[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64615-64619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29081]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1990-0011; FRL-9089-8]
National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct Final Notice of Deletion of the Kerr-McGee (Reed-Keppler
Park) (RKP) Superfund Site from the National Priorities List.
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SUMMARY: EPA, Region 5 is publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion
of the Kerr-McGee Reed-Keppler Park Superfund Site (Site), located in
West Chicago, Illinois, 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 an appendix to 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
Illinois, through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA),
because EPA has determined that all appropriate response actions under
CERCLA have been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude
future actions under Superfund.
DATES: This direct final deletion is effective February 8, 2010 unless
EPA receives adverse comments by January 7, 2010. 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-1990-0011, by one of the following methods:
E-mail: Timothy Fischer, Remedial Project Manager, at
[email protected] or Janet Pope, Community Involvement
Coordinator, at [email protected].
Fax: Gladys Beard at (312) 886-4071.
Mail: Timothy Fischer, Remedial Project Manager, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (SR-6J), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago,
IL 60604, (312) 886-5787, or Janet Pope, Community Involvement
Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (SI-7J), 77 W.
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 353-0628 or 1-800-621-8431.
Hand delivery: Janet Pope, Community Involvement
Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (SI-7J), 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. The normal business
hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
1990-0011. 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://
[[Page 64616]]
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 may not be 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:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--Region 5, 77 W. Jackson Blvd.,
Chicago, IL 60604, Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., excluding Federal holidays.
West Chicago Public Library, 118 W. Washington St., West Chicago, IL
60185, Phone: (630) 231-1552, Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to
9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays until May, 1
p.m. to 5 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Fischer, 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 5 is publishing this direct final Notice of Deletion of
the Kerr-McGee Reed-Keppler Park (RKP) Superfund Site from the NPL. The
NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the NCP, which
EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the 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 February 8, 2010 unless EPA
receives adverse comments by January 7, 2010. 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 RKP 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 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 Illinois 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 Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, 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
Daily Herald. The newspaper notice announces the 30-day public comment
period concerning the Notice of Intent to Delete the Site from the NPL.
(4) 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.
[[Page 64617]]
(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.
Early site investigations at the RKP Site found elevated levels of
radioactive thorium in site soils. A removal action was conducted at
the RKP Site, and a Final Report for the RKP Site removal action was
submitted and approved by EPA in April 2002. This report documented
that all cleanup criteria for soils at the RKP Site had been
successfully achieved.
In September 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the
RKP Site which called for No Further Action, along with associated
groundwater monitoring for total uranium at the site.
A five-year review was completed on August 13, 2007, and the review
concluded that the site remedy was protective of human health and the
environment.
On January 28, 2008, EPA agreed that the remedial objective for
uranium in groundwater had been achieved, based upon five groundwater
sampling events between June 2006 and December 2007. On March 18, 2008,
the responsible parties completed abandonment of all site monitoring
wells. The Site has now achieved all remedial objectives.
Site Location
The Kerr-McGee Reed-Keppler Park Site is a 100-acre community park
located in the northwestern portion of West Chicago, DuPage County,
Illinois, about 30 miles west of Chicago, Illinois. The Kerr-McGee
Reed-Keppler Park Site is located north of National Street and west of
Arbor Avenue. The majority of the Kerr-McGee Reed-Keppler Park Site is
owned by the City of West Chicago, and is leased to and operated by the
West Chicago Park District (Park District) for use as a public
recreation area. The park is used for a variety of activities including
tennis, volleyball, soccer, and baseball/softball. The land use within
one mile of the site is primarily residential. The Park District's
Family Aquatic Center is also located in the northeast section of the
Reed-Keppler Park.
Site History
In the early 1900's, the RKP Site was mined as a quarry to provide
rock and embankment material for construction of the Chicago, Wheaton
and Western Railway (now the Illinois Prairie Path embankment owned by
Commonwealth Edison). This old quarry area was left as a topographic
low area and was subsequently used for solid waste (household and
commercial garbage) disposal from as early as 1939 until 1973. Among
the solid wastes found at the RKP Site were thorium mill tailings and
other process wastes generated at the West Chicago Rare Earths Facility
(REF), operated in West Chicago by Lindsay Light and Chemical Company,
and its successors, from 1934 until 1973. In 1967, Kerr-McGee Chemical
Corporation purchased the REF and maintained operations until the
facility was closed in 1973.
