97-22066. National Priorities List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites, Proposed Rule  

  • [Federal Register Volume 62, Number 162 (Thursday, August 21, 1997)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 44430-44434]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 97-22066]
    
    
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    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
    
    40 CFR Part 300
    
    [FRL-5878-4]
    
    
    National Priorities List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites, 
    Proposed Rule
    
    AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
    
    ACTION: Proposed rule; Amendment of Montrose Chemical Corporation Site 
    Listing.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
    Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act'') requires that the 
    National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 
    (``NCP''), found at 40 CFR part 300, 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 found in Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300.
        The principal mechanism for placing sites on the NPL is the Hazard 
    Ranking System (HRS). Under the HRS various conditions at a site (for 
    example, volumes of waste present or relative toxicity of pollutants) 
    are assigned numerical values to develop a total score that measures 
    the relative risk at a site compared with other sites. The HRS is found 
    in Appendix A of 40 CFR part 300. A site with a total score in excess 
    of 28.5 under the HRS is eligible for listing on the NPL.
        The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection 
    Agency (``EPA'' or ``the Agency'') in determining which sites warrant 
    further investigation 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.
        EPA is proposing today to add to the Montrose Chemical Corporation 
    National Priorities Listing certain DDT-and PCB-contaminated sediments 
    found on the seafloor off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 
    Southern California. EPA is also soliciting comments from the public on 
    this proposal consistent with 40 CFR 300.425(d)(5)(i).
    
    DATES: Comments on this proposal must be submitted (postmarked) on or 
    before October 20, 1997.
    
    ADDRESSES: By Mail: Mail original and three copies of comments (no 
    facsimiles or tapes) to Docket Coordinator, Headquarters; U.S. EPA; 
    CERCLA Docket Office (Mail Code 5201G); 401 M Street, SW; Washington, 
    DC 20460; (703) 603-9232.
         By Overnight Mail: Send original and three copies of comments (no 
    facsimiles or tapes) to Docket Coordinator, Headquarters; U.S. EPA; 
    CERCLA Docket Office; 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway; Crystal Gateway #1, 
    First Floor; Arlington, VA 22202.
        By E-Mail: Comments in ASCII format only may be mailed directly to 
    SUPER- [email protected] E-mailed comments must be followed 
    up by an original and three copies sent by mail or Federal Express.
        If you wish to view documents themselves, requests for appointments 
    or copies of the background information from the public docket should 
    be directed to:
        Docket Coordinator, Headquarters, U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office 
    (Mail Code 5201G); Crystal Gateway #1, 1st Floor; 1235 Jefferson Davis 
    Highway; Arlington, VA 22202. Phone: (703) 603-9232; Hours: 9:00 a.m. 
    to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday excluding Federal holidays. (Please 
    note this is the viewing address only. Do not mail documents to this 
    address.)
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn Douglas, NPL Coordinator, U.S. 
    EPA Region 9, (415) 744-2343.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    I. Introduction
    II. Contents of This Proposed Rule
    III. Executive Order 12866
    IV. Unfunded Mandates
    V. Effect on Small Businesses
    
    I. Introduction
    
        The Palos Verdes Shelf area that is subject to this rulemaking is 
    an extremely important commercial and recreational fishing area and an 
    area of high marine productivity that has become highly contaminated 
    with
    
    [[Page 44431]]
    
    hazardous substances that have the potential to severely impact human 
    health and the environment. This area has been the subject of intense 
    investigation by federal agencies charged with protection of human 
    health and the environment and has generated complex litigation.
        In view of the serious potential public health and environmental 
    risks associated with this area, EPA is proposing to add the Palos 
    Verdes Shelf contamination to the existing Montrose Chemical 
    Corporation National Priorities Listing. A discussion of background on 
    this issue follows.
    
