[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 165 (Thursday, August 26, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46632-46634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21939]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-6427-6]
National Oil and Hazardous, Substances Pollution Contingency
Plan; National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Neal's Dump Superfund site from
the National Priorities List; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)
Region V announces its intent to delete the Neal's Dump Site from the
National Priorities List (NPL) and requests public comment on this
action. The NPL constitutes appendix B of 40 CFR part 300 which is the
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP),
which U.S. EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
(CERCLA) as amended. This action is being taken by U.S. EPA, because it
has been determined that all responses under CERCLA have been
implemented by the responsible party and U.S. EPA, in consultation with
the State of Indiana, has determined that no further response is
appropriate. Moreover, U.S. EPA and the State have determined that
remedial activities conducted at the Site to date have been protective
of public health, welfare, and the environment.
DATES: Comments concerning the proposed deletion of the Site from the
NPL may be submitted on or before September 27, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Gladys Beard, Associate Remedial
Project Manager, Superfund Division, U.S. EPA, Region V, 77 W. Jackson
Blvd. (SR-6J), Chicago, IL 60604. Comprehensive information on the site
is available at U.S. EPA's Region V office and at the local information
[[Page 46633]]
repository located at: The Monroe County Public Library, 303 E.
Kirkwood, Bloomington, IN 47408 or The Monroe County Public Library-
Elletsville Branch, 600 West Temperance, Ellettsville, IN. Requests for
comprehensive copies of documents should be directed formally to the
Region V Docket Office. The address and phone number for the Regional
Docket Officer is Jan Pfundheller (H-7J), U.S. EPA, Region V, 77 W.
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 353-5821.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Alcamo at (312) 886-7278 (SR-
6J), Remedial Project Manager or Gladys Beard Associate Remedial
Project Manager, Superfund Division (SR-6J), U.S. EPA, Region V, 77 W.
Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 886-7253 or Derrick Kimbrough
(P-19J), Office of Public Affairs, U.S. EPA, Region V, 77 W. Jackson
Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 886-9749.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
I. Introduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Region V
announces its intent to delete the Neal's Dump Site from the National
Priorities List (NPL), which constitutes appendix B of the National Oil
and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), and requests
comments on the proposed deletion. The EPA identifies sites that appear
to present a significant risk to public health, welfare the
environment, and maintains the NPL as the list of those sites. Sites on
the NPL may be the subject of remedial actions financed by the
Hazardous Substance Superfund Response Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to
Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, any site deleted from the NPL remains
eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if the conditions at the
site warrant such action.
The U.S. EPA will accept comments on this proposal for thirty (30)
days after publication of this document in the Federal Register.
Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that U.S. EPA is
using for this action. Section IV discusses the history of this site
and explains how the site meets the deletion criteria.
Deletion of sites from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. Furthermore, deletion
from the NPL does not in any way alter U.S. EPA's right to take
enforcement actions, as appropriate. The NPL is designed primarily for
informational purposes and to assist in Agency management.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
The NCP establishes the criteria the Agency uses to delete sites
from the NPL. In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be
deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In
making this determination, U.S. EPA will consider, in consultation with
the State, whether any of the following criteria have been met:
(i) Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all
appropriate response actions required; or
(ii) All appropriate non-time Critical Removal Actions or Fund-
financed responses under CERCLA have been implemented, and no further
response action by responsible parties is appropriate; or
(iii) The Remedial Investigation has shown that the release poses
no significant threat to public health or the environment and,
therefore, remedial measures are not appropriate.
III. Deletion Procedures
Upon determination that at least one of the criteria described in
Sec. 300.425(e) has been met, U.S. EPA may formally begin deletion
procedures once the State has concurred. This Federal Register notice,
and a concurrent notice in the local newspaper in the vicinity of the
Site, announce the initiation of a 30-day comment period. The public is
asked to comment on U.S. EPA's intention to delete the Site from the
NPL. All critical documents needed to evaluate U.S. EPA's decision are
included in the information repository and the deletion docket.
Upon completion of the public comment period, if necessary, the
U.S. EPA Regional Office will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to
evaluate and address comments that were received. The public is welcome
to contact the U.S. EPA Region V Office to obtain a copy of this
responsiveness summary, if one is prepared. If U.S. EPA then determines
the deletion from the NPL is appropriate, final notice of deletion will
be published in the Federal Register.
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion
The Neal's Dump site is approximately one-half acre in size and is
located in southeast Owen County, Indiana. The site was owned by Ray
Neal between 1967 and 1971, and closed in 1971. Richard Neal, son of
Ray Neal, was the transporter to Neal's Dump of capacitors filled with
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) containing oil, PCB oil stained rags and
PCB contaminated sawdust from the former Westinghouse facility on Curry
Pike in Bloomington, Indiana. The site is currently owned by Betty
White. In November 1980, the U.S. EPA inspected the site and discovered
exposed capacitors, some which were leaking oil. Soil samples showed
PCBs as high as 188,000 parts per million.
In May 1982, the U.S. EPA's Field Investigation Team collected 6
soil samples on the Neal's Dump site and discovered PCB levels ranging
from 0.41 ppm to 19,000 ppm. In addition, in June 1982, a magnetometer
survey to determine the site boundaries along with the installation of
4 monitoring wells were completed. By September 1982, a monitoring well
program was implemented and a residential survey as to well water usage
was also completed. Based upon the data collected at the site, Neal's
Dump was estimated to contain 14,000 cubic yards of contaminated
material. The site was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) on
June 10, 1986.
In December 1983, CBS Corporation implemented a removal action
which included the following:
Removal of 46 exposed capacitors, capacitor paper and some
soils in close proximity of the exposed capacitors. Approximately 60
capacitors were reburied at two locations within the dump.
