[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16498-16504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04778]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-0066, 0067 and 0068; FRL-11724-01-OLEM]


National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires that 
the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 
(``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known 
releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or 
contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List 
(``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide 
the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the agency'') in 
determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further 
investigations will allow the EPA to assess the nature and extent of 
public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to 
determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be 
appropriate. This rule proposes to add three sites to the General 
Superfund section of the NPL.

DATES: Comments regarding any of these proposed listings must be 
submitted (postmarked) on or before May 6, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Identify the appropriate docket number from the table below.

                  Docket Identification Numbers by Site
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Site name            City/county, state       Docket ID No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afterthought Mine...........  Bella Vista, CA.....  EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-006
                                                     6.
Gelman Sciences Inc.........  Ann Arbor, MI.......  EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-006
                                                     7.
Upper Columbia River........  Upper Columbia        EPA-HQ-OLEM-2024-006
                               River, WA.            8.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    You may send comments, identified by the appropriate docket number, 
by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Agency Website: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/current-npl-updates-new-proposed-npl-sites-and-new-npl-sites; scroll down to the 
site for which you would like to submit comments and click the 
``Comment Now'' link.

[[Page 16499]]

     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Superfund Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier (by scheduled appointment only): 
EPA Docket Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. The Docket Center's hours of 
operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday (except Federal 
holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the appropriate 
Docket ID No. for site(s) for which you are submitting comments. 
Comments received may be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information provided. For 
detailed instructions on sending comments and additional information on 
the rulemaking process, see the ``Public Review/Public Comment'' 
heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Jeng, Site Assessment and Remedy 
Decisions Branch, Assessment and Remediation Division, Office of 
Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (Mail code 5204T), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency; 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460, telephone number: (202) 566-1048, email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Public Review/Public Comment
    A. May I review the documents relevant to this proposed rule?
    B. What documents are available for public review at the EPA 
Headquarters docket?
    C. What documents are available for public review at the EPA 
regional dockets?
    D. How do I access the documents?
    E. How do I submit my comments?
    F. What happens to my comments?
    G. What should I consider when preparing my comments?
    H. May I submit comments after the public comment period is 
over?
    I. May I view public comments submitted by others?
    J. May I submit comments regarding sites not currently proposed 
to the NPL?
II. Background
    A. What are CERCLA and SARA?
    B. What is the NCP?
    C. What is the National Priorities List (NPL)?
    D. How are sites listed on the NPL?
    E. What happens to sites on the NPL?
    F. Does the NPL define the boundaries of sites?
    G. How are sites removed from the NPL?
    H. May the EPA delete portions of sites from the NPL as they are 
cleaned up?
    I. What is the Construction Completion List (CCL)?
    J. What is the Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use measure?
    K. What is State/Tribal correspondence concerning NPL listing?
III. Contents of This Proposed Rule
    A. Proposed Additions to the NPL
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
    A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and 
Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
    D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
    E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
    F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With 
Indian Tribal Governments
    G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From 
Environmental Health and Safety Risks
    H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
    I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
    J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address 
Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income 
Populations

I. Public Review/Public Comment

A. May I review the documents relevant to this proposed rule?

    Yes, documents that form the basis for the EPA's evaluation and 
scoring of the sites in this proposed rule are contained in public 
dockets located both at the EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and in 
the regional offices. An electronic version of the public docket is 
available through https://www.regulations.gov (see table above for 
docket identification numbers). Although not all docket materials may 
be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly 
available docket materials through the docket facilities.

B. What documents are available for public review at the EPA 
Headquarters docket?

    The Headquarters docket for this proposed rule contains the 
following information for the sites proposed in this rule: Hazard 
Ranking System (HRS) score sheets; documentation records describing the 
information used to compute the score; information for any sites 
affected by particular statutory requirements or the EPA listing 
policies; and a list of documents referenced in the documentation 
record. These documents are also available online at https://www.regulations.gov.

C. What documents are available for public review at the EPA regional 
dockets?

    The regional dockets for this proposed rule contain all of the 
information in the Headquarters docket plus the actual reference 
documents containing the data principally relied upon and cited by the 
EPA in calculating or evaluating the HRS score for the sites. These 
reference documents are available only in the regional dockets.

