[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23757-23760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-10001]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2005-0002; FRL-9927-05-Region 2]


National Oil and Hazardous Substance Pollution Contingency Plan 
National Priorities List: Deletion of the Crown Vantage Landfill 
Superfund Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2 is issuing 
a Notice of Intent to Delete the Crown Vantage Landfill Superfund Site 
(Site), located in Alexandria Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, 
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 New Jersey, through the New Jersey Department of Environmental 
Protection, have determined that all appropriate response actions under 
CERCLA, other than long-term maintenance and five-year reviews, have 
been completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions 
under Superfund.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 29, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2005-0002, by one of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]:
     Mail: To the attention of Alison Hess, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, Emergency & 
Remedial Response Division, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, NY 
10007-1866.
     Hand Delivery: Superfund Records Center, 290 Broadway, 
18th floor, New York, NY 10007-1866 (telephone: 212-637-4308). Such 
deliveries are only accepted during the Record Center's normal hours of 
operation (Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
2005-0002. 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 
automatically captured

[[Page 23758]]

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 comments and with any disk or CD-ROM 
that 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 comments. Electronic files should avoid the use 
of special characters and 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 in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at:
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, Superfund Records 
Center, 290 Broadway, Room 1828, New York, NY 10007-1866, Telephone: 
212-637-4308, Hours: Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
and
    Milford Public Library, Crown Vantage Landfill Site Repository 
File, 40 Frenchtown Road, Milford, NJ 08848, Telephone: 908 995-4072, 
Hours: Monday 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 
Wednesday 12 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday 
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturday 10:00 
a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alison Hess, Remedial Project Manager, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, 290 Broadway, 19th 
Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866; Telephone 212-637-3959; or Email 
[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 2 is announcing its intent to delete the Crown Vantage 
Landfill Superfund Site from the NPL and requests public comment on 
this proposed action. 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 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) 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 Crown Vantage 
Landfill 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.
    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 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 New Jersey, through the New Jersey Department of 
Environmental Protection (NJDEP), 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 Hunterdon County Democrat. 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 document, EPA will evaluate and respond appropriately to the 
comments before making a final decision to delete. 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.

[[Page 23759]]

IV. Basis for Site Deletion

    The following summary provides EPA's rationale for deleting the 
Site from the NPL:

Site Background and History

    The Crown Vantage Landfill Site is an inactive former landfill 
located at 500 Milford-Frenchtown Road in Alexandria Township, New 
Jersey. The Site occupies about 10 acres and has approximately 1,500 
feet of frontage on the eastern bank of the Delaware River. A mix of 
young and mature hardwood trees, shrubs and grasses covers the Site. 
Access to the landfill area is restricted by locked chain-link fencing.
    To the west of the site, across the Delaware River, lies Bucks 
County, Pennsylvania. The Delaware and Raritan Canal foot path and a 
farm field bound the Site to the east. Historically, railroad tracks 
bounded the Site to the east. The landfill property is bounded to the 
south by the Delaware Raritan Canal State Park and to the north by the 
Curtis Specialty Papers Superfund site.
    The landfill reportedly was utilized by the nearby former Curtis 
Specialty Papers mill, as well as by other nearby Riegel Paper Company 
facilities, for the disposal of waste beginning in the late 1930s 
through the early 1970s. The landfill may also have accepted flood-
damaged items from the local community following record flooding of the 
Delaware River in 1955. Types of wastes disposed of at the landfill 
include fly ash, cinders, and bottom ash; paper mill and coating-
related wastes, including foil-backed paper, off-specification paper, 
55-gallon drums containing press room wastes, and paper fiber sludge 
from wastewater treatment plant operations; steel and fiber barrels and 
pallets; and construction and demolition debris. Historical aerial 
photos indicated that shallow trenches in the surface of the landfill 
may have been used for the burial of drummed wastes in the early 1970s.
    Site characterization began in 1991 with the Preliminary Site 
Investigation (PSI), including an aerial photograph analysis, 
geophysical survey of the landfill area, soil gas sampling, ground 
water sampling and a wetlands assessment. The PSI was followed by the 
removal of drums (empty, full, and partially full) and paper products 
from the surface of the landfill. In 1994, monitoring wells were 
installed and the ground water quality was characterized.
    From 2001 through 2003, the NJDEP fenced the Site, removed 
additional surface debris, including drums, and collected surface soil 
samples. The EPA conducted additional sampling of surface water, 
sediment, surface soil and fly ash, and ground water in 2003 and 2004. 
Additional wastes were removed from the surface and riprap was placed 
in flood-impacted areas.
    The Site was proposed to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 
September 2004 (69 FR 56970) and listed on the NPL in April 2005 (70 FR 
21644). The EPA CERCLIS ID# is NJN000204492.
    In May 2005, Fort James Operating Company, a subsidiary of Georgia-
Pacific, entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with EPA 
for a Removal Action. Under the 2005 AOC, additional surficial drums 
were removed, additional fencing was provided, and an engineered slope 
stabilization wall was constructed to stabilize the landfill's western 
face. In total, over 700 surficial drums, drum remnants and drum 
carcasses were removed from the surface of the Site during 
investigations conducted between 1991 and 2007.
    Further investigations and removal actions at the Site were 
performed by Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products, LP (GP) under an 
Administrative Agreement and Order on Consent signed in September 2007 
and by International Paper Company (IP) under a Unilateral 
Administrative Order signed in December 2007. During the Remedial 
Investigation (RI) conducted in 2008-2009, more than 1,750 drums, drum 
carcasses and drum remnants were removed from the Site. Analytical data 
from surface water, pore water and groundwater sampling showed that 
these media were not impacted by the Site. The RI Report was completed 
in July 2010. The RI concluded that, after removal activities were 
conducted, all human health risks were within or below EPA's acceptable 
levels. An ecological risk assessment was also conducted and concluded 
that there was no need for remediation based on potential risks to 
ecological receptors. The Feasibility Study Report, developed to 
identify and compare cleanup alternatives, was completed in November 
2010.

