[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 84 (Monday, May 1, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25292-25295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10647]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6585-2]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 
National Priorities List Update

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Delete the Tenth Street Superfund Site from 
the National Priorities List and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 announces 
its intent to delete the Tenth Street Superfund Site located in 
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (Site) from the National Priorities List 
(NPL) and requests public comment on this proposed action. All public 
comments regarding this proposed action which are submitted within 30 
days of the date of this notice, to the address indicated below, will 
be considered by EPA. The NPL, promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 
Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is codified at Appendix B to the 
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 
40 CFR Part 300. The EPA and the State of Oklahoma, through the 
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), have determined 
that the Site poses no significant threat to public health or the 
environment and, therefore, further remedial measures pursuant to 
CERCLA are not appropriate and the Site should be deleted from the NPL.

DATES: The EPA will consider comments received by May 31, 2000.

[[Page 25293]]


ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Mr. Donn Walters, Community 
Relations Coordinator (6SF-PO), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733; (214) 665-6483 or 
1-800-533-3508 (Toll Free).
    Information Repositories: Comprehensive information on the Site has 
been compiled in a public deletion docket which may be reviewed and 
copied during normal business hours at the following Tenth Street 
Superfund Site information repositories:

U.S. EPA Region 6 Library (12th Floor), 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 
75202-2733, 1-800-533-3508 (Toll Free)
Ralph Ellison Library, 2000 N.E. 23rd Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 
73111, (405) 424-1437

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Noel Bennett, Remedial Project 
Manager (6SF-AP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, 1445 
Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733; (214) 665-8514.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

I. Introduction

    This document was prepared by EPA Region 6 as Notice of Intent to 
Delete (NOID) the Tenth Street Superfund Site, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 
County, Oklahoma (EPA Site Spill No. 0684; CERCLIS No. OKD980620967), 
from the National Priorities List (NPL). The EPA identifies sites that 
appear to present a significant risk to public health, welfare, or the 
environment and maintains the NPL as the list of these sites. As 
described in 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the 
NPL remain eligible for remedial actions in the unlikely event that 
conditions at the site warrant such action.
    The EPA will consider comments concerning this NOID which are 
submitted within thirty days of the date of this NOID. EPA has also 
published a notice of the availability of this NOID in the Daily 
Oklahoman.
    Section II of this NOID explains the criteria for deleting sites 
from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using for 
this action. Section IV discusses the Tenth Street Superfund Site and 
explains that the Site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Depletion Criteria

    The NCP, at 40 CFR 300.425(e), provides that releases may be 
deleted from or recategorized on the NPL if no further response is 
appropriate. In making a determination to delete a site from the NPL, 
EPA shall consider, in consultation with the State, whether any of the 
following criteria has been met:
    i. Responsible parties or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required;
    ii. All appropriate Fund-financed \1\ response under CERCLA has 
been implemented, and no further action by responsible parties is 
appropriate; or
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    \1\ The ``Fund'' referred to here is the Hazardous Substance 
Superfund established by section 9507 of chapter 98 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986.
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    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.
    If, at the site of a release, EPA selects a remedial action that 
results in any hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants 
remaining at the site, CERCLA Subsection 121(c), 42 U.S.C. Section 
121(c), requires that EPA review such remedial action no less often 
than each 5 years to ensure that human health and the environment are 
being protected by the remedial action. Since hazardous substances will 
remain at the Site,\2\ EPA shall conduct such reviews. Whenever there 
is a significant release from a site deleted from the NPL, the site may 
be restored to the NPL without application of the Hazard Ranking 
System.\3\
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    \2\ Contaminated soil remains on the Site under a multi-media 
impermeable cap which covers approximately 3.5 acres of the Site. 
EPA considers the cap to be protective; nonetheless, since hazardous 
substances will remain on the Site, EPA is required to conduct the 
CERCLA-required five-year reviews.
    \3\ The Hazardous Ranking System is the method used by EPA to 
evaluate the relative potential of hazardous substance releases to 
cause health or safety problems, or ecological or environmental 
damage.
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III. Deletion Procedures