Seeding of disturbed areas so that a full coverage of
vegetative growth as established and maintained.
Implementation of erosion control measures including
erosion control fences.
Placement of a chain-link security fence around the site
to restrict access and posting of warning signs.
On January 4, 1983, the United States filed a civil action against
Westinghouse, now known as CBS, pursuant to section 7003 of the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and sections 104, 106,
and 107 of CERCLA, alleging an imminent and substantial endangerment to
human health or the environment due to improper disposal of
Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCBs) at two sites in the Bloomington area.
During the fall of 1983, CBS expressed its interest in negotiating a
settlement of that suit as well as a civil action filed by the City of
Bloomington for improper PCB disposal at two of the sites owned by the
City. After negotiations among CBS,
[[Page 46634]]
U.S. EPA, the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, and the Indiana State
Board of Health, (hereinafter collectively referred to as the
``Parties'') a Consent Decree was signed in 1985 and subsequently
entered by the court on August 22, 1985, for the cleanup of Neal's
Dump. The Consent Decree called for the construction of a permitted,
Toxic Substances Control Act municipal (TSCA) approved, solid waste
fired incinerator to be used to destroy PCB contaminated material
excavated from Neal's Dump.
In 1994, the parties agreed to jointly explore, alternatives to the
incineration remedy required by the Consent Decree. In November 1997,
Federal Judge Hugh Dillin issued a judicial order stating that the six
Consent Decree sites must be remediated by December 1999 and assigned
Magistrate Judge Kennard Foster to oversee the progress of the parties
toward meeting the December 1999 deadline. On February 1, 1999, Judge
Dillin issued an order directing that the Consent Decree parties have
until December 31, 1999 to complete the source control remedies for the
Consent Decree sites.
After discussions with governmental parties, and under court
supervision, the U.S. EPA issued a Proposed Plan for the Neal's Dump
site on August 23, 1998. After addressing public comments, on October
16, 1998 the U.S. EPA signed a Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment for
the Neal's Dump site. The ROD Amendment modified the August 3, 1984,
Enforcement Decision Document (EDD). The ROD Amendment called for the
following:
Excavation of the site soils to residential/high occupancy
PCB cleanup standards with disposal of the soils in a off-site,
permitted Toxic Substances Control Act/chemical waste landfill.
Off-site incineration in a permitted, TSCA approved,
incinerator of all capacitors containing PCB oil.
Placement of a minimum of a 10-inch soil cover over the
excavated areas and implementation of drainage controls, including
providing a vegetative cover.
Implementation of deed restrictions for the site.
Monitoring groundwater surrounding the site for a minimum
of five years.
Remedial Construction Activities
CBS began excavating PCB contaminated soil/material on September
29, 1998, after approval by the governmental parties of the RD/RA Work
Plan. A total of 7,250 tons of PCB contaminated material was disposed
of at Wayne Disposal in Belleville, Michigan. In addition, 2,430
capacitors, which weighed approximately 250,000 pounds and filled with
PCB oil were incinerated at ChemWaste in Port Arthur, Texas. The U.S.
EPA, the State of Indiana, and Monroe County performed oversight of the
CBS activities at the Neal's Dump site.
As described in the ROD Amendment, CBS was required to meet a 10
ppm PCB average concentration in the soils. Excavated areas were then
covered with a 10-inch soil cover. CBS completed a magnetometry study
along with soil borings for PCB analysis around the dump to verify the
site boundaries. Verification sampling by CBS after the excavation was
completed showed that residual PCBs was well under the cleanup
standard, at 0.8 ppm on average. The U.S. EPA split 20 verification
samples for PCBs with CBS and the results were similar to CBS's
sampling. In addition, the U.S. EPA analyzed for volatiles, semi-
volatiles and metals in 7 samples and the results showed no additional
risk. To assure that fill and final soil cover was free of
contamination, CBS completed sampling of the two borrow areas for PCBs
and pesticides.
CBS completed construction of the site on November 17, 1998,
excluding final placement of topsoil, and the U.S. EPA completed the
pre-final inspection on November 20, 1998. CBS Corporation completed
the final site grading and seeding and the final inspection was
completed on June 8, 1999. CBS has also filed deed restrictions with
Owen County.
CBS has developed a groundwater monitoring plan to conduct
groundwater monitoring until the Five-Year Review is completed.
Groundwater monitoring in the proposed monitoring wells have shown low
levels of PCBs, but under the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PCBs.
By completely removing the source material, the U.S. EPA expects no
additional action for groundwater. At the Five-Year review, the U.S.
EPA will make a determination if the groundwater monitoring will
continue.
Community Relations Activities
The Consent Decree sites in and near Bloomington, Indiana, have
been the object of considerable public interest. The Region's community
relations staff conducted an active campaign to ensure that the
residents were well-informed about the activities at the Neal's Dump
site. Activities included meeting every 4 to 6 weeks with the Citizens
Information Committee to discuss the Consent Decree sites, including
Neal's Dump. These meetings are broadcast over the local cable
television station.
Conclusion
No hazardous substances remain at the site above health based
levels. Historical groundwater monitoring has shown PCBs to be present
and CBS Corporation is required to monitor groundwater semi-annually
until the Five-Year review. At the Five-Year review, the U.S. EPA will
determine if groundwater monitoring will continue.
U.S. EPA, with concurrence from the State of Indiana has determined
that all appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA at the Neal's
Dump Superfund Site have been completed, and no further CERCLA response
is appropriate in order to provide protection of human health and the
environment. Therefore, U.S. EPA proposes to delete the Site from the
NPL.
Dated: August 17, 1999.
Francis X. Lyons,
Regional Administrator, Region V.
[FR Doc. 99-21939 Filed 8-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