    Statutory and Regulatory Background
    
        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 hazardous 
    waste sites. CERCLA was amended on October 17, 1986, by the Superfund 
    Amendments and Reauthorization Act (``SARA''), Public Law No. 99-499, 
    stat. 1613 et seq. To implement CERCLA, 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 forth the guidelines and procedures needed to 
    respond under CERCLA to releases and threatened releases of hazardous 
    substances, pollutants, or contaminants. EPA has revised the NCP on 
    several occasions. The most recent comprehensive revision was on March 
    8, 1990 (55 FR 8666).
        Section 105(a)(8)(A) of CERCLA requires that the NCP include 
    ``criteria for determining priorities among releases or threatened 
    releases throughout the United States for the purpose of taking 
    remedial action. * * *''
        Pursuant to section 105(a)(8)(B) of CERCLA, as amended by SARA, EPA 
    has promulgated a list of national priorities among the known or 
    threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or 
    contaminants throughout the United States. That list, which is Appendix 
    B of 40 CFR Part 300, is the National Priorities List (``NPL'').
        CERCLA section 105(a)(8)(B) defines the NPL as a list of 
    ``releases'' and as a list of the highest priority ``facilities.'' 
    CERCLA section 105(a)(8)(B) also requires that the NPL be revised at 
    least annually. 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).
        However, under 40 CFR 300.425(b)(2) placing a site on the NPL 
    ``does not imply that monies will be expended.'' EPA may pursue other 
    appropriate authorities to remedy the releases, including enforcement 
    action under CERCLA and other laws. Further, the NPL is only of limited 
    significance, as it does not assign liability to any party or to the 
    owner of any specific property. See Report of the Senate Committee on 
    Environment and Public Works, Senate Rep. No. 96-848, 96th Cong., 2d 
    Sess. 60 (1980), quoted at 48 FR 40659 (September 8, 1983).
        Three mechanisms for placing sites on the NPL are included in the 
    NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c). Under 40 CFR 300.425(c)(1), a site may be 
    included on the NPL if it scores sufficiently high on the Hazard 
    Ranking System (``HRS''), which EPA promulgated as Appendix A of 40 CFR 
    Part 300. On December 14, 1990 (55 FR 51532), EPA promulgated revisions 
    to the HRS partly in response to CERCLA section 105(c), added by SARA. 
    The revised HRS evaluates four pathways: ground water, surface water, 
    soil exposure, and air.
        The HRS serves as a screening device to evaluate the relative 
    potential of uncontrolled hazardous substances to pose a threat to 
    human health or the environment. Those sites that score 28.50 or 
    greater on the HRS are eligible for the NPL.
        Under a second mechanism for adding sites to the NPL, each State 
    may designate a single site as its top priority, regardless of the HRS 
    score. This mechanism is provided by the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c)(2). 
    Statutory authority for this provision is provided in CERCLA section 
    105(a)(8)(B) which provides that, to the extent practicable, the NPL 
    include one facility designated by each State representing the greatest 
    danger to public health, welfare, or the environment among known 
    facilities in the State.
        The third mechanism for listing, included in the NCP at 40 CFR 
    300.425(c)(3), allows certain sites to be listed regardless of their 
    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.
         EPA determines that the release poses a significant threat 
    to public health.
         EPA anticipates that it will be more cost-effective to use 
    its remedial authority (available only at NPL sites) than to use its 
    removal authority to respond to the release.
        EPA promulgated an original NPL of 406 sites on September 8, 1983 
    (48 FR 40658). The NPL has been expanded since then, most recently on 
    April 1, 1997 (62 FR 15572).
        The NPL serves primarily informational purposes, identifying for 
    the States and the public those facilities and sites or other releases 
    which appear to warrant remedial actions. Inclusion of a facility or 
    site on the NPL does not require an owner or operator to undertake any 
    action, nor does it assign liability to any person. Separate government 
    action in the form of remedial or removal actions or enforcement 
    actions would be necessary in order to do so, and these actions would 
    be attended by all procedural safeguards required by law.
        The purpose of the NPL is primarily to serve as an informational 
    and management tool. The identification of a site on the NPL is 
    intended primarily to guide EPA in determining which sites warrant 
    further investigation to assess the nature and extent of the public 
    health and environmental risks associated with the site and to 
    determine what CERCLA response actions, if any, may be appropriate. The 
    NPL also serves to notify the public of sites that EPA believes warrant 
    further investigation and potentially, cleanup activities.
    