D. How do I access the documents?

    You may view the primary documents that support this proposed rule 
online at https://www.regulations.gov or by contacting the EPA HQ 
docket. You may view the primary documents plus the references by 
contacting the regional dockets. The hours of operation for the 
headquarters docket are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding federal holidays. Please contact the individual 
regional dockets for hours. The contact information for the regional 
dockets is as follows:
     Holly Inglis, Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT), U.S. EPA, 
Superfund Records and Information Center, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 
100, Boston, MA 02109-3912; (617) 918-1413.
     James Desir, Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI), U.S. EPA, 290 
Broadway, New York, NY 10007-1866; (212) 637-4342.
     Lorie Baker, Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV), U.S. EPA, 
4 Penn Center, 1600 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Mail code 3SD12, 
Philadelphia, PA 19103; (315) 814-3355.
     Sandra Bramble, Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN), 
U.S. EPA, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Mail code 9T25, Atlanta, GA 30303; 
(404) 562-8926.
     Todd Quesada, Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI), U.S. EPA 
Superfund Division Librarian/SFD Records Manager SRC-7J, Metcalfe 
Federal Building, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604; (312) 
886-4465.
     Michelle Delgado-Brown, Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX), 
U.S. EPA, 1201 Elm Street, Suite 500, Mail code SED, Dallas, TX 75270; 
(214) 665-3154.
     Kumud Pyakuryal, Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE), U.S. EPA, 
11201 Renner Blvd., Mail code SUPRSTAR, Lenexa, KS 66219; (913) 551-
7956.
     David Fronczak, Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY), U.S. 
EPA, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Mail code 8SEM-EM-P, Denver, CO 80202-1129; 
(303) 312-6096.
     Leslie Ramirez, Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU, MP), 
U.S. EPA, 75 Hawthorne Street, Mail code SFD-6-1, San Francisco, CA 
94105; (415) 972-3978.

[[Page 16500]]

     Brandon Perkins, Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA), U.S. EPA, 
1200 Sixth Avenue, Mail code 13-J07, Seattle, WA 98101; (206) 553-6396.
    You may also request copies from the EPA Headquarters or the 
regional dockets. An informal request, rather than a formal written 
request under the Freedom of Information Act, should be the ordinary 
procedure for obtaining copies of any of these documents. Please note 
that due to the difficulty of reproducing them, oversized maps may be 
viewed only in-person. The EPA dockets are not equipped to copy and 
mail out such maps, nor are they equipped to scan them for electronic 
distribution.
    You may use the docket at https://www.regulations.gov to access 
documents in the Headquarters docket. Please note that there are 
differences between the Headquarters docket and the regional dockets, 
and those differences are outlined in this preamble above.

E. How do I submit my comments?

    Follow the online instructions detailed above in the ADDRESSES 
section for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be 
edited or removed from the docket. 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 https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

F. What happens to my comments?

    The EPA considers all comments received during the comment period. 
Significant comments are typically addressed in a support document that 
the EPA will publish concurrently with the Federal Register document 
if, and when, the site is listed on the NPL.

G. What should I consider when preparing my comments?

    Comments that include complex or voluminous reports, or materials 
prepared for purposes other than HRS scoring, should point out the 
specific information that the EPA should consider and how it affects 
individual HRS factor values or other listing criteria (Northside 
Sanitary Landfill v. Thomas, 849 F.2d 1516 (D.C. Cir. 1988)). The EPA 
will not address voluminous comments that are not referenced to the HRS 
or other listing criteria. The EPA will not address comments unless 
they indicate which component of the HRS documentation record or what 
particular point in the EPA's stated eligibility criteria is at issue.

H. May I submit comments after the public comment period is over?

    Generally, the EPA will not respond to late comments. The EPA can 
guarantee only that it will consider those comments postmarked by the 
close of the formal comment period. The EPA has a policy of generally 
not delaying a final listing decision solely to accommodate 
consideration of late comments.

I. May I view public comments submitted by others?

    During the comment period, comments are placed in the Headquarters 
docket and are available to the public on an ``as received'' basis. A 
complete set of comments will be available for viewing in the regional 
dockets approximately one week after the formal comment period closes.
    All public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper 
form, will be made available for public viewing in the electronic 
public docket at https://www.regulations.gov as the EPA receives them 
and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, 
CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Once in the public dockets system, select ``search,'' then key in the 
appropriate docket ID number.

