[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35059-35063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15420]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1994-0001; FRL-9996-74-Region 4]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; 
National Priorities List: Partial Deletion of the Escambia Wood--
Pensacola Superfund Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 is issuing 
a Notice of Intent to Delete 50 acres of the Escambia Wood--Pensacola 
Superfund Site (Site) located in Pensacola, Florida, 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). The EPA and the 
State of Florida, through the Florida

[[Page 35060]]

Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), have determined that all 
appropriate response actions at these identified parcels under CERCLA, 
other than operation and maintenance and five-year reviews, have been 
completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions 
under Superfund.
    This partial deletion pertains to 50 acres of former residential 
property in the former neighborhoods of Oak Park, Escambia Arms, Herman 
& Pearl and Clarinda Triangle, part of Operable Unit One (soils). The 
remaining areas of Operable Unit One (about 50 acres) and Operable Unit 
Two (groundwater) will remain on the NPL and are not being considered 
for deletion as part of this action.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 21, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-1994-0001, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov. Follow on-line instructions 
for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received 
to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
     Email: Erik Spalvins at [email protected] or LaTonya 
Spencer at [email protected].
     Mail: Erik Spalvins, US EPA Region 4--Superfund & 
Emergency Management Divison, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 
30303.
     Hand delivery: US EPA Region 4, Superfund & Emergency 
Management Divison Records Center, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30303. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's 
normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
1994-0001. The 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 website is 
an ``anonymous access'' system, which means The 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 the EPA without 
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your email 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, the 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 the EPA cannot read your comment due 
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the 
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 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:
    US EPA Region 4, Superfund & Emergency Management Divison Records 
Center, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303. (800) 435-9234 
Hours of operation: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
    West Florida Genealogy Branch Library, 5740 N Ninth Ave., 
Pensacola, Florida 32504. (850) 494-7373 Hours of operation: Tuesday-
Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik Spalvins, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 562-8938, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    The EPA announces its intent to delete 50 acres of former 
residential property (in the former neighborhoods of Oak Park, Escambia 
Arms, Herman & Pearl and Clarinda Triangle) from Operable Unit One 
(soils) of the Escambia Wood--Pensacola Superfund Site (Site), from the 
National Priorities List (NPL) and request 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 the EPA promulgated pursuant to section 
105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and 
Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended. The EPA maintains the NPL 
as those 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). This partial deletion of the Escambia Wood--Pensacola 
Site is proposed in accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e) and is consistent 
with the Notice of Policy Change: Partial Deletion of Sites Listed on 
the National Priorities List. 60 FR 55466 (Nov. 1, 1995). As described 
in 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, a portion of a site deleted from the NPL 
remains eligible for Fund-financed remedial action if future conditions 
warrant such actions.
    EPA will accept comments on the proposal to partially 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 the EPA is 
using for this action. Section IV discusses the 50 acres of former 
residential property in the former neighborhoods of Oak Park, Escambia 
Arms, Herman & Pearl and Clarinda Triangle, part of Operable Unit One 
of the Escambia Wood--Pensacola Superfund Site and demonstrates how it 
meets the deletion criteria.

[[Page 35061]]

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    The NCP establishes the criteria that the 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), the 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, the 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. The EPA conducts such five-year reviews even if a site is 
deleted from the NPL. The 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 these 50 acres from 
Operable Unit One of the Site:
    (1) EPA consulted with the State before developing this Notice of 
Intent for Partial Deletion.
    (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, the EPA has 
determined that no further response is appropriate.
    (4) The State of Florida, through the Florida Department of 
Environmental Protection, has concurred with the deletion of the 50 
acres of parcels from Operable Unit One (soils) of the Escambia Wood--
Pensacola Superfund Site, from the NPL.
    (5) Concurrently, with the publication of this Notice of Intent for 
Partial Deletion in the Federal Register, a notice is being published 
in a major local newspaper, the Pensacola News Journal. The newspaper 
announces the 30-day public comment period concerning the Notice of 
Intent for Partial Deletion of the Site from the NPL.
    (6) EPA placed copies of documents supporting the proposed partial 
deletion in the deletion docket, made these items available for public 
inspection, and copying at the Site information repositories identified 
above.
    If comments are received within the 30-day comment period on this 
document, the EPA will evaluate and respond accordingly to the comments 
before making a final decision to delete the 50 acres of parcels from 
Operable Unit One. If necessary, the EPA will prepare a Responsiveness 
Summary to address any significant public comments received. After the 
public comment period, if the EPA determines it is still appropriate to 
delete the 50 acres of parcels from Operable Unit One of the Escambia 
Wood--Pensacola Superfund Site, the Regional Administrator will publish 
a final Notice of Partial 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 included 
in the site information repositories listed above.
    Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not itself 
create, alter, or revoke any individual's rights or obligations. 
Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not in any way alter 
the 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 Intended Partial Site Deletion