    The Palos Verdes Shelf
    
        General History. From 1947 until 1982, Montrose Chemical 
    Corporation of California, Inc. (Montrose) operated a manufacturing 
    facility in Los Angeles for the production of dichloro-diphenyl 
    trichloroethane (DDT), an agricultural pesticide. During this period, 
    Montrose was among the largest producers of DDT in the United States.
        There were numerous releases of DDT and other hazardous substances 
    from the Montrose plant as a result of spills of contaminated 
    wastewater, storage and disposal of contaminated wastewater in an 
    unlined pond, surface water runoff, and aerial dispersion. In addition, 
    Montrose discharged process wastewater containing large quantities of 
    DDT into the sewer system maintained by County Sanitation District No. 
    2 of Los Angeles County (LACSD). This contaminated wastewater flowed to 
    a wastewater treatment plant owned by LACSD and was discharged to the 
    Pacific Ocean through submarine outfalls on the Palos Verdes Shelf,
    
    [[Page 44432]]
    
    resulting in DDT contamination of the sediments on the Shelf.
        DDT and other hazardous substances from the Montrose plant also 
    reached the Pacific Ocean via surface water runoff that was carried via 
    stormwater channels to the Consolidated Slip in the Los Angeles harbor.
        EPA began investigating releases from the Montrose plant in 1982. 
    In 1984 EPA proposed to add the Montrose Chemical Corporation site to 
    the NPL. (49 FR 40320, October 15, 1984) Following further 
    investigation, on October 4, 1989, EPA issued a final regulation 
    amending the NPL to add several sites, including the Montrose Chemical 
    Corporation Site (Montrose NPL Site). (54 FR 41015) The administrative 
    record supporting the 1989 listing decision includes an EPA study 
    concluding that the DDT contamination on the Palos Verdes Shelf 
    resulted from the DDT releases at the Montrose plant:
    
        Montrose sewer discharges (which have now been controlled) have 
    created a large ``reservoir'' of the pesticide in offshore sediment 
    * * *.
        According to recent EPA estimates * * * consumption of seafood 
    from the Whites Point area may present an elevated health risk due 
    to DDT contamination.
    
