[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 8, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40959-40961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14476]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2008-0577; FRL-10011-55-Region 5]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; 
National Priorities List: Partial Deletion of the U.S. Smelter and Lead 
Refinery, Inc. Superfund Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notification of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 is issuing 
a Notice of Intent to Delete 671 properties located in Zones 2 and 3 of 
Operable Unit 1 (OU1) of the U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, Inc. 
Superfund Site (USS Lead Site or Site) in East Chicago, Indiana, 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 Indiana, through the Indiana Department of Environmental 
Management (IDEM), have determined that all appropriate response 
actions under CERCLA have been completed for the identified properties. 
However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under 
Superfund.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 7, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-2008-0577, by one of the following methods: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting 
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 
Regulations.gov. 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. 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Email: [email protected].
    Phone: Public comment by phone may be made by calling (312) 353-
6284 and following the directions provided for public comment.
    Written comments submitted by mail are temporarily suspended and no 
hand deliveries will be accepted. We encourage the public to submit 
comments via email or at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
2008-0577. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
https://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 https://www.regulations.gov or email. The https://www.regulations.gov website 
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 https://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, 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 be free of 
any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2008-0577. 
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

[[Page 40960]]

copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy. 
Publicly available docket materials are available electronically at 
https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2008-0577 and 
at https://www.epa.gov/uss-lead-superfund-site or you may contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for 
additional availability information.
    The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket Center and Regional 
Records Centers for public visitors to reduce the risk of transmitting 
COVID-19. In addition, many site information repositories are closed 
and information in these repositories, including the deletion docket, 
has not been updated with hardcopy or electronic media. For further 
information and updates on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us 
online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area 
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond 
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Cibulskis, NPL Deletion 
Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5, at (312) 
886-1843 or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    EPA Region 5 announces its intent to delete 671 properties located 
in Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead Site from the NPL and requests 
public comment on this proposed action. The properties proposed for 
deletion are listed in Attachment B of the report: Site-Specific 
Justification for the Deletion of 671 Properties in Zones 2 and 3 of 
Operable Unit 1 of the U.S. Smelter and Lead Refinery, Inc. Superfund 
Site from the National Priorities List, East Chicago, Indiana (Site-
Specific Justification Report). A copy of the Site-Specific 
Justification Report is available in the deletion docket for the Site.
    The other portions of the USS Lead Site, including Zone 1 of OU1, 
the other properties in Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 not listed in Attachment B 
of the Site-Specific Justification Report, and Operable Unit 2, are not 
being considered for deletion as part of this action and will remain on 
the NPL.
    The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the 
NCP, which EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of 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 its proposal to delete these 671 
properties from the NPL 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 of this document discusses the 
procedures that EPA is using for this proposed action. Section IV of 
this document discusses where to access and review information that 
demonstrates how the deletion criteria have been met for the 671 
properties in Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead Site proposed for 
deletion.

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, or portions 
thereof, 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 or a 
portion of 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 671 properties in 
Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead from the NPL:
    (1) EPA consulted with the State of Indiana prior to developing 
this Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion.
    (2) EPA has provided the State thirty (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 for the 671 
properties in Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead Site proposed for 
deletion.
    (4) The State of Indiana, through the IDEM, concurred with deletion 
of these 671 properties in Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead Site 
from the NPL on June 10, 2020.
    (5) Concurrently with the publication of this Notice of Intent for 
Partial Deletion in the Federal Register, an announcement of the 
availability of the Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion is being 
published in a major local newspaper, the Northwest Indiana Times. The 
newspaper notice announces the 30-day public comment period concerning 
the Notice of Intent for Partial Deletion of the USS Lead Site from the 
NPL.
    (6) EPA placed copies of documents supporting the proposed partial 
deletion in the deletion docket and made these items available for 
public inspection and copying at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2008-0577 and at https://www.epa.gov/uss-lead-superfund-site.
    If comments are received within the 30-day public comment period on 
this proposed action, EPA will evaluate and respond appropriately to 
the comments before making a final decision to delete these 671 
properties in Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead Site from the NPL. 
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 these 671 
properties in Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead Site from the NPL, 
the EPA will publish a final Notice of Partial Deletion in the Federal 
Register. Public notices, public submissions, and copies of the 
Responsiveness Summary,

[[Page 40961]]

if prepared, will be made available to interested parties and in the 
docket 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 
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 or a portion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for future response actions, should future conditions 
warrant such actions.

IV. Basis for Partial Site Deletion

    The EPA placed copies of a Site-Specific Justification Report and 
other documents supporting the proposed partial deletion in the 
deletion docket. The material provides explanation of EPA's rationale 
for the partial deletion and demonstrates how the 671 properties in 
Zones 2 and 3 of OU1 of the USS Lead Site proposed for deletion meet 
the deletion criteria. This information is made available for public 
inspection in the deletion docket at the locations 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. 1251 et seq.; 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 29, 2020.
Kurt Thiede,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2020-14476 Filed 7-7-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P