    EPA followed these procedures regarding the proposed deletion:
    (1) EPA Region 6 made a determination that no further response 
action is necessary to ensure protection of human health and the 
environment and that the Site may be deleted from the NPL;
    (2) EPA has consulted with the appropriate environmental agency, 
the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), and ODEQ 
concurs with EPA's proposed deletion decision;
    (3) EPA has published, in a major local newspaper of general 
circulation at or near the Site, a notice of availability of the NOID, 
which includes an announcement of a 30-day public comment period 
regarding the NOID, and EPA distributed the NOID to appropriate State, 
local and Federal officials, and to other interested parties; and
    (4) EPA made copies of information supporting the proposed deletion 
(i.e., the public deletion docket) available for public review in the 
Site information repositories (the locations of these repositories are 
identified above).
    Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. As mentioned in Section 
II of this Notice, 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states that the 
deletion of a site from the NPL does not preclude eligibility of the 
site for future response actions.
    For deletion of this Site, EPA Region 6 will accept and evaluate 
public comments on this NOID before making a final decision to delete. 
If necessary, EPA will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to address any 
significant public comments received.
    A deletion occurs when the Regional Administrator places a final 
notice in the Federal Register. Generally, the NPL will reflect 
deletions in the final update following the Notice. Public notices and 
copies of the Responsiveness Summary will be made available to local 
residents by EPA Region 6.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

A. Site Location and Description

    The Tenth Street Superfund Site (Site) is located at 3200 N.E. 
Tenth Street between Bryant Avenue and the North Canadian River and 
covers approximately 3.5 acres. The Site is located in Township 12N, 
Range 2W, Section 31 (the northeast corner of the Site is 35 deg.28'42" 
north latitude and 97 deg.27'14" west longitude). One residence is 
located adjacent to the west side of the Site. Residential subdivisions 
are located approximately one block to the north and approximately one 
block to the west of the Site.

B. Site History

    Aerial photos have been used to identify early Site activities. 
These show that in 1951 a meander loop of the North Canadian River cut 
almost directly through the Site. Between 1951 and 1954, the River was 
channelized and levees constructed on both sides of the River. The 
Site, including the cutoff meander loop, was operated as a municipal 
landfill during this period. No activity at the Site is noted between 
1954 and 1959. Beginning in 1959, Mr. Raymond Cobb leased the Site from 
Mr. Sullivan Scott and used the Site as a salvage yard, accepting 
materials such

[[Page 25294]]

as tires, solvents, and transformers. The dielectric fluids from the 
transformers contained Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). The fluids 
were drained from the transformers, then transferred to barrels and 
sold. During the recovery process, substantial quantities of 
transformer oil were spilled onto the ground. Mr. Cobb continued this 
operation until his death in 1979, when Mr. Rolling Fulbright began 
operating the Site as Deadeye's Salvage Yard, an automobile salvage 
yard.
    Sampling by the EPA in 1984 and 1985 identified PCB concentrations 
up to 39,000 parts per million (ppm) in the soil at the Site. After 
reviewing the data, EPA determined that the contaminants posed an 
imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the 
environment. As a result, the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 6 
authorized the removal action in an Action Memorandum dated August 23, 
1985. The EPA conducted a removal action for the Site from September 
1985 until April 1987 to address direct human contact threats and the 
potential for offsite migration of contaminants. An exemption to allow 
continuation of the removal action beyond the six-month time limit was 
granted by the Regional Administrator on May 7, 1986.
    The removal action consisted of the removal and disposal of the 
electrical equipment and drums containing hazardous substances; 
decontamination and relocation of automobiles and other salvage 
material; consolidation of contaminated soils to the center of the 
Site; grading of the Site for effective drainage and installation of a 
synthetic liner and clay cap, and erection of a security fence around 
the Site. The clay cap placed during the removal action was constructed 
as a temporary cap and not a permanent cap for a permanent remedy. The 
Site was proposed for the National Priorities List (NPL) in January 
1987 (52 FR 2492) and placed on the NPL in July 1987 (52 FR 27620).

