[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42461-42462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17133]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1983-0002; FRL-9914-01-Region 1]


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

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 announces 
the deletion of the O'Connor Superfund Site (Site) located in Augusta, 
Maine, 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 Maine, through the 
Maine Department of Environmental Protection, 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 July 22, 2014.

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 is 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:
EPA Records and Information Center, 5 Post Office Square, First Floor, 
Boston, MA 02109-3912, Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and
Lithgow Public Library, 45 Winthrop St., Augusta, Maine 04330, Mon-
Thurs 9:00 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 9:00 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m.-
12:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terrence Connelly, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, Mailcode 
OSRR07-1, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA 02109-3919, (617) 
918-1373, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The site to be deleted from the NPL is the O'Connor Superfund Site, 
Augusta, Maine. A Notice of Intent to Delete for this Site was 
published in the Federal Register on March 12, 2014 (79 FR 13967).
    The closing date for comments on the Notice of Intent to Delete was 
April 11, 2014. Two public comments were received. One comment was 
critical of the remedy selected in 1989 as modified in 1994 and 2002 
and stated that the Site should not be removed from the NPL until it 
was completely clean. The other comment raised an issue not related to 
the proposed action of deleting the Site from the NPL.
    In questioning the effectiveness of institutional controls to 
maintain protectiveness and seeking a remedy that concludes with a 
``completely clean'' site, the comment questions the adequacy of the 
selected remedy. The remedy was selected following public comment 
periods in 1989, 1994, and 2002 for the Record of Decision, the 
Explanation of Significant Differences, and the Record of Decision 
Amendment, respectively. EPA believes that the remedy selected is 
protective of human health and the environment. The selected remedy has 
been implemented, and all activities required under the remedy have 
been completed. Additionally, the activities completed at the O'Connor 
Superfund Site have satisfied those criteria that EPA has established 
for deletion of a site from the NPL.
    The comment also voiced the desire that the Site be completely 
clean before being deleted from the NPL. While this is an aspirational 
goal of the Superfund program, it is not technically feasible to return 
every site to unlimited use and unrestricted exposure. For example, 
there are municipal landfills where communities disposed of their waste 
for decades and many of these landfills are also Superfund sites. The 
costs for requiring local communities to pay for completely cleaning up 
these landfills so that they are available for any future use would be 
in the millions for each landfill. The technology and resources to 
achieve this goal of returning every site to pristine conditions are 
simply not available.

[[Page 42462]]

    The second comment voiced concerns about health issues for herself 
and others who lived or who continue to live near the O'Connor Site and 
stating a view that the number of cancers and other health issues 
suffered by residents nearby the Site concerned her. The comment also 
expressed dismay that she had not been contacted about the Site when 
she had lived nearby.
    This comment did not address the substance of the proposed deletion 
nor question whether the remedial goals have been accomplished but 
speaks of health concerns. EPA completed a Five-Year Review of the Site 
in 2012 and determined that the remedy as implemented remains 
protective of human health and the environment. All potential exposure 
pathways have been controlled through the completed activities and 
institutional controls. The ongoing monitoring and five-year reviews 
ensure that EPA is able to confirm the protectiveness of the remedy.
    A responsiveness summary was prepared and placed in both the 
docket, EPA-HQ-SFUND-1983-0002, on www.regulations.gov, and in the 
local repository listed above.
    A Notice of Deletion for this Site was published in the Federal 
Register on March 12, 2014 (79 FR 13882). The Notice of Deletion 
summarized the deletion criteria, the deletion procedure, and the basis 
for deletion of the Site from the NPL.
    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: July 2, 2014.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, Region 1.

    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.

Appendix B to Part 300--[Amended]

0
2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended by removing ``ME'', 
``O'Connor Co'', ``Augusta''.

[FR Doc. 2014-17133 Filed 7-21-14; 8:45 am]
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