[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]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P