[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21786-21789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10750]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-5197-1]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete Alpha Chemical Corporation Site from
the National Priorities List: request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IV announces
its intent to delete the Alpha Chemical Corporation Site from the
National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this
proposed action. The NPL is codified as Appendix B of the National Oil
and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40 CFR part
300, which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of
1980, as amended. EPA and the State of Florida Department of
Environmental Protection (FDEP) have determined that the Site poses no
significant threat to public health or the environment and therefore,
no further response pursuant to CERCLA is appropriate.
DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before:
June 2, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Joe Franzmathes, Director, Waste
Management Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 345
Courtland Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30365.
Comprehensive information on this Site is available through the
Region IV [[Page 21787]] public docket, which is available for viewing
at the Alpha Chemical Corporation information repositories at two
locations. Locations, contacts, phone numbers and viewing hours are:
U.S. EPA Record Center, attn: Shannon Neal, 345 Courtland Street, N.E.,
Atlanta, Georgia 30365, Phone: (404) 347-0506. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m., Monday through Friday, by appointment only;
Lakeland Public Library, 100 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland, Florida
33801, Phone: (813) 499-8242, Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday
through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 1:30
p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Dick, U.S. EPA Region IV, Mail
Code: WD-SSRB, 345 Courtland Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30365,
(404) 347-2643 x6273.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
I. Introduction
The EPA Region IV announces its intent to delete the Alpha Chemical
Corporation Site, Lakeland, Florida, from the NPL, which constitutes
Appendix B of the NCP, 40 CFR Part 300, and requests comments on this
deletion. EPA identifies sites on the NPL that appear to present a
significant risk to public health, welfare, or the environment.
Pursuant to Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, any site deleted from the
NPL remains eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if conditions
at the site warrant such action.
EPA proposes to delete the Alpha Chemical Corporation Site at 4620
N. Galloway Road, Lakeland, Florida 33809 from the NPL.
EPA will accept comments concerning this Site for thirty days after
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Section II of this notice explains the criteria for deleting sites
from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using for
this action. Section IV discusses how this Site meets the deletion
criteria.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
The NCP establishes the criteria that the Agency uses to delete
sites from the NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR Section 300.425(e), sites
may be deleted from or recategorized on the NPL where no further
response is appropriate. In making this determination, EPA shall
consider, in consultation with the State, whether any of the following
criteria have been met:
(i) Responsible or other parties have implemented all appropriate
response actions required;
(ii) All appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA have been
implemented and no further 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, taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
Whenever there is a significant release from a site deleted from
the NPL, the site may be restored to the NPL without the application of
the Hazardous Ranking System.
III. Deletion Procedures
The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of the
Site:
1. FDEP has concurred with the deletion decision;
2. A notice has been published in local newspapers and has been
distributed to appropriate Federal, State and local officials, and
other interested parties announcing a 30-day public comment period on
the proposed deletion from the NPL; and
3. The Region has made all relevant documents available at the
information repositories.
The Region will respond to significant comments, if any, submitted
during the comment period.
Deletion of the Site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual rights or obligations. The NPL is designed
primarily for informational purposes to assist Agency management.
A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a final
notice in the Federal Register. Generally, the NPL will reflect any
deletions in the final update following the Notice. Public notices and
copies of the Responsiveness Summary, if any, will be made available to
local residents by the Regional office.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The following site summary provides the Agency's rationale for the
intention to delete this Site from the NPL.
The Alpha Chemical Corporation Site in western Polk County, Florida
encompasses 32 acres of land. Since 1967 Alpha Resins Corporation (ARC)
has manufactured polyester resins at the Site and until 1976 discharged
wastewater from the resin manufacturing into two onsite surface
impoundments. The ponds operated as percolation basins under a permit
with the FDEP. In 1976 a thermal oxidizer was installed and water was
no longer placed into the percolation ponds.
By 1977 the smaller of the two permitted ponds had dried. This
unlined pond was used as a solid waste landfill for ARC and its
employees for approximately one year. A dam was constructed in the
center of the other wastewater pond and half was lined in concrete
after pumping the sediments and water into the other half. The
concrete-lined pond received caustic wash waste and did not discharge
any of the waste stream to the environment. This concrete-lined pond
was later filled with soil. The unlined pond remained; however, its use
was discontinued.
