[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 23, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 63099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-24689]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1983-0002; FRL-9901-75-Region 2]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; 
National Priorities List: Deletion of the Hooker (Hyde Park) Superfund 
Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 announces 
the deletion of the Hooker (Hyde Park) Superfund Site (Site) located in 
Niagara Falls, New York, 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 of the National Oil and Hazardous 
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of 
New York, through the Department of Environmental Conservation, have 
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 action is effective October 23, 2013.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-1983-0002. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed 
in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., 
confidential business information or other information whose disclosure 
is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted 
material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available 
only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are 
available either electronically through http://www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy at the site information repositories. Locations, contacts, 
phone numbers, and viewing hours are:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, Superfund Records 
Center, 290 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866, Telephone: 
(212) 637-4308. Hours: Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
U.S. EPA Western New York Public Information Office, 86 Exchange Place, 
Buffalo, NY 14204-2026. Telephone: (716) 551-4410. Hours: Monday to 
Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gloria M. Sosa, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, 290 Broadway, 
20th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866, telephone: (212) 637-4283, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Site to be deleted from the NPL is the 
Hooker (Hyde Park) Superfund Site, located in Niagara Falls, New York. 
A Notice of Intent to Delete for this Site was published in the Federal 
Register on August 20, 2012 (77 FR 50038-50044).
    The closing date for comments on the Notice of Intent to Delete was 
September 19, 2012. During the comment period, EPA received 
correspondence offering critical comments. The comments reflected 
concern that the Site is a continuing source of contaminants to the 
Niagara River and the deletion of the Site was premature. As a result 
of the critical comments, EPA published a Notice of Withdrawal of 
Direct Final Deletion of the Site in the Federal Register on September 
27, 2012 (77 FR 59338), withdrawing the direct final deletion for the 
Site and announcing it would evaluate and respond to the significant 
comments and, if appropriate, proceed with the traditional two-step 
deletion process.
    After careful consideration of the comments received, EPA concluded 
that the deletion of the Site is still appropriate. Following various 
lines of evidence, EPA has concluded that the performance objectives of 
the remedy selected for the Site in 1984 continue to be met and that 
the remedy selected for the Site is protective of human health and the 
environment. All response activities selected in the remedy have been 
implemented, and operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. EPA 
has the authority to respond appropriately if a problem or situation 
arises at a site after it is deleted. EPA will continue to provide 
oversight, review monitoring reports, and routinely communicate with 
the responsible party performing work at the Site. Operation and 
maintenance of the remedy will continue at the Site and monitoring will 
continue to be performed to confirm the effectiveness of response 
actions performed at the Site, including the maintenance of hydraulic 
capture.
    A responsiveness summary was prepared which addresses all comments 
received on the deletion and provides rationale that the deletion is 
considered appropriate. The responsiveness summary and all comments on 
the deletion action may be viewed in both the docket, EPA-HQ-SFUND-
1983-0002, on www.regulations.gov, and in the local repositories listed 
above.
    EPA maintains the NPL as the list of sites that appear to present a 
significant risk to public health, welfare, or the environment. 
Deletion from the NPL does not preclude further remedial action. 
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. Deletion of a site from the NPL does not 
affect responsible party liability in the unlikely event that future 
conditions warrant further actions.

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: September 26, 2013.
Judith A. Enck,
Regional Administrator, EPA, Region 2.
    For reasons set out in the preamble, 40 CFR part 300 is amended as 
follows:

PART 300--NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION 
CONTINGENCY PLAN

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.


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2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended by removing the entry 
under ``NY'' for Hooker (Hyde Park), Niagara Falls.

[FR Doc. 2013-24689 Filed 10-22-13; 8:45 am]
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