[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 163 (Thursday, August 21, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49349-49353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19256]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1987-0002; FRL-8706-5]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct Final Notice of Deletion of the Waste Inc. Landfill 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region V is 
publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the Waste Inc. Landfill 
Superfund Site (Site), located in Michigan City, Indiana, 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 Indiana, through the 
Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), because EPA has 
determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other 
than operation, maintenance, and five-year reviews, have been 
completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions 
under Superfund.

DATES: This direct final deletion is effective October 20, 2008 unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by September 22, 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-

[[Page 49350]]

SFUND-1987-0002, by one of the following methods:
     E-mail: Dion Novak, Remedial Project Manager, at 
[email protected] or Robert Paulson, Community Involvement 
Coordinator, at [email protected].
     Fax: Gladys Beard at (312) 886-4071.
     Mail: Dion Novak, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (SR-6J), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, 
IL 60604, (312) 886-4737, or Robert Paulson, Community Involvement 
Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (P-19J), 77 W. 
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 886-0272 or 1-800-621-8431.
     Hand delivery: Robert Paulson, Community Involvement 
Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (P-19J), 77 West 
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604. Such deliveries are only accepted 
during the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements 
should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
1987-0002. 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 at http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at:
    The Regional Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 W. 
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL, official hours of business are Monday 
through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays. 
Michigan City Public Library, 100 E. Fourth St., Michigan City, IN 
46360, (815) 939-4564, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and 
Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dion Novak, Remedial Project Manager, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (SR-6J), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., 
Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 886-4737, [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

    EPA Region V is publishing this direct final Notice of Deletion of 
the Waste Inc. Landfill (Site) from the National Priorities List (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 the 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 Fund-financed 
remedial actions if future conditions warrant such actions.
    Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and 
routine, this action will be effective October 20, 2008 unless EPA 
receives adverse comments by September 22, 2008. Along with this 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 deletion action, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of this 
direct final Notice of 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 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 Waste Inc. Landfill 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 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. In making such a 
determination pursuant to 40 CFR 300.425(e), EPA will consider, in 
consultation with the state, whether any of the following criteria have 
been met:
    i. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
    ii. all appropriate Fund-financed 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

[[Page 49351]]

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 Indiana 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 Indiana Department of 
Environmental Management, has concurred on the deletion of the Site 
from the NPL.
    (3) Concurrently with the publication of this direct final Notice 
of Deletion, a notice of the availability of the parallel Notice of 
Intent to Delete is being published in a major local newspaper, The 
LaPorte County News-Dispatch. 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 proposed 
deletion in the deletion docket and made these items available for 
public inspection and copying at the Site information repositories 
identified above.
    (5) If adverse comments are received within the 30-day public 
comment period on this deletion action, 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. 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:
    A five-year review was completed on September 27, 2006, and the 
review concluded that the site remedy was protective of human health 
and the environment. The Site has achieved cleanup standards.

Site Background and History

Site Location
    The Waste Inc. Landfill is located in LaPorte County, Indiana, at 
1701 East U.S. Highway 12 in Michigan City, Indiana and the CERCLIS ID 
is IND980504005. The 32-acre site, which is comprised of the Waste Inc. 
and Lin-See, Ltd. properties, is bounded by U.S. Highway 12 to the 
northwest, Michigan Auto Builders and Sullair Corporation to the north 
and east, Trail Creek to the east and south, and Lake Aluminum 
Corporation (property owned by Northern Indiana Steel Supply Company, 
Inc.-NISSCO) to the west.
Site History
    In 1939, prior to its development as a landfill, the Site consisted 
of agricultural land with some lowlands. A metal salvage and 
reclamation facility on the west side of the Site covered most of the 
wetland area present in 1939. A small disposal mound was located in the 
north central portion of the Site in 1954, and an abandoned meander 
appeared to contain debris. A long mound that consisted of debris, 
fill, and scrap metal wastes was located along the western perimeter. 
These mounds expanded over time, and additional mounding occurred in 
the southeast and southwest portions of the site. Portions of the Site 
were cleared in 1961 and 1965 to provide parking areas.
    Dis-Pos-All Services Division, a division of NISSCO, operated the 
Site as a landfill from 1965 to 1972. NISSCO sold its disposal 
operation to Waste Inc. in 1972. Waste Inc. continued to operate the 
landfill until August 1982. The current owners of the facility are Lin-
See Corporation and the County of LaPorte, Indiana.
    Dis-Pos-all Services submitted a proposal to the Indiana Stream 
Pollution Control Board for operation of the landfill in November 1970. 
Under the proposal, the landfill would only accept paper, wood, and 
cardboard, with foundry sand used as cover material. The Board issued a 
non-objection letter to the proposal in 1971. Several subsequent 
inspections by the Indiana State Board of Health determined that the 
Site was accepting unapproved material for disposal and was not 
properly covering combustible material. The Site was ordered closed and 
covered with clay by the Board in a letter dated August 18, 1974.
    Waste Inc. submitted an application to the Board in May 1975 for 
construction and operation permits. Although the application was 
denied, no hearing was held on the Waste Inc. appeal of the denial and 
the site continued to operate. An Agreed Order was executed between 
Waste Inc. and the Board in May 1981 that set conditions for continued 
operation of the landfill. A Consent Order was signed in August 1982 
that closed the Site, but allowed the acceptance of foundry sand for 
disposal and allowed Waste Inc. Landfill to begin covering the Site 
with clay. In 1983, in response to State of Indiana enforcement 
actions, a Court Order demanded proper closure of the site.
    In January 1985, an EPA hazard ranking system evaluation of the 
Site resulted in an overall hazard ranking score of 50.63. The Site was 
placed on the NPL in 1987. A Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study 
was conducted from March 1987 to September 1993, pursuant to a consent 
order with EPA. A Record of Decision (ROD) documenting the required 
remedial action was signed on August 29, 1994. A Unilateral Order was 
issued on December 8, 1995, which became effective on January 8, 1996, 
for remedial design/remedial action/operation and maintenance 
activities.

Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

    The RI found that the principal sources of groundwater in the Site 
area are the unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary glacial drift. These 
can be divided into four units, including two sand and gravel aquifers 
and two confining glacial tills. At the Site, only the two shallowest 
units are present; a dune sand aquifer (depth approximately 17 feet) is 
underlain by a calcareous silty till (approximately 100 feet thick).
    Soil samples collected at the Site were found to be contaminated 
with volatile organics up to levels of approximately 890,000 parts per 
billion (ppb), semi-volatile organics up to levels of approximately 
6200 ppb, polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs) up to levels of 4400 ppb, 
and inorganics up to levels of 191,000 ppb.
    Groundwater samples collected at the Site were found to be 
contaminated with volatile organics up to levels of 47 ppb, semi-
volatile organics up to levels of 53 ppb, and inorganics up to levels 
of 1900 ppb.
    A risk assessment was conducted and it was determined that there 
were possible carcinogenic (cancer causing) risks from exposure to 
contaminated soils (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCBs and 
arsenic); carcinogenic risks from

[[Page 49352]]

groundwater ingestion (carcinogenic PAHs); non-carcinogenic risks from 
groundwater ingestion (antimony); and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic 
risks from ingestion of fish exposed to Site leachate.
    The risk assessment for fish ingestion was completed with 
laboratory studies which simulated the exposure of fish to Site 
leachate concentrations. This exposure scenario is extremely 
conservative and the potential for concentrations of leachate to 
migrate to Trail Creek is no longer possible because the leachate 
collection trench is operating as designed and groundwater elevation 
data indicate containment. The likelihood that leachate concentrations 
would migrate undiluted into Trail Creek before the site remedy was 
implemented was also extremely unlikely. The resultant risk 
calculations demonstrated the need for groundwater containment at the 
Site property boundary but were never based on actual fish sampling, 
nor was this necessary due to the dilution impacts of the Creek and the 
identification of many other potential sources of discharge to the 
Creek that would be much more significant contributors to any Creek 
contamination issues.
Record of Decision Findings
    The ROD for the Waste Inc. Landfill site was signed on August 29, 
1994. The major components of the remedy selected in the ROD included 
the following:
    (1) Installation of a Subtitle D cap, meeting the requirements of 
329 Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) 2-14-19(3)(b) and 329 IAC 
19(3)(a)-(c).
    (2) Containment of site shallow groundwater and leachate via an 
installed collection trench with direct discharge to the Sanitary 
District of Michigan City.
    (3) Collection of landfill gas.
    (4) Rerouting the onsite storm sewer.
    (5) Removal of an underground fuel storage tank.
    (6) Abandonment of an onsite groundwater well.
    (7) Posting of fish advisory signs on the site fence along Trail 
Creek.
    (8) Monitoring of groundwater and surface water.
    (9) Implementation of institutional controls such as fencing, deed 
restrictions, and groundwater monitoring.
Response Actions
    The final Remedial Action (RA) workplan was submitted to EPA on 
August 28, 1996, which divided the remedial action into two phases to 
expedite the construction schedule and adequately prepare the Site so 
the landfill cover could be constructed under optimum conditions. Phase 
1 included construction of various Site preparation tasks, in 
compliance with the performance specifications presented in the 
remedial design. These tasks were conducted from September 1996 to 
April 1997 and included clearing/grubbing of the Site, waste 
consolidation around the perimeter of the Site, removal of an on-site 
underground storage tank, abandonment of a water well and several 
monitoring wells, sliplining the existing concrete storm sewer, and 
installation of the leachate/shallow groundwater collection system.
    Phase 2 was conducted from April 1997 to September 1997 and 
included construction of the landfill cover and associated landfill gas 
collection system. A pre-final inspection was performed on September 
17, 1997 with construction found to be substantially complete. A final 
inspection was completed at the site on October 15, 1997. A 
Construction Completion Report was submitted by the Potentially 
Responsible Parties (PRPs) in November 1997 and EPA subsequently issued 
a Preliminary Close Out Report on December 18, 1997.
Cleanup Goals
    The five-year review recommended the placement of institutional 
controls on both parcels; and this has been completed (Restrictive 
covenants were placed on the Waste Inc. Landfill property August 9, 
2007 and the Lin-See property March 16, 2007). The landfill cap has 
been completed and prevents direct human contact with wastes in the 
soil. Confirmatory groundwater sampling has determined that the ROD 
goal of containment at the property boundary has been achieved.
    The leachate and shallow groundwater collection trench is keyed 
into the underlying confining layer so that all shallow groundwater and 
leachate are collected by the trench and conveyed through dedicated 
piping to the Sanitary District pursuant to a permit for direct 
discharge. The trench is effectively containing the migration of Site 
groundwater as is demonstrated by the groundwater elevation information 
presented in the final closeout report. The District indicates that 
shallow groundwater and leachate sent to the District system meets the 
permit requirements for discharge, as outlined originally in the Site 
ROD and subsequently updated in permit renewals.
    As outlined in the Final Close Out Report, a technical memorandum 
was developed that would address remediation of the deeper aquifer 
groundwater if monitoring determined that contamination was migrating 
to the deeper aquifer. Site monitoring data indicates that the 
contamination is confined to the shallow aquifer, which is being 
collected by the leachate trench and that there has been no 
contamination found in the deep aquifer. Monitoring will continue and 
if deep aquifer contamination is detected, the contingency actions in 
the technical memorandum will be implemented. This is required by and 
enforceable under the Site consent decree still in place for the Site.
Operation and Maintenance
    Primary activities associated with Site Operation Maintenance 
(O&M), as performed by the Site PRP group include:
    [dec221] Landfill cap maintenance.
    [dec221] Groundwater and surface water monitoring.
    [dec221] Landfill gas monitoring.
    [dec221] Surface water controls--control of siltation and erosion 
of the landfill cap.
    [dec221] Periodic mowing of the landfill cover vegetation.
    [dec221] Coordination with the Sanitary District to provide 
leachate and shallow groundwater monitoring information to ensure that 
discharge permit conditions are satisfied.
Institutional Controls
    Two of the property owners, Lin-See Corporation and LaPorte County, 
placed institutional controls on the parcels at the Site (March 16, 
2007 and August 9, 2007, respectively). The institutional controls were 
to restrict land and groundwater uses of the site as restrictive 
covenants on both Site parcels. These restrictive covenants are 
enforceable by the Site PRPs, EPA, and IDEM, and the recorded 
instruments have been filed in LaPorte County. The fish advisory signs 
remain intact on the site fencing, as the fish advisory remains in 
effect for the entirety of Trail Creek. The signs will remain on the 
site fencing during the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) period as 
required by the ROD and Consent Decree (CD). The State monitors fish in 
Trail Creek as part of their periodic water quality assessment process, 
and the fish advisory will be modified according to the normal 
procedures of the State. As stated above, the site shallow groundwater 
and leachate are not migrating to Trail Creek so any current 
contamination issues in the Creek are the result of other sources.