Selected Remedy

    The Site remedy was selected and memorialized in the Site Record of 
Decision (ROD), which was issued on September 29, 2011. Because the 
baseline human health risk assessment and ecological risk assessments 
for the Site did not identify the presence of unacceptable human health 
or ecological risks requiring remediation under current and reasonably 
anticipated future Site use, the remedial action objectives were 
limited to preventing exposures to landfill materials. The major 
components of the selected remedy of the ROD are the following:
     Establishment of a deed restriction to ensure that future 
Site uses do not result in the disturbance of the surface of the Site, 
thereby preventing future residential or commercial/industrial 
development of the Site;
     Continued maintenance of security measures at the Site 
(e.g., signage and fencing);
     Continued maintenance of the slope stabilization wall;
     Sealing of remaining shallow monitoring wells;
     Semi-annual monitoring of the Site, including the slope 
stabilization wall; and
     Five-Year Reviews by EPA to ensure that the remedy 
continues to be protective of public health and the environment.

Response Actions

    A Consent Decree for IP's and GP's performance of the Remedial 
Design and Remedial Action was entered by the United States District 
Court for the District of New Jersey in April 2013.
    The remedy was designed and constructed in a single phase pursuant 
to EPA-approved work plans. The monitoring well closures and fence 
relocation measures undertaken as part of maintaining the existing 
security as required by the ROD were conducted from February to April 
2013. Three monitoring wells and two piezometers were located in the 
field and sealed in accordance with New Jersey well closure 
regulations. Another three monitoring wells and four piezometers were 
documented to have been closed in 2007. Lastly, two monitoring wells 
could not be located visually or with the use of a metal detector and 
may have been closed in 2007 or covered by silt and other materials 
since they were last sampled in 1994, and four piezometers located 
beneath the slope stabilization wall also could not be located and are 
presumed to no longer be accessible. New 12-foot fence posts were 
driven to a depth of four feet. Monitoring of ambient air was conducted 
during fence installation, with no measurable concentrations of 
volatile organic compounds detected above background levels. Old posts 
and fencing were removed and recycled, and a new section of fencing and 
fabric installed. New coated, rust-free aluminum signs were posted 
along the entire fence perimeter as needed. EPA conducted a final 
inspection in July 2013 and issued a Preliminary Site Close-Out Report 
in September 2013.

[[Page 23760]]

    IP and GP prepared a draft deed notice pursuant to the April 2013 
Consent Decree. EPA approved the final deed notice in December 2013. 
The deed notice was recorded by the Hunterdon County Clerk in February 
2014.
    EPA issued a Final Site Close-Out Report in December 2014.

Ongoing Maintenance

    The ongoing maintenance plan was approved in June 2013. This plan 
covers site security, the long-term monitoring and maintenance of the 
slope stabilization wall and recertification of the deed notice.

Five-Year Review

    Hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants will remain at 
the Site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted 
exposure. Therefore, pursuant to CERCLA Section 121(c), EPA is required 
to conduct a review of the remedy at least once every five years. The 
first Five-Year Review Report will be completed prior to February 2018, 
which is five years from the start of the on-site remedial action 
construction.

Community Involvement

    Public participation activities for the Site have been satisfied as 
required by CERCLA sections 113(k) and 117, 42 U.S.C. 9613(k) and 9617. 
A Community Advisory Group (CAG) for the Site has been meeting 
quarterly since 2009. EPA finalized a site-specific Community 
Involvement Plan in March 2010. The CAG obtains information from EPA 
and provides community input on the site progress, including the 
implementation of field activities associated with investigations, 
removals and remedial construction. EPA maintains a local site 
information repository at the Milford Public Library and regularly adds 
site reports and other documents.
    As part of the remedy selection process, the public was invited to 
comment on the proposed remedy. In June 2011, EPA released a Proposed 
Plan summarizing the RI/FS reports and identifying the preferred 
remedial alternative with the rationale for its preference. EPA held a 
public meeting on July 12, 2011 at the Milford Firehouse to explain the 
Proposed Plan and to receive public comments. EPA held a public comment 
period from July 1 through 31, 2011 to accept written comments. 
Responses to comments received at the public meeting and comments 
submitted during the public comment period are provided in the 
Responsiveness Summary section of the ROD.
    All other documents and information the EPA relied on or considered 
in recommending this deletion are available for the public to review at 
the information repositories identified above.

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

    All of the completion requirements for the Site have been met, as 
described in the December 29, 2014 Final Site Close-Out Report. The 
State of New Jersey, in January 12, 2015 letter, concurred with the 
proposed deletion of the Site from the NPL. As described in this Notice 
of Intent to Delete, the implemented remedy achieves the degree of 
cleanup specified in the ROD for all exposure pathways; the RAO has 
been met, and no further Superfund response is needed to protect human 
health and the environment.
    The NCP specifies that EPA may delete a site from the NPL if 
responsible parties or other persons have implemented all appropriate 
response actions. EPA, with the concurrence of the State of New Jersey, 
believes that this criterion for deletion has been met. Consequently, 
EPA intends to delete the Crown Vantage Landfill Site from the NPL. 
Documents supporting this action are available for review at the 
information repositories identified above.

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. 
13626, 77 FR 56749, 3 CFR, 2013 Comp., p.306; 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: April 15, 2015.

Judith Enck,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
[FR Doc. 2015-10001 Filed 4-28-15; 8:45 am]
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