (Palmer Barge 
Marine) from 1982 until 1997. Operations performed at the site included 
cleaning, degassing, maintenance and inspection of barges and marine 
equipment. A flare was located on-site to burn excess gasses and 
liquids produced during the facility operations, in addition to 
multiple above-ground storage tanks. In July 1997, Palmer Barge Line 
was purchased and operations on the property ceased. Currently the site 
is owned by a private individual who is redeveloping it as an 
industrial property.
    In 1996, the TCEQ (then known as the Texas Natural Resource 
Conservation Commission, or TNRCC) conducted a multi-media inspection 
of the Site which identified large areas of contamination on Site 
soils. These findings triggered further investigation by both the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and TCEQ. In 1996, an expanded 
site inspection (ESI) was performed for the purpose of evaluating the 
nature and extent of on-site and off-site contamination and evaluating 
the environmental fate of the contaminants. This evaluation indicated 
the presence of both organic and inorganic contaminants in Site soils 
and in the shallow near-shore sediments of Sabine Lake. Semi-volatile 
contaminants of concern identified at the Site include acenaphthylene, 
anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene and fluoranthene. There were also 
numerous pesticides and poly-chlorinated bi-phenyls detected in the 
Site soil samples. Elevated levels of inorganic contaminants included 
chromium, copper, lead, and zinc.
    The Site was placed on the National Priorities List (Superfund) on 
July 27, 2000 and the EPA authorized an emergency removal action for 
reduction of on-site contamination in August 2000. Removal activities 
included removal of wastes, wastewater treatment, and sludge 
stabilization. A Remedial Investigation (RI) was performed at the Site 
pursuant to an Administrative Order on Consent signed by the EPA and 
the Settling Parties in 2002, and based on information developed in the 
RI, a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Site was signed on September 30, 
2005. The ROD requires the excavation of approximately 1,204 cubic 
yards of soil which exceeded risk-based levels, backfilling of 
excavated areas with clean soil, and off-site disposal of excavated 
soils at a permitted disposal facility. Existing above-ground storage 
tanks will be demolished and removed. As planned, and when implemented, 
the remedy selected to address the contamination at the Site is 
expected to protect natural resources in the vicinity of the Site from 
further or future injury.
    NOAA, DOI, TPWD, GLO and TCEQ are designated Natural Resource 
Trustees under Section 107(f) of CERCLA, Section 311 of the Federal

[[Page 31056]]

Water Pollution and Control Act (FWPCA), 33 U.S.C. Section 1321, and 
other applicable federal or state laws, including Subpart G of the 
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 
40 CFR 300.600-300.615. As trustees, these agencies are authorized to 
act on behalf of the public under these authorities to protect and 
restore natural resources injured or lost as a result of discharges or 
releases of hazardous substances.
    Paralleling the remedial investigations at the Site, the Trustees 
worked cooperatively with E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Texaco 
Inc., Ashland Inc, and Kirby Inland Marine, L.P., to evaluate natural 
resource injuries and ecological service losses resulting from releases 
of hazardous substances to areas at or adjacent to the Site. The 
Trustees' evaluation focused on natural resource injuries or service 
losses of an ecological nature caused by hazardous substances at the 
Site based on known contamination and anticipated remedial actions. As 
a result of this assessment, the Trustees determined that hazardous 
substances (including semi-volatile organic compounds, poly-cyclic 
aromatic hydrocarbons, poly-chlorinated bi-phenyls , pesticides, and 
metals) were available in the sediments and injury to ecological 
habitat of approximately 7.55 acres had occurred.
    The Draft DARP/EA identifies the information and methods used to 
define the natural resource injuries and losses of an ecological 
nature, including the scale of restoration actions, and identifies the 
restoration actions which are preferred to restore, replace or acquire 
resources or services equivalent to those lost.

    Dated: May 29, 2007.
Brian Julius,
Deputy Director, Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 [FR Doc. E7-10733 Filed 6-4-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P