        United States EPA Region 9, Toxics and Waste Management Div., 
    Investigative Report, No. C (83) E002 (April 11, 1983) at 7, included 
    in U.S. EPA Hazard Ranking Package and Support Document for the 
    Montrose NPL Site (Reference 13). Also in the administrative record for 
    the 1989 listing decision is an October 7, 1970, Los Angeles Times 
    article attributing 75% of the DDT contamination in the Santa Monica 
    Bay to the Montrose plant.
        The PCB contamination in sediments on the Palos Verdes Shelf 
    originated, in part, at a plant operated in Los Angeles County by 
    Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Westinghouse). From 1956 to the mid-
    1990's, Westinghouse manufactured and repaired electrical equipment at 
    this plant. Like DDT from the Montrose Chemical plant, PCBs from the 
    Westinghouse plant and other plants in the Los Angeles area entered the 
    LACSD sewer system, flowed to the LACSD treatment plant, and were 
    discharged to the Pacific Ocean via outfalls located on the Palos 
    Verdes Shelf.
        In June, 1990, the United States and the State of California filed 
    suit in U.S. district court in California against various parties 
    associated with the Montrose and Westinghouse plants under Section 107 
    of CERCLA. United States v. Montrose Chemical Corporation of 
    California, et al., No. CV 90-3122-AAH(Jrx) (C.D. Cal.). Two claims are 
    asserted in that action. First, federal and state natural resource 
    trustees--e.g., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
    (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, 
    the California Department of Fish and Game, the California State Lands 
    Commission and the California Department of Parks and Recreation--seek 
    to recover natural resource damages for injury to trust resources as a 
    result of DDT and PCB contamination on the Palos Verdes Shelf and other 
    marine areas. Second, EPA is seeking compel the implementation of 
    response actions and to recover response costs incurred and to be 
    incurred by the United States under CERCLA in connection with the 
    releases from the Montrose plant and related operations to the soil, 
    groundwater, and the stormwater and sewer pathways.
        Several response actions are currently underway to address these 
    releases. Montrose is performing an RI/FS concerning contaminated soil 
    and groundwater at and in the vicinity of the Montrose plant. EPA is 
    conducting a removal action to identify and excavate DDT-contaminated 
    fill in several nearby residential properties and has begun an 
    investigation of DDT dust that may have been released from the Montrose 
    plant and deposited in nearby residential and commercial/industrial 
    areas. EPA is also conducting an investigation of the historic and 
    current stormwater pathway from the Montrose plant to the Consolidated 
    Slip in Los Angeles Harbor. EPA is pursuing removal of DDT-contaminated 
    sediments in the LACSD sewer lines adjacent to and downstream from the 
    Montrose plant.
        While EPA has been conducting response actions at and in the 
    vicinity of the Montrose plant, the federal and state CERCLA natural 
    resource trustees (the trustees) have conducted an investigation of DDT 
    and PCB contamination on the Palos Verdes Shelf and of the impact of 
    this contamination on natural resources in the area. The results of the 
    trustees' damage assessment investigation, including extensive expert 
    evaluations, were made available to EPA and the public in October 1994.
        These studies indicate that there are approximately 100 metric tons 
    of DDT and 10 metric tons of PCBs in a well-defined deposit of sediment 
    covering a 16 square mile area on the shelf and adjacent continental 
    slope in the vicinity of the LACSD wastewater outfall. These studies 
    further confirm extremely elevated levels of DDT and PCBs in the tissue 
    of fish and eggs of birds in this offshore area.
        After reviewing the federal and state natural resource trustees' 
    damage assessment reports, EPA in December 1994 began to consider 
    whether it should undertake response actions directed at the DDT and 
    PCB contamination on the Palos Verdes Shelf. EPA had long been 
    addressing DDT contamination at and emanating from the Montrose plant, 
    including contamination through the groundwater, through stormwater 
    runoff channels, into neighboring properties, through the sewer system, 
    and into the consolidated slip. The information in the trustees' damage 
    assessments confirmed that the DDT and PCBs on the Palos Verdes Shelf 
    pose a continuing threat to natural resources in the area.
        In July 1996, EPA initiated its own CERCLA investigation of the 
    Palos Verdes Shelf. In a memorandum, dated July 9, 1996 and approved on 
    July 10, 1996, EPA decided to initiate a Superfund removal 
    investigation, known as an Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis 
    (EE/CA), to evaluate the need for action and to evaluate alternatives 
    for addressing the contaminated sediment on the Palos Verdes Shelf. \1\ 
    This memorandum extensively documents the threat to human health and 
    the environment posed by the DDT and PCB contamination on the Palos 
    Verdes Shelf. By this memorandum, EPA staff was authorized to gather 
    information regarding whether response activities should be undertaken 
    to address the contamination on the Palos Verdes Shelf and, if so, to 
    evaluate possible cleanup actions.
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        \1\ This memorandum is titled ``Engineering Evaluation and Cost 
    Analysis Approval Memorandum for Addressing Contaminated Marine 
    Sediments on the Palos Verdes Shelf,'' from Andrew Lincoff and 
    Michael Montgomery, Remedial Project Managers, to Keith Takata, 
    Acting Director, Hazardous Waste Management Division, EPA Region 9.
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        At the same time EPA also decided that the investigation of the 
    Palos Verdes Shelf should be managed as part of the response activities 
    being conducted by EPA in connection with the Montrose NPL Site. 
    Finding that the majority of the DDT present on the Palos Verdes Shelf 
    originated at the Montrose plant, EPA concluded that a consolidated 
    management approach would facilitate the funding, staffing, and 
    administration of its investigation. The memorandum memorializing this 
    decision was issued at the same time as the memorandum approving the 
    EE/CA. \2\
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        \2\ This memorandum is titled ``Management of EPA Superfund 
    Response Activities as Part of EPA Response Actions Taken in 
    Connection With the Montrose Chemical NPL Site,'' from Andrew 
    Lincoff and Michael Montgomery, Remedial Project Managers, to Keith 
    Takata, Acting Director, Hazardous Waste Management Division, EPA 
    Region 9.
    