In October 1981 Alpha Chemical Corporation was one of the original
sites proposed for placement on the NPL. In the early 1980's EPA
collected samples from the Site and offsite wells, and in 1983 FDEP
issued an Environmental Groundwater Assessment report. The report
determined that groundwater contamination was confined to the surficial
aquifer and had not migrated offsite. Contaminants detected onsite
included ethylbenzene, xylene, naphthalene, and benzene. Alpha Chemical
Corporation became a final site on the first NPL list in September
1983.
ARC installed ground water monitoring wells and sampled the soil
and groundwater and found phthalates, halogenated and non-halogenated
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phenols, polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), and non-priority pollutants such as benzyl alcohol
and benzoic acid in groundwater from the shallow onsite monitoring
wells. ARC signed a consent order with FDEP in March 1985 to perform a
Remedial Investigation (RI), Endangerment Assessment (EA), and if
necessary, a Feasibility Study (FS).
The EA concluded that the contaminated samples are confined to a
few sampling locations. Groundwater sampling results in 1987 from all
groundwater monitoring wells and sand point wells showed an overall
trend of decreasing levels of constituents in the groundwater. No
positively identified constituents were detected in the shallow
monitoring wells located immediately south of the wetland, indicating
offsite migration was unlikely.
FDEP and EPA met the community in a public meeting in November
1986, to discuss the EA and RI and again in a 1988 public meeting to
discuss the results of the FS. EPA and FDEP [[Page 21788]] addressed
questions from the audience concerning health effects, aquifer
characteristics, onsite landfill impacts, sampling efforts, remedial
alternatives, and monitoring.
In May 1988 EPA signed a Record of Decision (ROD) selecting a
remedy for the Alpha Chemical Corporation Site. The ROD called for
placing a low permeability cap over the small unlined pond and long-
term monitoring of the surface and groundwater to ensure that the
remedy is effective and that the landfill continues to meet the
applicable and relevant or appropriate requirements (ARARs). (Section
121(d)(2)(A) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9621(d)(2)(A), requires with
respect to any contaminant that will remain on site after the remedy is
complete, that the degree of cleanup must meet all ARARs.)
A consent decree between EPA and ARC was entered into court in May
1989, requiring ARC to perform the remedial design/remedial action (RD/
RA) and to record appropriate deed restrictions. The remedial design
consisted of capping the unlined pond with a synthetic low permeability
cap. The cap design ensured that surface runoff would be diverted and
vertical infiltration would be prevented.
The remedial action involved removing water from the unlined pond
and filling with clean clay soil. A synthetic low permeability liner
and layers of drainage material, filter fabric, and topsoil were placed
over the compacted fill material. Drainage swales were installed around
the cap to prevent vertical infiltration. The cap surface was seeded
and drainage ditches sodded to preclude erosional damage to the cap.
Construction of the cap over the unlined pond required two weeks and
was completed on September 15, 1989. EPA sent out fact sheets to inform
the public that remedial construction had been completed. During the
following year, ARC decided to sod the cap as an extra measure of
precaution against the threat of erosion.
The ROD identified groundwater and surface water cleanup standards
for five indicator chemicals at the site. One of these chemicals, 1,2-
dichloropropane, was not detected in groundwater at the time the ROD
was written and another chemical, benzoic acid, did not have a
groundwater cleanup value; therefore, the ROD required periodic
monitoring for only three contaminants, ethylbenzene, styrene, and
total xylenes. Quarterly groundwater samples taken from two monitoring
wells have been analyzed for these three compounds since the remedial
action construction was complete in September 1989. Six other wells
selected for monitoring in the Remedial Design/Remedial Action Project
Operations Plan (POP) were eliminated from the monitoring requirements
since the three contaminants being monitored in these wells were
consistently below contingency levels, often at non-detect levels.
Prior to site close out, it was confirmed that 1,2-dichloropropane was
still not present in the groundwater.