J. May I submit comments regarding sites not currently proposed to the 
NPL?

    In certain instances, interested parties have written to the EPA 
concerning sites that were not at that time proposed to the NPL. If 
those sites are later proposed to the NPL, parties should review their 
earlier concerns and, if still appropriate, resubmit those concerns for 
consideration during the formal comment period. Site-specific 
correspondence received prior to the period of formal proposal and 
comment will not generally be included in the docket.

II. Background

A. What are CERCLA and SARA?

    In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601-9675 (``CERCLA'' or 
``the Act''), in response to the dangers of uncontrolled releases or 
threatened releases of hazardous substances, and releases or 
substantial threats of releases into the environment of any pollutant 
or contaminant that may present an imminent or substantial danger to 
the public health or welfare. CERCLA was amended on October 17, 1986, 
by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (``SARA''), Public 
Law 99-499, 100 Stat. 1613 et seq.

B. What is the NCP?

    To implement CERCLA, the EPA promulgated the revised National Oil 
and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR 
part 300, on July 16, 1982 (47 FR 31180), pursuant to CERCLA section 
105 and Executive Order 12316 (46 FR 42237, August 20, 1981). The NCP 
sets guidelines and procedures for responding to releases and 
threatened releases of hazardous substances or releases or substantial 
threats of releases into the environment of any pollutant or 
contaminant that may present an imminent or substantial danger to the 
public health or welfare. The EPA has revised the NCP on several 
occasions. The most recent comprehensive revision was on March 8, 1990 
(55 FR 8666).
    As required under section 105(a)(8)(A) of CERCLA, the NCP also 
includes ``criteria for determining priorities among releases or 
threatened releases throughout the United States for the purpose of 
taking remedial action and, to the extent practicable taking into 
account the potential urgency of such action, for the purpose of taking 
removal action.'' ``Removal'' actions are defined broadly and include a 
wide range of actions taken to study, clean up, prevent or otherwise 
address releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, 
pollutants or contaminants (42 U.S.C. 9601(23)).

C. What is the National Priorities List (NPL)?

    The NPL is a list of national priorities among the known or 
threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants 
throughout the United States. The list, which is appendix B of the NCP 
(40 CFR part 300), was required

[[Page 16501]]

under section 105(a)(8)(B) of CERCLA, as amended. Section 105(a)(8)(B) 
defines the NPL as a list of ``releases'' and the highest priority 
``facilities'' and requires that the NPL be revised at least annually. 
The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which 
sites warrant further investigation to assess the nature and extent of 
public health and environmental risks associated with a release of 
hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. The NPL is only of 
limited significance, however, as it does not assign liability to any 
party or to the owner of any specific property. Also, placing a site on 
the NPL does not mean that any remedial or removal action necessarily 
need be taken.
    For purposes of listing, the NPL includes two sections, one of 
sites that are generally evaluated and cleaned up by the EPA (the 
``General Superfund section''), and one of sites that are owned or 
operated by other Federal agencies (the ``Federal Facilities 
section''). With respect to sites in the Federal Facilities section, 
these sites are generally being addressed by other Federal agencies. 
Under Executive Order 12580 (52 FR 2923, January 29, 1987) and CERCLA 
section 120, each Federal agency is responsible for carrying out most 
response actions at facilities under its own jurisdiction, custody or 
control, although the EPA is responsible for preparing a Hazard Ranking 
System (``HRS'') score and determining whether the facility is placed 
on the NPL.

