[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 82 (Friday, April 30, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22922-22924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08988]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1993-0003, EPA-HQ-SFUND-2000-0004, EPA-HQ-SFUND-2000-
0007; FRL-10022-95-OLEM]


National Priorities List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites; 
Partial Withdrawal of Proposed Rules

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rules; partial withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partially 
withdrawing three previous proposed rules which proposed to add five 
sites to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is the 
list of sites of national priority among the known releases or 
threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or 
contaminants throughout the United States and its territories. The NPL 
is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which sites 
warrant further investigation.

DATES: The proposed rules to add these five sites to the NPL previously 
published at 58 FR 27507 (May 10, 1993), 65 FR 30489 (May 11, 2000) and 
65 FR 75215 (December 1, 2000) are partially withdrawn effective April 
30, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Jeng, phone: (703) 603-8852, 
email: [email protected], Site Assessment and Remedy Decisions Branch, 
Assessment and Remediation Division, Office of Superfund Remediation 
and Technology Innovation (Mailcode 5204P), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA proposes sites be placed on the NPL via 
a proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register. Following a 
public comment period, most sites are added to the NPL. However, there 
exists a small subset of sites that have been proposed to the NPL but 
never added. These sites remain proposed until a decision is made to 
either withdraw the proposal or add the site to the NPL.
    By withdrawing proposals to list sites where listing is no longer 
appropriate, EPA can reduce the backlog of proposed sites and focus 
essential resources elsewhere. Once cleanup goals are attained or the 
determination is made that the site does not pose a significant threat 
to human health or the environment, it is not necessary to continue the 
listing process; thus,

[[Page 22923]]

preserving the NPL for the highest priority sites.
    To facilitate the proposed rule withdrawal process, EPA issued its 
de-proposal policy, Guidelines for Withdrawing a Proposal to List a 
Site on the NPL on November 12, 2002. The policy states that in order 
to qualify for de-proposal, EPA should provide adequate rationale that 
the site generally either meets deletion-equivalent criteria and no 
further response under Superfund is appropriate or EPA should explain 
why such criteria are not applicable to the decision to withdraw the 
proposal. The Superfund Program Implementation Manual (SPIM) clarifies 
that de-proposal criteria includes documented deferral or referral of a 
proposed site to another cleanup authority.
    The deletion provisions (40 CFR 300.425(e)) state that releases may 
be deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. 
Further, in determining whether a release should be deleted, EPA 
considers whether any of the following criteria has been met:
     Responsible or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
     All appropriate Fund-financed response under CERCLA has 
been implemented, and no further response action by responsible parties 
is appropriate; or,
     The remedial investigation has shown that the release 
poses no significant threat to public health or the environment, and, 
therefore, taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
    EPA is partially withdrawing three previously proposed rules which 
proposed adding the following five sites to the NPL. All five of the 
sites meet EPA's de-proposal criteria. Documentation to support EPA's 
decision to de-propose these sites can be found in each of the site 
dockets at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Therefore, the proposal to add the five sites listed in the list 
that follows to the National Priorities List previously proposed at 58 
FR 27507 (May 10, 1993), 65 FR 30489, (May 11, 20000) and 65 FR 75215, 
December 1, 2000) is hereby withdrawn effective April 30, 2021.

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                                             Date proposed for NPL
         Site name and location               addition/FR citation        Site-specific basis for de-proposal
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Broad Brook Mill, East Windsor, CT......  12/01/2000 (65 FR 75215)...  Significant progress has been and
                                                                        continues to be made and there is no
                                                                        current risk to human health at the
                                                                        site. The responsible party, Raytheon
                                                                        Technologies, will continue to address
                                                                        the site under the ongoing oversight of
                                                                        the Connecticut Department of Energy and
                                                                        Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) in
                                                                        accordance with state laws.
                                                                       Further documentation may be found in
                                                                        https://www.regulations.gov using Docket
                                                                        number EPA-HQ-SFUND-2000-0004.
Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, IL.....  12/01/2000 (65 FR 75215)...  The United States Air Force is
                                                                        performing, and will continue to
                                                                        perform, cleanup activities at the site
                                                                        pursuant to their authority under the
                                                                        Comprehensive Environmental Response
                                                                        Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
                                                                        with oversight being conducted by the
                                                                        Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
                                                                        (IEPA). IEPA has been, and will continue
                                                                        to be, the lead agency responsible for
                                                                        overseeing the cleanup and will take or
                                                                        ensure appropriate action through a
                                                                        deferral, enforcement, or other
                                                                        agreement.
                                                                       Further documentation may be found in
                                                                        https://www.regulations.gov using Docket
                                                                        number EPA-HQ-SFUND-2000-0004.
Diamond Shamrock Corp. (Painesville       05/10/1993 (58 FR 27507)...  Operable Unit (OU) #16, the only portion
 Works), Painesville, OH.                                               of this site proposed for addition to
                                                                        the NPL, is only one of the 22 OUs that
                                                                        comprise the site. The remaining 21 OUs
                                                                        are being successfully addressed by the
                                                                        responsible parties with oversight by
                                                                        the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
                                                                        (OEPA) as the lead for cleanup. The
                                                                        State of Ohio through OEPA has agreed to
                                                                        incorporate OU #16 as additional site
                                                                        work under their existing cleanup
                                                                        authority. Through a consent order, OEPA
                                                                        will pursue the monitoring and remedy
                                                                        continuation with the responsible party
                                                                        for the entirety of OU #16 to ensure a
                                                                        unified, site-wide remedy.
                                                                       Further documentation may be found in
                                                                        https://www.regulations.gov using Docket
                                                                        number EPA-HQ-SFUND-1993-0003.
Hudson Technologies, Inc., Hillburn, NY.  05/11/2000 (65 FR 30489)...  The responsible party, Hudson
                                                                        Technologies, Inc. (HTI), signed an
                                                                        Order on Consent with the New York State
                                                                        Department of Environmental Conservation
                                                                        (NYSDEC) agreeing to operate the
                                                                        remediation system and perform monthly
                                                                        testing at the facility until remaining
                                                                        groundwater contamination has been
                                                                        effectively abated. The treatment system
                                                                        is preventing any off-site migration
                                                                        from occurring. HTI has implemented
                                                                        appropriate response actions and no
                                                                        further Superfund response is required
                                                                        other than continued operation and
                                                                        maintenance (O&M) of the treatment
                                                                        system.
                                                                       Further documentation may be found in
                                                                        https://www.regulations.gov using Docket
                                                                        number EPA-HQ-SFUND-2000-0007.
Potter Co., Wesson, MS..................  05/10/1993 (58 FR 27507)...  The Mississippi Department of
                                                                        Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has, and
                                                                        will continue to, ensure all appropriate
                                                                        investigations and cleanup actions are
                                                                        performed pursuant to its state cleanup
                                                                        authority. Cleanup activities continue
                                                                        to be successfully implemented by the
                                                                        responsible party, pursuant to two
                                                                        agreed orders between the responsible
                                                                        party and the state. The main source of
                                                                        contamination was remediated through
                                                                        source removal and no human or
                                                                        ecological exposure pathways remain. The
                                                                        remedy at the site is protective of
                                                                        human health and the environment.
                                                                       Further documentation may be found in
                                                                        https://www.regulations.gov using Docket
                                                                        number EPA-HQ-SFUND-1993-0003.
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[[Page 22924]]

    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: April 22, 2021.
Barry Breen,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Land and Emergency 
Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-08988 Filed 4-29-21; 8:45 am]
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