[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 115 (Friday, June 13, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33724-33727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-13367]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1983-0002, Notice 4; FRL-8579-4]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct Final Notice of Deletion of the Old Inger Oil Refinery, 
Superfund site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is 
publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the Old Inger Oil 
Refinery Site (Site) located in Ascension Parish, Louisiana 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 deletion is being published 
by EPA with the concurrence of the State of Louisiana, through the 
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), because EPA has 
determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other 
than operation and maintenance and five-year reviews, have been 
completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions 
under Superfund.

DATES: This direct final deletion will be effective August 12, 2008 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by July 14, 2008. 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: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-1983-0002, Notice 4, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov (Follow on-line instructions 
for submitting comments).
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: 214-665-6660.
     Mail: Janetta Coats, Community Involvement, U.S. EPA 
Region 6 (6SF-TS), 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202-2733, (214) 665-
7308 or 1-800-533-3508.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
1983-0002, Notice 4. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be 
included in the public docket without change and may be made available 
online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed 
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information 
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site 
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your 
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of 
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be 
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is 
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you 
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name 
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any 
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to 
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA 
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid 
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in the hard 
copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the 
following information repositories:

[[Page 33725]]

    U.S. EPA Online Library System at http://www.epa.gov/natlibra/ols.htm;
    U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas 
75202-2733, (214) 665-6617, by appointment only Monday through Friday 9 
a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
    Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Public Records 
Center, Galvez Building, 1st Floor, 602 N. Fifth Street, Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bartolome Canellas (6SF-RL), Remedial 
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, U.S. 
EPA, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202, (214) 665-6662 or 1-800-
533-3508 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The EPA Region 6 office is publishing this direct final Notice of 
Deletion of the Old Inger Oil Refinery Site, near Darrow, Ascension 
Parish, Louisiana from the NPL. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 
CFR part 300, which is the Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution 
Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability 
Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. EPA maintains the NPL as a list of 
sites that appear to present a significant risk to public health, 
welfare, or the environment. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of 
remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Fund). 
As described in 300.425(e) (3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the NPL 
remain eligible for remedial actions if conditions at the deleted sites 
warrant such actions.
    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 effectiveAugust 12, 2008 unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by July 14, 2008. Along with the direct 
final Notice of Deletion, EPA is co-publishing a Notice of Intent to 
Delete in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of the Federal Register. 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 deletion before the effective date of the deletion, and the 
deletion will not take 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.
    Section II of this notice explains the criteria for deleting sites 
from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using for 
this action. Section IV discusses the Old Inger Refinery Site and 
explains how the Site meets the deletion criteria. Section V discusses 
EPA's actions to delete the Site from the NPL unless adverse comments 
are received during the public comment period.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP establishes the criteria that EPA 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 to protect public 
health and the environment. In making such a determination pursuant to 
40 CFR 300.425(e), EPA will consider, in consultation with the state, 
whether 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.
    Pursuant to CERCLA section 121 (c) and the NCP, EPA conducts five-
year reviews to ensure the continued protectiveness of remedial actions 
where hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants remain at a 
site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted 
exposure. EPA conducts such five-year reviews even if a site is deleted 
from the NPL. EPA may initiate further action to ensure continued 
protectiveness at a deleted site if new information becomes available 
that indicates it is appropriate. 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.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures apply to deletion of the Site:
    (1) EPA consulted with the state of Oklahoma prior to developing 
this direct final Notice of Deletion and the Notice of Intent to Delete 
co-published today in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of the Federal 
Register.
    (2) EPA has provided the state 30 working days for review of this 
notice and the parallel Notice of Intent to Delete prior to their 
publication today, and the state, through the Oklahoma Department of 
Environmental Quality, has concurred on the deletion of the Site from 
the NPL.
    (3) Concurrent with the publication of this direct final Notice of 
Deletion, a notice of availability is being published in the Ascension 
Citizen 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 document, EPA will publish a timely notice of 
withdrawal of this direct final notice of deletion before its effective 
date and 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 of Superfund sites. 
As mentioned in section II of this document, 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 Background and History

    The Site is located approximately 4.5 miles north of Darrow, 
Ascension Parish, Louisiana on the east bank of the Mississippi River 
on Highway 75. The Site extends over approximately 16 acres and is 
bounded to the north by the Louisiana Highway 75, the levees of the

[[Page 33726]]

Mississippi River to the south and to the east and west by vacant lots.
    The Site is a former waste oil reclamation facility that began 
operation in 1967. During operations lagoons were used for disposal of 
waste sludges and oils. Periodically, the materials in the lagoons were 
pumped into the adjacent swamps to maintain storage capacity. Some of 
the Site problems included a large spill during unloading of used oil 
from a barge, tanks overfilling, and drums and construction debris 
being buried in lagoons. After the major spill in 1978, the property 
changed ownership. The new owners had intended to clean up the Site, 
but abandoned it in 1980.
    From April 1983 through August 1988, five emergency removal actions 
were conducted to stabilize the Site including: Site security, 
migration control, excavation and containment of consolidated soils, 
sampling and analysis. These immediate actions reduced the potential 
for contact with Site contamination and the farther spread of 
contaminated materials to make the Site safer while long-term cleanup 
activities proceeded.

Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

    Investigations by both the EPA and LDEQ revealed the presence of 
contaminated waste oils, sludges, sediments, and water. From the 
investigations, it was determined that the types and concentrations of 
contaminants at the Site posed a potential hazard to human health and 
the environment. The Site was subsequently placed on the National 
Priorities List for remediation under CERCLA as the State's highest 
priority site.

Record of Decision Findings

    The EPA, with concurrence from the State of Louisiana, signed the 
ROD on September 25, 1984. The major components of the selected remedy 
included:
     Closing and sealing of an ungrouted on-site well.
     Pumping and treatment of the shallow ground water aquifer 
via carbon adsorption.
     Carbon adsorption treatment and discharge of contaminated 
fluids.
     In situ containment and capping of slightly contaminated 
soils.
     On-site land treatment of heavily contaminated soils and 
sludges.
     Disposal of contaminated wood.
     Land Use Restrictions.

Remedial activities were implemented in phases.
    The initial phase started in 1990 and was completed in 1992. During 
this phase, contaminated liquids and sludges were removed from the 
surface impoundment, and the wastewater treatment plant and the on-site 
land treatment unit were constructed.
    A second phase was started in 1998 and completed in 2002. During 
this phase, contaminated soils were excavated, treated in the land 
treatment unit returned back to the excavation. Approximately 
15,712,300 gallons of water were treated in the treatment plant; 
approximately 63,398 tons of soils were excavated and treated; the Site 
was graded and approximately 40,000 cubic yards of clay and 24,800 
cubic yards of topsoil were applied to build a cap.
    The final phase of remedial work involved the evaluation of the 
shallow groundwater. A network of monitoring wells was installed and a 
quarterly sampling and evaluation program was instituted to run for a 
period of two years.
    In summary, the Site was remediated by removing the impoundments, 
tanks, associated refinery equipment and debris. Contaminated soils 
were treated by on-site bioremediation of the affected media in a land 
treatment unit, capped with a clay cap and revegetated with a topsoil 
layer and native grasses. Finally, the shallow ground water was 
investigated and no unacceptable risks were identified.
    The Institutional Controls (ICs) at the Site include a lien on the 
property for the amount of the remedial costs, which shows that the 
property has contaminants, and has been subject to a remedial action; 
and a notice in the mortgage and conveyance records stating that 
residual contaminant concentrations remain at the Site but are below 
established remedial standards.
    The EPA, with concurrence from the State of Louisiana, signed an 
Explanation of Significant Difference on September 12, 2006. This 
document explains why closing an onsite well, and further pumping and 
treatment of ground water, were not implemented after other remedial 
activities were implemented.
    A Final Close Out Report was signed on September 12, 2006.

Characterization of Risk

    The 1984 ROD identified that the most significant risk levels to 
public health and the environment were generated by the heavily 
contaminated soils and sludges and present a risk of migration of 
contaminated ground water and contaminating offsite drainageways.

Response Actions

    EPA Region 6 and the State of Louisiana agree that carbon 
adsorption and discharge off site of contaminated fluids and land 
treatment for heavily contaminated soils and sludges were alternatives 
which effectively mitigated and minimized the most immediate risks to 
public health and the environment and limited future risk of the 
migration of contaminated ground water.

Cleanup Standards

    Residual waste left in place does not allow for ``unlimited use and 
unrestricted exposure (uu/ue).'' Residual contaminant concentrations 
remain at the Site but are below established remedial standards. As 
indicated above, ground water monitoring was conducted quarterly for 
two years to confirm that shallow ground water does not represent an 
unacceptable risk and meets the requirements of the State under the 
Louisiana Risk Evaluation and Corrective Action Program (RECAP).

Operation and Maintenance

    Long term O&M activities will be to maintain the cap and to ensure 
the fencing remains intact and secure. Activities conducted by the 
State include periodic mowing and tracking the maintenance of the Site 
cap, and the continuation of Five-Year reviews to be conducted by the 
EPA every five years.

Five-Year Review

    The threshold for Five-Years Reviews is unlimited use/unrestricted 
exposure. Future Five-Year Reviews will continue to monitor the 
maintenance of the ICs, and the limited use of the Site at the toe of 
the Mississippi River levee, to ensure protection of human health and 
the environment. The most recent Five-Year Review was completed on July 
23, 2007.

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 from the NPL are available to the public 
in the information repositories.

V. Deletion Action

    The EPA, with concurrence of the State of Louisiana, has determined 
that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have been completed, and 
that no further response actions under CERCLA, other than O&M and five-
year

[[Page 33727]]

reviews, are necessary. Therefore, EPA is deleting the Site from the 
NPL.
    Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and 
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication. This action will 
be effective August 12, 2008 unless EPA receives adverse comments by 
July 14, 2008. 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, and EPA 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. 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.

    Dated: May 22, 2008.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 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: 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 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 Louisiana 
(``LA'') by removing the entry for ``Old Inger Oil Refinery'' in 
``Darrow, Louisiana''.

[FR Doc. E8-13367 Filed 6-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P