D. How are sites listed on the NPL?

    There are three mechanisms for placing sites on the NPL for 
possible remedial action (see 40 CFR 300.425(c) of the NCP): (1) A site 
may be included on the NPL if it scores sufficiently high on the HRS, 
which the EPA promulgated as appendix A of the NCP (40 CFR part 300). 
The HRS serves as a screening tool to evaluate the relative potential 
of uncontrolled hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants to 
pose a threat to human health or the environment. On December 14, 1990 
(55 FR 51532), the EPA promulgated revisions to the HRS partly in 
response to CERCLA section 105(c), added by SARA. On January 9, 2017 
(82 FR 2760), a subsurface intrusion component was added to the HRS to 
enable the EPA to consider human exposure to hazardous substances or 
pollutants and contaminants that enter regularly occupied structures 
through subsurface intrusion when evaluating sites for the NPL. The 
current HRS evaluates four pathways: ground water, surface water, soil 
exposure and subsurface intrusion, and air. As a matter of agency 
policy, those sites that score 28.50 or greater on the HRS are eligible 
for the NPL. (2) Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 9605(a)(8)(B), each State may 
designate a single site as its top priority to be listed on the NPL, 
without any HRS score. This provision of CERCLA requires that, to the 
extent practicable, the NPL include one facility designated by each 
State as the greatest danger to public health, welfare or the 
environment among known facilities in the State. This mechanism for 
listing is set out in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c)(2); (3) The third 
mechanism for listing, included in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c)(3), 
allows certain sites to be listed without any HRS score, if all of the 
following conditions are met:
     The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
(ATSDR) of the U.S. Public Health Service has issued a health advisory 
that recommends dissociation of individuals from the release.
     The EPA determines that the release poses a significant 
threat to public health.
     The EPA anticipates that it will be more cost-effective to 
use its remedial authority than to use its removal authority to respond 
to the release.
    The EPA promulgated an original NPL of 406 sites on September 8, 
1983 (48 FR 40658) and generally has updated it at least annually.

E. What happens to sites on the NPL?

    A site may undergo remedial action financed by the Trust Fund 
established under CERCLA (commonly referred to as the ``Superfund'') 
only after it is placed on the NPL, as provided in the NCP at 40 CFR 
300.425(b)(1). (``Remedial actions'' are those ``consistent with 
permanent remedy, taken instead of or in addition to removal actions. * 
* *'' 42 U.S.C. 9601(24).) However, under 40 CFR 300.425(b)(2) placing 
a site on the NPL ``does not imply that monies will be expended.'' The 
EPA may pursue other appropriate authorities to respond to the 
releases, including enforcement action under CERCLA and other laws.

F. Does the NPL define the boundaries of sites?

    The NPL does not describe releases in precise geographical terms; 
it would be neither feasible nor consistent with the limited purpose of 
the NPL (to identify releases that are priorities for further 
evaluation), for it to do so. Indeed, the precise nature and extent of 
the site are typically not known at the time of listing.
    Although a CERCLA ``facility'' is broadly defined to include any 
area where a hazardous substance has ``come to be located'' (CERCLA 
section 101(9)), the listing process itself is not intended to define 
or reflect the boundaries of such facilities or releases. Of course, 
HRS data (if the HRS is used to list a site) upon which the NPL 
placement was based will, to some extent, describe the release(s) at 
issue. That is, the NPL site would include all releases evaluated as 
part of that HRS analysis.
    When a site is listed, the approach generally used to describe the 
relevant release(s) is to delineate a geographical area (usually the 
area within an installation or plant boundaries) and identify the site 
by reference to that area. However, the NPL site is not necessarily 
coextensive with the boundaries of the installation or plant, and the 
boundaries of the installation or plant are not necessarily the 
``boundaries'' of the site. Rather, the site consists of all 
contaminated areas within the area used to identify the site, as well 
as any other location where that contamination has come to be located, 
or from where that contamination came.
    In other words, while geographic terms are often used to designate 
the site (e.g., the ``Jones Co. Plant site'') in terms of the property 
owned by a particular party, the site, properly understood, is not 
limited to that property (e.g., it may extend beyond the property due 
to contaminant migration), and conversely may not occupy the full 
extent of the property (e.g., where there are uncontaminated parts of 
the identified property, they may not be, strictly speaking, part of 
the ``site''). The ``site'' is thus neither equal to, nor confined by, 
the boundaries of any specific property that may give the site its 
name, and the name itself should not be read to imply that this site is 
coextensive with the entire area within the property boundary of the 
installation or plant. In addition, the site name is merely used to 
help identify the geographic location of the contamination; and is not 
meant to constitute any determination of liability at a site. For 
example, the name ``Jones Co. Plant site,'' does not imply that the 
Jones Company is responsible for the contamination located on the plant 
site.
    The EPA regulations provide that the remedial investigation 
(``RI'') ``is a process undertaken . . . to determine the nature and 
extent of the problem presented by the release'' as more information is 
developed on site contamination, and which is generally performed in an 
interactive fashion with the feasibility Study (``FS'') (40 CFR 300.5). 
During the RI/FS process, the release may be found to be larger or 
smaller than was originally thought, as