Several site investigations were conducted, and in 1996, EPA
determined that the level of contamination in the surface soils at the
RKP Site warranted a time-critical removal action and that removal
decision was documented in an Action Memorandum. The Action Memorandum
reported that the median level of soil contamination, based upon soil
samples collected at the RKP Site, was 286 picoCuries per gram (pCi/g)
of total radium, with the maximum exceeding 15,000 pCi/g. The Action
Memorandum concluded that contaminated soil should be removed until a
cleanup criterion of 5 pCi/g of total radium (radium-226 + radium-228)
over background was achieved. The background concentration for the RKP
Site was determined to be 2.2 pCi/g, thereby establishing the cleanup
criterion for the RKP Site at 7.2 pCi/g. The Action Memorandum, along
with an Action Criteria Document that explained the radiation cleanup
level, formed the basis for EPA's Unilateral Administrative Order
(UAO), which was issued to Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation and the City
of West Chicago, Illinois, requiring removal activities at the RKP Site
to address the radioactive contamination and protect human health and
the environment.
A total of 114,652 loose cubic yards of contaminated soil and
debris were removed from the RKP Site between April 1997 and October
1999. The contaminated material was then shipped to the REF to be
physically separated. All contaminated material was then shipped to a
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensed disposal Site in Utah by
rail. Final restoration activities for the RKP Site were completed in
November 2000. A Final Report for the RKP removal action was submitted
to EPA in April 2002, which confirmed that the removal action met all
of the requirements and cleanup criteria specified in the Action
Memorandum and the Action Criterion Document for the RKP Site.
Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
After the completion of the soil removal action at RKP, EPA
determined that all action necessary to protect human health and the
environment had been taken with respect to the soils at the RKP Site.
Due to an exceedance of the drinking water standard for uranium in one
monitoring well at the site, EPA required monitoring of nine wells at
the site. The EPA monitored these wells until sufficient data was
collected to insure that all groundwater concentrations were decreasing
and that the drinking water standard for uranium had been attained in
all the site wells.
Groundwater data were collected in 1994 and 1997 at the RKP Site as
part of investigation efforts at the site. Concentrations of total
dissolved uranium, elevated above background, were detected in wells 4
and 5 in October 1994. Wells 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were subsequently
abandoned or removed from the site during excavation of contaminated
soil.
Kerr-McGee installed five new monitoring wells (1-5) at the RKP
Site in November 1997. Monitoring wells 7-9 were also subsequently
installed to replace some of the original Site wells that had been
removed as part of site excavation activities.
In August 2001, additional groundwater samples were collected from
the nine RKP monitoring wells to determine if residual groundwater
contamination levels achieved the remedial objective following
completion of the removal action at the RKP Site. One well (RKP-5)
exhibited concentrations of total uranium in exceedance of the drinking
water standard for total uranium in 40 CFR 141. This standard, also
known as the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), is
[[Page 64618]]
30 micrograms per liter ([mu]g/L) for total uranium. This corresponds
to a radioactivity level of about 27 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L). The
concentration of uranium in RKP-5 in August 2001 was 37.1 pCi/L. All of
the other RKP monitoring wells were in compliance with the MCL.
EPA cleanups conducted under CERCLA are legally required to comply
with all Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs).
The MCLs in the Safe Drinking Water Act are considered an ARAR for all
CERCLA sites that overlie aquifers that are used, or may be reasonably
anticipated to be used, as a drinking water source in the future. EPA
promulgated the MCL for total uranium in 65 FR 76708, National Primary
Drinking Water Regulations, on December 7, 2000. The State of Illinois
has designated the groundwater aquifer underlying the RKP site and the
City of West Chicago as Class I--Potential Potable Groundwater Resource
in accordance with 35 Illinois Administrative Code (IAC) Part 620
Subpart B, Groundwater Classification for Class I Designation and IAC
Part 620 Subpart D, State of Illinois Groundwater Quality Standards.
Due to the exceedance of the drinking water standard for uranium in
monitoring well RKP-5, EPA required monitoring of the nine site wells
until sufficient data was collected to insure that all groundwater
concentrations were decreasing and that the drinking water standard for
uranium in 40 CFR Part 141 (30 [mu]g/L or 27 pCi/L) had been attained
in all site wells.
Record of Decision Findings
In September 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision ROD for the RKP
Site which selected No Further Action, along with associated
groundwater monitoring for total uranium at the RKP Site. Due to the
exceedance of the drinking water standard for uranium at monitoring
well RKP-5, at the RKP Site, however, EPA required monitoring of the
nine site wells until sufficient data was collected to insure that all
groundwater concentrations were decreasing and that the drinking water
standard for uranium in 40 CFR Part 141 (30 [mu]g/L or 27 pCi/L) had
been attained in all site wells. When EPA issued the ROD, EPA did not
expect that active treatment of the groundwater underlying the RKP Site
would be required because:
(1) The removal action conducted from 1997 to 2000 by Kerr-McGee
removed the source of uranium contamination (the radioactively
contaminated subsurface soils below the water table at RKP Site).