C. Characterization of Risk

    The EPA initiated a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/
FS) in 1989. The RI determined the types and amounts of contaminants 
present at the Site and discovered the extent of contamination. The RI 
indicated that PCBs were the contaminants of concern at the Site, based 
on concentration and risk; that contamination was limited to soil at 
the Site; and that no ground water or surface water contamination from 
the Site was detected. The predominant PCB species present was Aroclor 
1260. The FS developed and evaluated a range of alternatives to 
remediate the contamination. The RI was finalized in March 1990 and the 
FS was finalized in July 1990. A proposed plan for the Site was issued 
in August 1990, presenting the preferred remedial alternative of 
chemical dechlorination of the contaminated soil.
    The Regional Administrator for EPA Region 6 signed a Record of 
Decision (ROD) on September 27, 1990. Through the ROD, EPA selected 
Alternative 4--Excavation, Onsite Chemical Treatment, as the remedy for 
the Tenth Street Superfund Site. As noted in the ROD in the ``Statement 
of Basis and Purpose,'' the State of Oklahoma did not support the 
original remedy selected in the ROD.
    The EPA issued an Alternative Remedial Contract Strategy (ARCS) 
work assignment to the Remedial Design (RD) contractor on March 28, 
1991, for design of the onsite chemical treatment remedy. During the 
RD, problems with the implementation of this process which EPA had 
encountered at other Superfund sites became apparent. Problems that 
were experienced included: low production rates; severe odor problems 
given off from the treatment process and persisting in the soil after 
treatment; ``soupy'' (wet) physical condition of the treated soil and 
the ensuing need for stabilization before placement back on the ground 
as backfill; soil volume increases of 100% during treatment, causing 
space problems for backfilling on the site; and leaching of residual 
reagent from the soil following treatment.
    In addition to the aforementioned technical problems posed by 
chemical dechlorination, treatment of the contaminated soil at this 
Site was further complicated by the existence of construction debris 
and other types of solid waste that had been dumped at the Tenth Street 
Site prior to the PCB spills. The PCB-contaminated soil became mixed 
with the solid waste at the Site. The materials handling problems 
resulting from such a mixture further complicated the treatment remedy 
and contributed to increased construction cost estimates.
    As a result, EPA re-evaluated the remedial alternatives for the 
Site. On September 30, 1993, the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 
6 executed an amendment of the ROD for the Site (ROD Amendment). The 
major components of the remedy selected in the ROD Amendment, which was 
concurred upon by the State, included: (1) Excavation and placement of 
contaminated soil, with PCB concentrations greater than 25 ppm, from 
the roadway right-of-way on the south side of N.E. Tenth Street onto 
the existing cap; (2) allowing the Oklahoma Department of 
Transportation's widening of Tenth Street to cover contaminated soil in 
the roadway right-of-way on the north side of N.E. Tenth Street; (3) 
construction of a new cap meeting the technical requirements for caps 
under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 40 CFR 761.75 (b) (1) 
and (2); and (4) maintenance of the cap and ground water monitoring. 
Cap maintenance will continue in perpetuity. Ground water monitoring 
will continue until PCB contamination is undetected in five consecutive 
years of annual monitoring.
    The EPA determined that this alternative was protective of human 
health and the environment, complied with Federal and State 
requirements that are applicable or relevant and appropriate, was cost-
effective compared to equally protective alternatives, and utilized 
permanent solutions and alternative treatment technologies to the 
maximum extent practicable. This remedy did not satisfy the statutory 
preference for treatment as a principal element.
    In May 1994, EPA entered into an Interagency Agreement (IAG) with 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USCOE) (Tulsa District) to perform 
the Remedial Design (RD) for the Site based on the ROD Amendment. The 
EPA also entered into another IAG with the USCOE in April 1994, to 
perform the Remedial Action (RA) for the Site. Subsequently, the USCOE 
contracted with Abatement Systems, Inc., of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to 
perform the RA for the Site. The contract with Abatement Systems, Inc., 
was awarded on April 26, 1995. The USCOE provided contract supervision 
and quality assurance during the RA.
    The USCOE, at EPA's direction, issued the notice to proceed for the 
remediation contract on May 31, 1995. Actual remediation activities at 
the Site began August 28, 1995. The following operations were conducted 
according to design specifications set forth in the RD package as part 
of the remediation:
--Sampling and disposal of 26 drums.
--Over-drilling and grouting of three existing monitoring wells.
--Excavation and relocation of PCB contaminated soil from the perimeter 
of the Site.
--Installation and development of new monitoring wells.
--Placement of 3-foot thick clay barrier layer.
--Placement of geomembrane, drainage net, and geotextile.
--Installation of perimeter drain system.
--Placement of cover soil and topsoil layers.