    The following information provides the EPA's rationale for deleting 
the 50 acres of parcels from Operable Unit One (soils) of the Escambia 
Wood--Pensacola Superfund Site from the NPL:
    The Site (CERCLIS ID: FLD008168346) is located in the City of 
Pensacola in Escambia County, Florida. The Site consists of a former 
wood-treating facility (about 30 acres) and about 70 acres of former 
residential neighborhoods, which were acquired by the EPA. The street 
address of the former facility is 3910 North Palafox Street. The former 
residential areas include most of the Rosewood Terrace, Oak Park, 
Escambia Arms, Herman & Pearl and Clarinda Triangle neighborhoods. From 
1942 to 1982, the facility treated wood with creosote and 
pentachlorophenol, which resulted in contamination of soil and 
groundwater with creosote, pentachlorophenol, and dioxins. The facility 
was abandoned in 1991. From October 1991 into 1992, the EPA conducted a 
removal action to address three surface impoundments, to stop immediate 
exposure, and to stabilize the Site. The EPA excavated about 225,000 
cubic yards of contaminated materials and secured it under a heavy-duty 
geomembrane cover. The EPA completed the removal action in 1992. The 
EPA proposed the Site to the NPL on August 23, 1994 (59 FR 43314) and 
the Site was added (final) on the NPL on December 16, 1994 (59 FR 
65206). The EPA manages the soils at the Site as Operable Unit One and 
manages the groundwater as Operable Unit Two. Operable Unit One 
consists of the relocated residential properties and the former 
facility and encompasses more than 100 acres. The partial deletion 
consists of the 50 or so acres of residential properties acquired by 
the EPA in the Oak Park, Escambia Arms, Herman & Pearl and Clarinda 
Triangle neighborhoods.

Interim Remedial Action

    EPA's first Remedial Action was an Interim Remedial Action of 
voluntary residential relocation. In June 1995, the EPA selected the 
Site for the EPA's National Relocation Evaluation Pilot. The Pilot 
explored the use of permanent relocations under CERCLA. The EPA 
selected relocation as an interim remedial action in a February 12, 
1997 Interim Record of Decision. From 1997 to 2001, over 350 households 
and over 500 people were successfully relocated from the Rosewood 
Terrace, Oak Park, Escambia Arms and Herman & Pearl neighborhoods to 
comparable replacement housing in and around Pensacola. The February 
13, 2006 Record of Decision (ROD) added the Clarinda Triangle 
neighborhood to the Interim remedy. The Clarinda Triangle relocation 
began in December 2006, was finished in August 2008, and included 38 
properties. From 1997 to 2008, more than 400 households were 
successfully relocated as part of the Interim Remedial Action.

Remedial Investigation

    The Remedial Investigation found risk from contaminated soil for 
current and future users of the Site. The Feasibility Study evaluated 
off-site disposal and on-site disposal of contaminated soil

[[Page 35062]]

with different treatment options for both low-level and principal 
threat wastes. Site soils were found to be contaminated with dioxins, 
furans, pentachlorophenol, a variety of polynuclear aromatics and 
methyl napthalenes, arsenic and lead. Site soils posed an unacceptable 
human health risk through exposure to dermal contact, ingestion, and 
inhalation of soils. The future anticipated land use is commercial and 
industrial and was developed through a master planning process by the 
community, local governments and the State. Cleanup concentrations were 
developed to be protective to human health and are based on the future 
anticipated land use.