Therefore, there was no continuing source of uranium in the subsurface
soil to be released to groundwater and cause the concentrations in
groundwater to increase.
(2) Only one of the nine wells at the RKP Site (RKP-5) exhibited
groundwater contamination above the MCL drinking water standard for
uranium (30 [mu]g/L or 27 pCi/L). Six of the nine RKP monitoring wells
were located in areas that were considered downgradient from the former
quarry and landfill areas at the site. RKP-5 was also sampled in
January 1998 and the concentration of uranium in the well at that time
was 7.43 pCi/L, which was below the MCL. RKP-5 was in compliance with
the MCL when it was sampled in 1998 and the result in August 2001 was
only marginally above the MCL. Consequently, there was a high
probability that the 37.1 pCi/L result was an isolated sample result
that would diminish within a reasonable time. In fact, beginning in
December 1997, a total of 15 samples have been collected from the nine
RKP groundwater wells, and the 37.1 pCi/L result from RKP-5 in August
2001 was the only exceedance of the MCL in the data set.
(3) Although EPA considered the shallow aquifer underlying and
surrounding the area of the RKP site a potential drinking water source,
the City of West Chicago prohibited the use of the groundwater by
residents and required its residents to abandon groundwater wells in
the City of West Chicago. In addition, the City of West Chicago
obtained its drinking water from nine municipal wells, two of which
were in the vicinity of the RKP Site. These wells are screened in a
deep aquifer system, which is separated from the shallow aquifer by a
Silurian dolomite and Maquoketa shale layer that inhibits the vertical
flow of groundwater from the upper aquifer to the underlying formation.
Therefore, it was extremely unlikely that contaminants in the upper
aquifer could migrate to the draw down zones of the City wells. Shallow
groundwater in the vicinity of the RKP Site is not used as a drinking
water source. There were no known conduits between the shallow and deep
aquifers, and no site related contaminants have been detected in any of
the nine City wells above background concentrations. Consequently,
there was no reason to believe that a complete pathway to human
receptors existed, nor was one expected to form given the City of West
Chicago's ordinance prohibiting the use of groundwater in the area.
Groundwater monitoring was conducted at the RKP Site from June 2006
until December 2007, when it was demonstrated that the MCL had been
achieved, and maintained, for three consecutive sampling events. On
January 28, 2008, EPA agreed that the remedial objective for uranium in
groundwater had been achieved and that monitoring well abandonment
could take place at the RKP Site. On March 18, 2008, Tronox (formerly
Kerr-McGee) completed abandonment of all RKP Site wells.
Cleanup Goals
Groundwater monitoring was performed at the RKP Site five times
between June 2006 and December 2007. The groundwater remedial objective
was to monitor ``to insure that future concentrations of uranium in the
RKP Site groundwater meet the MCL drinking water standard of 30 [mu]g/
L, or 27 pCi/L. It was decided that monitoring would continue until it
has been demonstrated that the MCLs have been achieved, and maintained,
for three consecutive sampling events.'' There were five sampling
events conducted between June 2006 and December 2007 and none of the
sample results exceeded the uranium concentration remedial goal of
30[mu]g/L. For this reason, EPA declared all response actions complete
for the RKP Site. The monitoring wells were subsequently abandoned in
March 2008, and there are no remaining physical remnants of the
response action at the RKP Site left on site.
Operation and Maintenance
There are no remaining operation and maintenance requirements for
the RKP Site. All response activities are complete and all physical
remnants have been removed.
Five-Year Review
One five-year review was completed for the RKP Site on August 13,
2007. The five-year review concluded that the site remedy was
protective of human health and the environment. The five-year review
recommended that some maintenance be conducted on site monitoring wells
if groundwater monitoring was to be conducted into the future. This
recommendation was no longer a concern after the remedial objective for
uranium in groundwater was achieved within one and a half years of the
beginning of monitoring in 2006. All RKP monitoring wells have since
been abandoned. No more five-year reviews will be conducted at the
site.
[[Page 64619]]
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 Illinois, has determined that the
responsible parties have implemented all response actions required, and
no further response action by responsible parties is appropriate.
V. Deletion Action
EPA, with concurrence from State of Illinois through the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency, has determined that all appropriate
response actions under CERCLA 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 February 8, 2010 unless EPA receives adverse comments by
January 7, 2010. 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 waste, Hazardous substances, Intergovernmental relations,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water
pollution control, Water supply.
Dated: November 20, 2009.
Bharat Mathur,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
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 by removing ``Kerr-
McGee (Reed Keppler Park)'', ``West Chicago'', ``IL''.
[FR Doc. E9-29081 Filed 12-7-09; 8:45 am]
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