    Approximately 4,655 cubic yards of soil with PCB concentrations 
greater

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than 25 ppm, the health-based performance standard, were excavated from 
the north and west perimeter and the south corner of the perimeter of 
the Site, and placed in the area to be capped. The above quantity 
included additional excavation of 275 cubic yards of soil which the 
USCOE determined to exceed cleanup standards after the initial 
excavation sampling. The completion of the selected remedy addressed 
the principal threat posed by the Site, by preventing direct contact of 
humans with the contaminated soil and by reducing the mobility of the 
contamination.
    In January 1997, ODEQ began inspection, maintenance, and monitoring 
activities in accordance with the approved operation and maintenance 
(O&M) plan, issued May 1995. The ground water monitoring wells at the 
Site are being sampled annually. Monitoring will consist of sampling 
five monitoring wells, two up gradient and three down gradient, to 
verify that PCBs from this Site are not contaminating the ground water. 
In addition, ODEQ will mow the grass on the cap, inspect the cap for 
damage, and make any repairs to the cap necessitated by erosion or 
other damage.
    The EPA issued the Final Close Out Report for the Site on July 3, 
1997, after consultation with ODEQ. The Close Out Report concluded that 
the Site met all of the site completion requirements as specified in 
Close Out Procedures for National Priorities List Sites (OSWER 
Directive 9320.2-09). The EPA has determined that the remedy for the 
Site is operational and functional. Specifically, the EPA and ODEQ have 
determined that all analytical results were accurate to the degree 
needed to assure satisfactory execution of the RA, and consistent with 
the ROD, as amended, and RD plans and specifications. All contaminated 
soil with more than 25 ppm PCBs has been placed under the clay barrier 
layer and the geomembrane as evidenced by confirmation sampling. 
Infiltration of precipitation will be retarded by this liner, thereby 
reducing possible leaching of the contaminants into the ground water. 
Additionally, protection of the ground water has been verified by the 
first sampling round, conducted at the completion of the RA, which 
found no detectable levels of PCBs in the samples collected from the 
five monitoring wells.
    Consistent with Section 121(c) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9621(c), and 
the requirements of the OSWER Directive 9355.7-02 (``Structure and 
Components of Five-Year Reviews,'' May 23, 1991), a five-year review 
will be required at the Tenth Street Superfund Site. The EPA must 
conduct statutory five-year reviews at sites where, upon attainment of 
ROD cleanup levels, hazardous substances remaining within restricted 
areas onsite will not allow unlimited use of the entire site.

D. Community Involvement

    The Site has been the object of considerable public interest from 
residents living in the vicinity of the Site. As a result, EPA 
conducted an active community relations effort to ensure that the 
residents were informed about the activities at the Site. A Technical 
Assistance Grant (TAG) was awarded to assist a local citizens group to 
be better informed and to have input into project activities. Community 
meetings were conducted by EPA at major project milestones to keep the 
community informed about the project and to receive their input. Public 
participation activities have satisfied the requirements of CERCLA 
Subsection 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and CERCLA Section 117, 42 U.S.C. 
9617. Documents in the deletion docket which EPA relied upon in making 
this recommendation of Site deletion from the NPL have been made 
available to the public in the two information repositories referenced 
herein above.

E. Proposed Action

    In consultation with ODEQ, the EPA has concluded that all 
appropriate response actions required at the Site have been completed 
(neither the CERCLA-required five-year reviews, nor operation and 
maintenance of the constructed remedy is considered further response 
action for these purposes), that all appropriate Fund-financed response 
actions under CERCLA have been implemented, and that no further 
remedial action is appropriate. Moreover, the EPA, in consultation with 
ODEQ, has determined that the Site now poses no significant threat to 
public health or the environment. Consequently, the EPA proposes to 
delete the Site from the NPL.

    Dated: April 13, 2000.
Sam R. Becker,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 00-10647 Filed 4-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P