Selected Remedy

    EPA issued the final Operable Unit One ROD in 2006, selecting 
excavation and on-site disposal in a containment cell, treatment of 
principal threat waste by solidification/stabilization, monitoring and 
institutional controls to restrict future use of the Site. The Remedial 
Action Objectives were: (1) Prevent ingestion, inhalation, or direct 
contact with surface soil that contains concentrations of contaminants 
in excess of the remedial cleanup goals; (2) Control migration and 
leaching of contaminants in surface and subsurface soil to ground water 
that could result in ground water contamination in excess of EPA 
drinking water standards (Maximum Contaminant Levels); (3) Prevent 
ingestion or inhalation of soil particulates that contain contaminant 
concentrations in excess of remedial cleanup goals; and, (4) Control 
future releases of contaminants to ensure protection of human health 
and the environment. In 2012, the EPA issued an Explanation of 
Significant Differences to update the 2006 Final ROD's soil cleanup 
goals to reflect the appropriate level of protectiveness for potential 
exposure pathways at the Site and to change construction requirements 
in the ROD that were over-specific and found to be impractical once 
construction was underway.
    The 2006 ROD included an 18-acre containment cell on the former 
facility and on the former Rosewood Terrace Neighborhood, bounded by 
Hickory Street to the North. The area for the partial deletion does not 
include the former facility or the former Rosewood Terrace 
neighborhood. The proposed partial deletion consists of the 50 acres of 
former residential property in the former neighborhoods of Oak Park, 
Escambia Arms, Herman & Pearl and Clarinda Triangle.

Response Action

    The Interim Remedial Action was designed and implemented by the EPA 
and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) via an 
Interagency Agreement. The USACE conducted the purchase of properties 
and relocation of residents in accordance with the Uniform Relocation 
Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.
    The Final Remedial Action for Operable Unit One began in September 
2007. The EPA contractor excavated and stockpiled contaminated soil and 
debris on site. The EPA also collected confirmation samples from the 
floors and sidewalls of excavations and continued excavating soil if 
confirmation samples exceeded cleanup goals. This process was repeated 
until cleanup goals were no longer exceeded. The contractor constructed 
an 18-acre containment cell with about 20 feet of compacted 
contaminated soil and 2 to 3 feet of cement-stabilized soil. Once 
filled, the cell was capped with a composite liner, overlaid by a 
drainage system, and covered with at least 6 feet of clean fill soil. 
Excavation areas were limed, fertilized and seeded to prevent wind and 
water erosion. The final cell contains about 527,000 cubic yards of 
contaminated soil, debris and solidification/stabilization-treated 
soil. The State of Florida began the Operations & Maintenance phase of 
the Operable Unit One Interim Remedial Action and most of the Operable 
Unit One Final Remedial Action on March 1, 2013.

Cleanup Levels

    On March 5, 2012, the EPA issued an ESD to update the 2006 Final 
ROD's soil cleanup goals to reflect the appropriate level of 
protectiveness for potential exposure pathways at the Site and to 
change construction requirements in the ROD that were over-specific and 
found to be impractical once construction was underway. The 2006 Final 
ROD cleanup goals were updated because they were not developed for all 
potential pathways for all contaminants (some cleanup levels were 
solely leaching-based, some were solely direct exposure-based) and the 
Summers model used for the leaching-based cleanup levels resulted in 
cleanup goals that were overly conservative. The 2012 ESD established 
cleanup goals for all COCs based on both the direct exposure and 
leaching-based groundwater protection pathways. They also replaced the 
Summers model-derived cleanup goals with updated site-specific cleanup 
goals for groundwater protection.
    The completion of Remedial Actions was documented in three reports 
and documented in a Superfund Remedial Action Completion memorandum 
signed on July 30, 2018 (Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS) 
document identification number 11106221). The reports and the 
memorandum are available in the deletion docket and they describe the 
cleanup techniques, cleanup concentrations for COCs, confirmation 
testing results, and QA/QC methodologies. The interim action is 
documented in a Remedial Action Report approved on September 30, 2009 
(SEMS number 11096422). The final action, excluding the dewatering 
phase of the containment cell construction, is documented in an Interim 
Remedial Action Report approved on September 30, 2010 (SEMS number 
11096426). The last component of the final action was the dewatering 
phase of the remedial action construction and is documented in a 
Remedial Action Report Addendum (Leachate) (SEMS number 11106220) and 
approved by Superfund Remedial Action Completion memorandum signed on 
July 30, 2018.