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    II. Contents of This Proposed Rule
    
        EPA is proposing to amend the Montrose Chemical Corporation 
    National Priorities Listing to include the DDT and PCB contamination on 
    the Palos Verdes Shelf, discussed above. EPA's proposal is based on an 
    HRS score for the Palos Verde Shelf of 50, well above the HRS score of 
    28.50 necessary for NPL eligibility. However, rather than proposing the 
    Palos Verdes Shelf as a separate site, EPA is instead proposing to 
    amend the existing Montrose Chemical Corporation National Priorities 
    Listing to include the DDT and PCB contamination on the Palos Verdes 
    Shelf. In this regard, EPA is applying its site aggregation policy. The 
    site aggregation policy is discussed in a memorandum to the file, from 
    Carolyn Douglas, NPL Coordinator, EPA Region 9, dated August 13, 1997, 
    which is included in the listing package.
        By this proposed rulemaking, EPA intends to make clear to the 
    public that the Agency believes there are immediate and serious public 
    health and environmental risks associated with the Palos Verdes Shelf, 
    as reflected in the HRS evaluation, and that the Agency believes the 
    Palos Verdes Shelf should be designated as part of the Montrose 
    Chemical Corporation National Priorities Listing.
    
    Public Comment
    
        The documents that form the basis for EPA's evaluation and scoring 
    of sites in this rule are contained in dockets located both at EPA 
    Headquarters and in EPA Region 9. The dockets are available for 
    viewing, by appointment only, after the appearance of this proposed 
    rule. The hours of operation for the Headquarters docket are from 9:00 
    a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday excluding Federal holidays. 
    The hours of operation of the Region 9 docket are from 8 a.m. to 5 
    p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
    
    Docket Coordinator, Headquarters, U.S. EPA CERCLA Docket Office, (Mail 
    Code 5201G), Crystal Gateway #1, 1st Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis 
    Highway, Arlington, VA 22202, 703/603-9232.
    
    (Please note this is the viewing address only. Mail comments to address 
    listed in Addresses section above.)
    
    Carolyn Douglas SFD5, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
    Francisco, CA 94105, 415/744-2343.
    
        The Headquarters docket for this rulemaking contains the following 
    information for the Palos Verdes Shelf: HRS score sheets; a 
    Documentation Record describing the information used to compute the 
    score; pertinent information regarding application of the EPA 
    Aggregation Policy in this matter; and a list of documents referenced 
    in the Documentation Record. The Region 9 docket in this matter 
    contains all of the information in the Headquarters docket, plus the 
    actual reference documents containing the data principally relied upon 
    and cited by EPA in calculating the HRS score for the Palos Verdes 
    Shelf.
        The Headquarters docket also contains an ``Additional Information'' 
    document which provides a general discussion of the statutory 
    requirements affecting NPL listing, the purpose and implementation of 
    the NPL, and the economic impacts of NPL listing.
        EPA will consider all comments received during the comment period. 
    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 Region 9 
    docket approximately one week after the formal comment period closes. 
    Comments received after the comment period closes will be available in 
    the Headquarters and Regional dockets on an ``as received'' basis. EPA 
    cannot delay its final decision in this matter solely to accommodate 
    late comments.
        Comments that include or rely on complex or voluminous reports, or 
    materials prepared for purposes other than HRS scoring, should point 
    out the specific information that EPA should consider and how it 
    affects the individual HRS factor values. See Northside Sanitary 
    Landfill v. Thomas, 849 F.2d 1516 (D.C. Cir. 1988). EPA will make its 
    final decision in this matter after considering the relevant comments 
    received during the comment period.
    
    III. Executive Order 12866
    
        The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this 
    regulatory action from Executive Order 12866 review.
    
