[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 66 (Monday, April 7, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19037-19039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06815]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2003-0009; FRL-9908-79-Region 10]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; 
National Priorities List: Deletion of the Harbor Oil Superfund Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 is issuing 
a Notice of Intent to Delete Harbor Oil Superfund Site (Site) located 
in Portland, Oregon, from the National Priorities List (NPL) and 
requests public comments on this proposed action. 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). EPA and the State of Oregon, through the 
Department of Environmental Quality, have determined that all 
appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed. This 
deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund or under 
state law.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 7, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2003-0009, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov. Follow on-line instructions 
for submitting comments.
     Email: By sending an email to EPA Project Manager 
Christopher Cora at [email protected].
     Fax: (206) 553-0124
     Mail: Christopher Cora, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle WA 98101-3140.
     Hand delivery: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, MS ECL-115, Seattle WA 98101-3140.
    Such deliveries are accepted only during the Docket's normal hours 
of operation. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of 
boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
2003-0009. 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 email. 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 email comment directly to EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email address will be 
captured automatically 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 should 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:

EPA Superfund Records Center, 1200 6th Ave, 7th floor, Seattle, WA 
98101-3140.
Historic Kenton Firehouse, 8105 North Brandon St, Portland, OR 97217, 
503-823-0215.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Cora, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, Suite 900, 
1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101-3140, (206) 553-1478, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents:

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

I. Introduction

    EPA Region 10 announces its intent to delete the Harbor Oil 
Superfund Site from the National Priorities List (NPL) and requests 
public comment on this proposed action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B 
of 40 CFR part 300, which is the National 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 40 CFR 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.
    EPA will accept comments on the proposal to delete this site for 
thirty (30)

[[Page 19038]]

days after publication of this document in the Federal Register.
    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 Harbor Oil Superfund Site and 
demonstrates how it meets the deletion criteria.

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.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures apply to deletion of the Site:
    (1) EPA consulted with the State before developing this Notice of 
Intent to Delete.
    (2) EPA has provided the state 30 working days for review of this 
notice prior to publication of it today.
    (3) In accordance with the criteria discussed above, EPA has 
determined that no further response is appropriate.
    (4) The State of Oregon, through the Department of Environmental 
Quality, has concurred with deletion of the Site from the NPL.
    (5) Concurrently with the publication of this Notice of Intent to 
Delete in the Federal Register, a notice is being published in a major 
local newspaper, The Oregonian. The newspaper notice announces the 30-
day public comment period concerning the Notice of Intent to Delete the 
site from the NPL.
    (6) 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.
    If comments are received within the 30-day public comment period on 
this Notice of Intent to Delete, EPA will evaluate and respond 
appropriately to the comments before making a final decision. If 
necessary, EPA will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any 
significant public comments received. After the public comment period, 
if EPA determines it is still appropriate to delete the Site, the 
Regional Administrator will publish a final Notice of Deletion in the 
Federal Register. Public notices, public submissions and copies of the 
Responsiveness Summary, if prepared, will be made available to 
interested parties and in the site information repositories listed 
above.
    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:

Site Background and History

    The Harbor Oil Superfund Site (CERCLIS ID No.: ORD071803985) is a 
4.2-acre used oil reprocessing facility located at 11535 North Force 
Avenue in northeast Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. American 
Petroleum Environmental Services is the current operator. The facility 
began cleaning tanker trucks and recycling oil in the 1950s to 1960s. A 
fire destroyed the facility in 1979, which released pollutants into the 
wetlands and Force Lake. The presence of pollutants released into the 
environment can be associated with cattle truck and tanker truck 
cleaning operations, road oiling for dust suppression, oil treatment 
and processing activities, the 1979 facility fire, pesticide usage at 
historical stockyards and in the city of Vanport, and storm water 
drainage patterns. The contaminants include petroleum products, 
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-
volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), metals, polychlorinated biphenyls 
(PCBs) and possibly other contaminants, such as solvents and/or 
pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metals at 
the Site. The Site was proposed to the NPL on September 5, 2002 (67 FR 
56794). The Site was listed on the NPL on September 29, 2003 (68 FR 
55875).

Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

    The RI included sampling soil (213 samples), groundwater (34 
samples), sediments (17 samples) and surface water (3 samples) for the 
following chemicalgroups: Total petroleum hydrocarbons, polyaromatic 
hydrocarbons, volatileorganic compounds, semi-volatile organic 
compounds, metals, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls. The RI 
sampling indicated site contamination was not significant. The maximum 
DDT concentration was 78 mg/Kg in soils and 0.210 mg/Kg in sediments. 
The maximum PCB concentration was 32 mg/Kg in soils and 0.131 mg/Kg in 
sediments. The maximum soil concentrations were all on the facility 
property and are covered by asphalt; therefore there is no completed 
exposure pathway. Petroleum contamination was ubiquitous throughout the 
site but did not pose unacceptable risk and was highly weathered and 
not mobile; for example, it was not in groundwater or surfacewater 
above screening levels. Petroleum screening levels are represented by 
the lowest available screening levels from EPA or Oregon Department of 
Environmental Quality. Metals, specifically chrome, copper, and zinc, 
exceeded ecological screening values but were limited in areal extent 
and posed only slightly elevated risks to terrestrial invertebrates. 
VOCs and SVOCs were rarely detected. Benzene (concentration of 0.140 
mg/L) and trichloroethylene (concentration of 0.0061 mg/L in 2000) were 
detected above drinking water maximum contaminant levels once each in 
different groundwater wells. Based on the observation of terrestrial 
invertebrates (earthworms) at sampling locations with elevated metals, 
it was concluded the impacts were not significant, probably because the 
areal extent of contamination was small and the elevated Hazard Indices 
were due to the use of conservative reference values. The tables in the 
appendix reflect the findings of the baseline human health and 
ecological risk assessments (Tables 1 and 2). In summary, the results 
of the risk assessment concluded that there are no unacceptable risks 
posed by releases from the site. Unacceptable risks were those that 
result in risks exceeding EPA's target risk threshold of 1E-4 for 
cancer risk or an HI greater than 1 for human health. Ecological risks 
were determined to be acceptable, having no impacts on the ecological 
community of

[[Page 19039]]

the Site. There are no endangered species present at the Site. A FS was 
not prepared because the risks were acceptable.

Selected Remedy

    A No Action remedy was selected for the site because the Human 
Health Baseline Risk Assessment and the Baseline Ecological Risk 
Assessment showed that releases from the Site posed risks within EPA's 
acceptable risk range. No response actions were necessary to mitigate 
releases from the Site.

Cleanup Goals

    Since there was no unacceptable risk and a response action was not 
necessary, cleanup objectives were not established.

Operation and Maintenance--if Applicable

    Because no response actions were taken, there are no operation or 
maintenance obligations at the Site.

Five-Year Review--if Applicable

    Five Year Reviews are not applicable because no response actions 
were taken.

Community Involvement

    A Technical Assistance Grant was provided to the Harbor Oil 
Community Action Group (HOGAG). Meetings of the HOCAG took place on a 
monthly basis during the RI and were reduced when site activities 
slowed down. Approximately 10 citizens made up the HOCAG, but they 
distributed information throughout the North Portland neighborhood 
where the site is located. EPA provided a 30-day public review and 
comment period on the proposed No Action remedy on November 14, 2012. 
EPA held a public meeting on December 6, 2012 to present the proposed 
remedy of No Action and receive public comments. EPA responded to all 
comments in the responsiveness summary for the Record of Decision, with 
no change to the proposed remedy.

Determination That the Site Meets the Criteria for Deletion in the NCP

    The remedial investigation has shown that the releases pose no 
significant threat to public health or the environment and therefore no 
further Superfund response is needed to protect human health or the 
environment at the Site.
    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 Oregon, has determined that all response 
actions required by CERCLA have been implemented, and no further CERCLA 
response action by EPA or the responsible parties is appropriate.

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.

    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.

    Dated: March 10, 2014.
Dennis J. McLerran,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-06815 Filed 4-4-14; 8:45 am]
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