[[Page 16502]]

more is learned about the source(s) and the migration of the 
contamination. However, the HRS inquiry focuses on an evaluation of the 
threat posed and therefore the boundaries of the release need not be 
exactly defined. Moreover, it generally is impossible to discover the 
full extent of where the contamination ``has come to be located'' 
before all necessary studies and remedial work are completed at a site. 
Indeed, the known boundaries of the contamination can be expected to 
change over time. Thus, in most cases, it may be impossible to describe 
the boundaries of a release with absolute certainty.
    Further, as noted previously, NPL listing does not assign liability 
to any party or to the owner of any specific property. Thus, if a party 
does not believe it is liable for releases on discrete parcels of 
property, it can submit supporting information to the agency at any 
time after it receives notice it is a potentially responsible party.
    For these reasons, the NPL need not be amended as further research 
reveals more information about the location of the contamination or 
release.

G. How are sites removed from the NPL?

    The EPA may delete sites from the NPL where no further response is 
appropriate under Superfund, as explained in the NCP at 40 CFR 
300.425(e). This section also provides that the EPA shall consult with 
States on proposed deletions and shall consider 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 Superfund-financed response has been 
implemented and no further response action is required; or
    (iii) The remedial investigation has shown the release poses no 
significant threat to public health or the environment and taking of 
remedial measures is not appropriate.

H. May the EPA delete portions of sites from the NPL as they are 
cleaned up?

    In November 1995, the EPA initiated a policy to delete portions of 
NPL sites where cleanup is complete (60 FR 55465, November 1, 1995). 
Total site cleanup may take many years, while portions of the site may 
have been cleaned up and made available for productive use.

I. What is the Construction Completion List (CCL)?

    The EPA also has developed an NPL construction completion list 
(``CCL'') to simplify its system of categorizing sites and to better 
communicate the successful completion of cleanup activities (58 FR 
12142, March 2, 1993). Inclusion of a site on the CCL has no legal 
significance.
    Sites qualify for the CCL when: (1) Any necessary physical 
construction is complete, whether or not final cleanup levels or other 
requirements have been achieved; (2) the EPA has determined that the 
response action should be limited to measures that do not involve 
construction (e.g., institutional controls); or (3) the site qualifies 
for deletion from the NPL. For more information on the CCL, see the 
EPA's internet site at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/construction-completions-national-priorities-list-npl-sites-number.

J. What is the Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use measure?

    The Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use measure (formerly called 
Sitewide Ready-for-Reuse) represents important Superfund 
accomplishments, and the measure reflects the high priority the EPA 
places on considering anticipated future land use as part of the remedy 
selection process. See Guidance for Implementing the Sitewide Ready-
for-Reuse Measure, May 24, 2006, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 
Response (OSWER) 9365.0-36. This measure applies to final and deleted 
sites where construction is complete, all cleanup goals have been 
achieved, and all institutional or other controls are in place. The EPA 
has been successful on many occasions in carrying out remedial actions 
that ensure protectiveness of human health and the environment for 
current and future land uses, in a manner that allows contaminated 
properties to be restored to environmental and economic vitality. For 
further information, please go to https://www.epa.gov/superfund/about-superfund-cleanup-process#reuse.

K. What is State/Tribal correspondence concerning NPL listing?

    In order to maintain close coordination with States and tribes in 
the NPL listing decision process, the EPA's policy is to determine the 
position of the States and tribes regarding sites that the EPA is 
considering for listing. This consultation process is outlined in two 
memoranda that can be found at the following website: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/statetribal-correspondence-concerning-npl-site-listing.
    The EPA has improved the transparency of the process by which State 
and Tribal input is solicited. The EPA is using the Web and where 
appropriate more structured State and Tribal correspondence that: (1) 
Explains the concerns at the site and the EPA's rationale for 
proceeding; (2) requests an explanation of how the State intends to 
address the site if placement on the NPL is not favored; and (3) 
emphasizes the transparent nature of the process by informing States 
that information on their responses will be publicly available.
    A model letter and correspondence between the EPA and States and 
tribes where applicable, is available on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/statetribal-correspondence-concerning-npl-site-listing.