    IV. Unfunded Mandates
    
        Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Pub. 
    L. 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal agencies to assess the 
    effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
    governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, EPA 
    generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
    analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that 
    may result in expenditures to State, local, and tribal governments, in 
    the aggregate, or to the private sector, of $100 million or more in any 
    one year. When a written statement is needed for an EPA rule, section 
    205 of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify and consider a 
    reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the least 
    costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative that 
    achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205 do 
    not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, 
    section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least 
    costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative if the 
    Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that 
    alternative was not adopted. Before EPA establishes any regulatory 
    requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect small 
    governments, including tribal governments, it must have developed under 
    section 203 of the UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must 
    provide for notifying potentially affected small governments, giving 
    them meaningful and timely input in the development of EPA regulatory 
    proposals with significant Federal intergovernmental mandates, and 
    informing, educating, and advising small governments on compliance with 
    the regulatory requirements.
        Today's rule contains no Federal mandates (within the meaning of 
    Title II of the UMRA) for State, local, or tribal governments or the 
    private sector. Nor does it contain any regulatory requirements that 
    might significantly or uniquely affect small governments. This is 
    because today's listing decision does not impose any enforceable duties 
    upon any of these governmental entities or the private sector. 
    Inclusion of a site on the NPL does not itself impose any costs. It 
    does not establish that EPA necessarily will undertake remedial action, 
    nor does it require any action by a private party or determine its 
    liability for site response costs. Costs that arise out of site 
    responses result from site-by-site decisions about what actions to 
    take, not directly from the act of listing itself. Therefore, today's 
    rulemaking is not subject to the requirements of sections 202, 203 or 
    205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    
    V. Effect on Small Businesses
    
        The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 requires EPA to review the 
    impacts of this action on small entities, or certify that the action 
    will not have a significant impact on a substantial
    
    [[Page 44434]]
    
    number of small entities. By small entities, the Act refers to small 
    businesses, small government jurisdictions, and nonprofit 
    organizations.
        While this rule proposes to revise the NPL, an NPL revision is not 
    a typical regulatory change since it does not automatically impose 
    costs. As stated above, adding sites to the NPL does not in itself 
    require any action by any party, nor does it determine the liability of 
    any party for the cost of cleanup at the site. Further, no identifiable 
    groups are affected as a whole. As a consequence, impacts on any group 
    are hard to predict. A site's inclusion on the NPL could increase the 
    likelihood of adverse impacts on responsible parties (in the form of 
    cleanup costs), but at this time EPA cannot identify the potentially 
    affected businesses or estimate the number of small businesses that 
    might also be affected.
        EPA does not expect the listing of this site to have a significant 
    economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses.
        In any case, economic impacts would occur only through enforcement 
    and cost-recovery actions, which EPA takes at its discretion on a site-
    by-site basis. EPA considers many factors when determining enforcement 
    actions, including not only a firm's contribution to the problem, but 
    also its ability to pay. The impacts (from cost recovery) on small 
    governments and nonprofit organizations would be determined on a 
    similar case-by-case basis.
        For the foregoing reasons, I hereby certify that this proposed 
    rule, if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a 
    substantial number of small entities. Therefore, this proposed 
    regulation does not require a regulatory flexibility analysis.
    
    List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300
    
        Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals, 
    Hazardous materials, Intergovernmental relations, Natural resources, 
    Oil pollution, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, 
    Waste treatment and disposal, Water pollution control, Water supply.
    
        Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; 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: August 14, 1997.
    Timothy Fields, Jr.,
    Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 
    Response.
    [FR Doc. 97-22066 Filed 8-20-97; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
08/21/1997
Department:
Environmental Protection Agency
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Proposed rule; Amendment of Montrose Chemical Corporation Site Listing.
Document Number:
97-22066
Dates:
Comments on this proposal must be submitted (postmarked) on or before October 20, 1997.
Pages:
44430-44434 (5 pages)
Docket Numbers:
FRL-5878-4
PDF File:
97-22066.pdf
CFR: (1)
40 CFR 300