When the ROD was issued in 1988, the Agency had established
Recommended Maximum Contaminant Levels (RMCLs) for four of the five
groundwater contaminants at the Alpha Chemical Corporation Site. These
RMCLs were also used as the contingency levels, or cleanup goals, in
the POP and are shown in the table below. Since then EPA has
established MCL Goals (MCLGs) and MCLs for these four contaminants at
the site. The fifth contaminant, benzoic acid, did not have a RMCL nor
does it have a MCLG or MCL. The protective groundwater values for the
four contaminants have changed as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MCL
Contaminant Recommended goal MCL (ug/
MCL (ug/l) (ug/l) l)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,2-Dichloropropane...................... 6 0 5
Xylene................................... 440 10,000 10,000
Styrene.................................. 140 100 100
Ethylbenzene............................. 680 700 700
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, the ROD required groundwater monitoring to ensure that
source control (the cap and landfill) achieved the clean-up standards
identified in the ROD as ARARs. The Agency is now confident that the
remedy, as carried out pursuant to the ROD, is, and will continue to
be, protective of human health and the environment, because the post-
ROD, more protective MCL levels have been attained at this Site for
1,2-dichloropropane and styrene.1 In addition, the other two
contaminants of concern, xylene and ethylbenzene, have attained RMCLs,
which are the clean-up standards established in the ROD.
\1\Zero level MCLGs are not used as ARARs, instead the MCL is
used if applicable and appropriate. 40 CFR 300.430(e)(2)(i)(C).
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The Agency has groundwater monitoring data showing that groundwater
downgradient of the landfill has attained all ARARs, as identified in
the ROD. Monitoring results have shown that groundwater concentrations
of xylene have consistently been below the RMCL and MCLG for 10 years
in all monitoring wells being monitored. Since one detection at 100 ug/
l in 1990, styrene has been below both the RMCL and the MCLG in all
groundwater samples. Concentrations of ethylbenzene in the groundwater
have been below the RMCL and MCLG since 1991, with the exception of a
detection of 690 ug/l in December 1992 and 1200 ug/l in June 1994.
Overall monitoring results clearly show these minor exceedances are
isolated cases. This data demonstrates the effectiveness of the source
control remedy selected in the ROD as the preferred alternative for
protecting human health and the environment at the Site.
The ROD also required surface water monitoring to be conducted to
confirm surface water ARARs were being attained and specified surface
water values for ambient criteria for protection of fresh water life
for the five contaminants. Prior to site close out, all five
contaminants were confirmed to be below the surface water values cited
in the ROD. Current ARARs for surface water are the Florida Surface
Water Quality Criteria and the Federal Ambient Quality Criteria;
however, no state or federal criteria values have been designated for
any of the five contaminants. Freshwater quality screening values for
1,2-dichloropropane and ethylbenzene have been established by Region IV
Waste Management Division and these two contaminants have not been
found in surface water above the screening values. In addition, the
three VOCs constantly being monitored over the long-term have either
not been detected or were detected at low levels in surface water
samples.
As required by the consent decree, ARC has recorded approriate deed
restrictions for the property.
In summary, sampling results from all monitoring wells and surface
water collections confirm that the contaminants have decreased to
levels below ARARs and that all appropriate actions have been taken to
ensure that the Site remains protective of human health and the
environment. ARC's inspections of the cap have indicated that the
remedy is performing as designed.
EPA completed a Five-Year Review at the Site to determine whether
the cap remains effective in 1994. Review activities included a Site
visit, a reassessment of the ARARs, and sampling. The Five-Year Review
and monitoring results have demonstrated that the remedy at Alpha
Chemical Corporation Site has been effective at [[Page 21789]] meeting
the ARARs. EPA has met the requirement for performing a five-year
review at the Site, as specified in Section 121(c) of SARA. The next
five-year review will check future problems and be performed no later
than February 1999.
Confirmational monitoring of groundwater demonstrates that no
significant risk to public health or the environment is posed by the
Site. The results of the monitoring confirmed that the remedy is
effective and that the landfill continues to meet ARARs.
EPA, with concurrence of FDEP, has determined that all appropriate
actions at the Alpha Chemical Corporation Site have been completed, and
that no further response is necessary. Therefore, EPA is proposing
deletion of the Site from the NPL.
Dated: April 11, 1995.
Patrick M. Tobin,
Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA Region IV.
[FR Doc. 95-10750 Filed 5-2-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