III. Contents of This Proposed Rule

A. Proposed Additions to the NPL

    In this proposed rule, the EPA is proposing to add three sites to 
the NPL, all to the General Superfund section. All of the sites in this 
rulemaking are being proposed for NPL addition based on an HRS score of 
28.50 or above.
    The sites are presented in the table below.

                        General Superfund Section
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        State                 Site name                City/county
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CA..................  Afterthought Mine.......  Bella Vista.
MI..................  Gelman Sciences Inc.....  Ann Arbor.
WA..................  Upper Columbia River....  Upper Columbia River.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 16503]]

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Additional information about these statutes and Executive orders 
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders.

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review

    This action is not a significant regulatory action and was 
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the PRA. This rule does not contain any information collection 
requirements that require approval of the OMB.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    I certify that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. This 
action will not impose any requirements on small entities. This rule 
listing sites on the NPL does not impose any obligations on any group, 
including small entities. This rule also does not establish standards 
or requirements that any small entity must meet and imposes no direct 
costs on any small entity. Whether an entity, small or otherwise, is 
liable for response costs for a release of hazardous substances depends 
on whether that entity is liable under CERCLA 107(a). Any such 
liability exists regardless of whether the site is listed on the NPL 
through this rulemaking.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)

    This action does not contain any unfunded mandate as described in 
UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or uniquely affect 
small governments. This action imposes no enforceable duty on any 
State, local, or Tribal governments or the private sector. Listing a 
site on the NPL does not itself impose any costs. Listing does not mean 
that the EPA necessarily will undertake remedial action. Nor does 
listing require any action by a private party, state, local, or Tribal 
governments or determine liability for response costs. Costs that arise 
out of site responses result from future site-specific decisions 
regarding what actions to take, not directly from the act of placing a 
site on the NPL

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This rule does not have federalism implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between 
the National Government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have Tribal implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13175. Listing a site on the NPL does not impose any 
costs on a tribe or require a tribe to take remedial action. Thus, 
Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

    The EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 as applying only to those 
regulatory actions that concern environmental health or safety risks 
that the EPA has reason to believe may disproportionately affect 
children, per the definition of ``covered regulatory action'' in 
section 2-202 of the Executive order. This action is not subject to 
Executive Order 13045 because this action itself is procedural in 
nature (adds sites to a list) and does not, in and of itself, provide 
protection from environmental health and safety risks. Separate future 
regulatory actions are required for mitigation of environmental health 
and safety risks.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211, because it is 
not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)

    This rulemaking does not involve technical standards.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

    The EPA believes the human health or environmental risk addressed 
by this action will not have potential disproportionately high and 
adverse human health or environmental effects on minority, low-income 
or indigenous populations because it does not affect the level of 
protection provided to human health or the environment. As discussed in 
section I.C. of the preamble to this action, the NPL is a list of 
national priorities. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in 
determining which sites warrant further investigation to assess the 
nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated 
with a release of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. The 
NPL is of only limited significance as it does not assign liability to 
any party. Also, placing a site on the NPL does not mean that any 
remedial or removal action necessarily need be taken.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals, 
Hazardous substances, Hazardous waste, Intergovernmental relations, 
Natural resources, Oil pollution, Penalties, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water pollution control, Water 
supply.

Barry N. Breen,
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Land and Emergency 
Management.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, EPA proposes to amend 40 
CFR part 300 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. 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.

0
2. Amend table 1 of appendix B to part 300 by adding the entries for 
``CA, Afterthought Mine'', ``MI, Gelman Sciences Inc'', and ``WA, Upper 
Columbia River'' in alphabetical order by State to read as follows:

Appendix B to Part 300--National Priorities List

[[Page 16504]]



                   Table 1--General Superfund Section
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        State             Site name       City/county       Notes \a\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
CA...................  Afterthought     Bella Vista....
                        Mine.
 
                              * * * * * * *
MI...................  Gelman Sciences  Ann Arbor......
                        Inc.
 
                              * * * * * * *
WA...................  Upper Columbia   Upper Columbia
                        River.           River.
 
                              * * * * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ A = Based on issuance of health advisory by Agency for Toxic
  Substances and Disease Registry (if scored, HRS score need not be
  greater than or equal to 28.50).
S = State top priority (included among the 100 top priority sites
  regardless of score).
P = Sites with partial deletion(s).

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2024-04778 Filed 3-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P