Operation and Maintenance

    The Site's 2012 Operable Unit One O&M Plan requires the following 
activities: (1) Semi-annual inspections of the containment cell, the 
subsurface water drainage system, the soil cover, the Operable Unit One 
remedy verification groundwater monitoring wells, the surface water 
management system and site security features; (2) Groundwater elevation 
monitoring in Operable Unit One remedy verification monitoring wells, 
annual sampling of Operable Unit One remedy verification groundwater 
monitoring wells, leachate removal, sampling and monitoring, and 
settlement monitoring for buildings constructed on the containment 
cell; and (3) Preventative maintenance for the vegetative cover, 
erosion and grading, and stormwater management system. The State of 
Florida is responsible for the Operations and Maintenance activities at 
the Site.

Institutional Controls

    Restrictive covenants are in place on the 50 or so acres that are 
proposed for partial deletion. The restrictions limit use of property 
to commercial, industrial, or manufacturing purposes, except that the 
property shall not be used for any business involving temporary or 
permanent housing of individuals. The instrument is a 2013 Declaration 
of Restrictive Covenants, Escambia County Instrument Number

[[Page 35063]]

2014029669, recorded in Official Record Book 7164 at Pages 358-388.

Five Year Reviews

    EPA conducts reviews every five years to determine if remedies are 
functioning as intended and if they continue to be protective of human 
health and the environment. Because contaminants remain in Site soil 
above levels that would allow for unlimited use and unrestricted 
exposure, the EPA will continue to conduct five-year reviews, as 
required by statute. The EPA issued the Fourth statutory Five-Year 
Review Report on September 27, 2017, and concluded that the remedy at 
the Site is functioning as intended and is protective of human health 
and the environment in the short-term (SEMS number 11070132). There 
were three issues and recommendations that do not change the 
protectiveness of the remedy. The issues are related to: Institutional 
controls on the former facility parcels; leaching-based cleanup levels 
on the former facility parcels; and preventing uses not allowed by 
restrictive covenants. Two of the unresolved issues identified in the 
Five-Year Review are limited to the former facility portion of the 
site, which is not included in this proposed partial deletion. The 
third recommendation is to prevent uses not allowed by restrictive 
covenants, which is being implemented by the local government. The EPA 
will conduct the next Five-Year Review in 2022.

Community Involvement

    The EPA held numerous community meetings before and during the 
residential relocation and the soil cleanup. The EPA issued fact sheets 
and maintained a public website during remedial construction. The EPA 
provided Site tours during cleanup to local government staff, elected 
officials, and the community's Technical Advisor, provided through an 
EPA Technical Advisor Grant. After the cleanup was complete, the EPA 
released reuse fact sheets and met with local government to facilitate 
redevelopment planning.

Determination That the Criteria for Deletion Have Been Met

    The EPA has followed all procedures required by 40 CFR 300.425(e), 
Partial Deletion from the NPL. The EPA consulted with the State of 
Florida prior to developing this Notice. The EPA determined that both 
the EPA and FDEP have conducted all appropriate response actions 
required and that no further response action for this portion of the 
Site is appropriate. The EPA is publishing a notice in a major local 
newspaper, The Pensacola News Journal, of its intent to partially 
delete the Site and how to submit comments. The EPA placed copies of 
documents supporting the proposed partial deletion in the Site 
information repository; these documents are available for public 
inspection and copying.
    The implemented Operable Unit One remedy achieved the degree of 
cleanup and protection specified in the ROD. The selected remedial 
action objectives and associated cleanup levels for the surface soil 
are consistent with agency policy and guidance. Based on information 
currently available to the EPA, no further Superfund response in the 
area proposed for deletion is needed to protect human health and the 
environment.

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.

    Authority:  33 U.S.C. 1321(d); 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: June 26, 2019.
 Mary S. Walker,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2019-15420 Filed 7-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P