[[Page 49353]]

Five-Year Review
    EPA conducted five-year reviews of the Site in 2001 and 2006. In 
the reviews, EPA concluded that all remedial actions are complete. The 
next five-year review will be conducted in 2011. The latest five-year 
review called for the placement of restrictive covenants on both Site 
parcels and as outlined above, this is complete. The review also called 
for an analysis of the impacts of the revised Maximum Contaminant Level 
(MCL) for arsenic on the Site remedy. EPA has determined that the 
revised arsenic MCL has limited impact on the protectiveness of the 
Site remedy because the goal of the groundwater collection at the Site 
is to contain any off-site migration of Site groundwater and the only 
performance standard for the collected groundwater are the discharge 
requirements placed by the Sanitary District. As the District continues 
to allow discharge from the Site without the need for pretreatment and 
the Site groundwater is effectively controlled by the collection 
trench, the protectiveness of the Site remedy is not impacted by the 
revised MCL for arsenic and this will be further documented in the next 
five-year review.
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 of this Site from the NPL are available 
to the public in the information repositories, and at 
www.regulations.gov.
Determination That the Site Meets the Criteria for Deletion in the NCP
    The NCP (40 CFR 300.425(e)) states that a site may be deleted from 
the NPL when no further response action is appropriate. EPA, in 
consultation with the State of Indiana, has determined that the 
responsible parties have implemented all response actions required.

V. Deletion Action

    EPA, with concurrence of the State of Indiana through the Indiana 
Department of Environmental Management, has determined that all 
appropriate response actions under CERCLA (other than operation, 
maintenance, monitoring and five-year reviews) have been completed. 
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 October 20, 2008 unless EPA receives adverse comments by 
September 22, 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. 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 substances, Hazardous waste, Intergovernmental relations, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water 
pollution control, Water supply.

    Dated: August 7, 2008
Walter W. Kovalick Jr.,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region V.

0
For the reasons set out in this document, 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: 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.

Appendix B--[Amended]

0
2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended under Indiana (IN) by 
removing the site name ``Waste Inc. Landfill'' and the corresponding 
City/County designation ``Michigan City''.

[FR Doc. E8-19256 Filed 8-20-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P