Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules 5949

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

36 CFR Part 223

RIN 0596–AB21

Disposal of National Forest Timber;

Cancellation of Timber Sale Contracts

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of

public comment period

SUMMARY: A proposed rule to change the

procedure for calculating damages when

timber sale contracts are cancelled was

published on December 30, 1996 (61 FR

68690) with the comment period closing

February 13, 1997. Timber industry

reviewers have asked for additional time

to complete their review of this

proposed rule because a substantial

amount of this comment period was

used for the review of two other timberrelated rules proposed by Forest

Service.

DATES: Comments must be received by

close of business March 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Director, Timber Management Staff,

MAIL STOP 1105, Forest Service,

USDA, P.O. Box 96090, Washington, DC

20090–6090.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rex Baumback, Timber Management

Staff, (202) 205–0855.

Dated: February 3, 1997.

David G. Unger,

Associate Chief.

[FR Doc. 97–3160 Filed 2–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL–5685–5]

National Oil and Hazardous

Substances Pollution Contingency

Plan National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the

Sealand, Limited Site from the National

Priorities List.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) Region 3 announces its

intent to delete the Sealand, Limited

Site from the National Priorities List

(NPL) and requests public comment on

this proposed action. The NPL

constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR Part

300 which is the National Oil and

Hazardous Substances Pollution

Contingency Plan (NCP), which the EPA

promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of

the Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability

Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA).

EPA has determined that the Site poses

no significant threat to public health or

the environment, as defined by

CERCLA, and, therefore, further

remedial measures pursuant to CERCLA

are not appropriate.

DATES: Comments concerning this Site

may be submitted on or before March

12, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be

submitted to Lesley Brunker, Remedial

Project Manager, 3HW23,

Environmental Protection Agency

Region 3, 841 Chestnut Building,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107,

(215) 566–3239.

Comprehensive information on this

Site is available for viewing at the Site

information repositories at the following

locations: U.S. EPA Region 3, Hazardous

Waste Technical Information Center,

841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia,

PA, 19107, (215) 566–5363

Appoquinimink Public Library, 118

Silver Lake Road, Middletown, DE

19709, (302) 378–5290.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lesley Brunker (3HW23), EPA Region 3,

841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia,

PA, 19107, (215) 566–3239.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria.

III. Deletion Procedures.

IV. Basis of Intended Site Deletion.

I. Introduction

The Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) Region 3 announces its intent to

delete the Sealand, Limited Site located

in Mount Pleasant, New Castle County,

Delaware 19709 from the National

Priorities List (NPL), Appendix B of the

National Oil and Hazardous Substances

Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), 40

CFR Part 300, and requests comments

on this deletion. 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

§ 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.

EPA will accept comments on the

proposal to delete 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 the procedures that

EPA is using for this action. Section IV

discusses the Sealand, Limited Site and

explains how the Site meets the deletion

criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

Section 300.425(e) of the NCP

provides that releases may be deleted

from, or recategorized on the NPL where

no further response is appropriate. In

making a determination to delete a

release from the NPL, EPA shall

consider, in consultation with the state,

whether any of the following criteria

have been met:

(i) Responsible parties or other parties

have implemented all appropriate

response actions required;

(ii) All appropriate response under

CERCLA has 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.

Sites may not be deleted from the NPL

until the state in which the site is

located has concurred on the proposed

deletion. EPA is required to provide the

state with 30 working days for review of

the deletion notice prior to its

publication in the Federal Register.

Pursuant to the NCP, 40 CFR

300.425(e)(3), all sites deleted from the

NPL are eligible for further Fundfinanced remedial action should future

conditions warrant such action. When

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 Hazard Ranking

System.

III. Deletion Procedures

Section 300.425(e)(4) of the NCP sets

forth requirements for site deletions to

assure public involvement in the

decision. During the proposal to delete

a site from the NPL, EPA is required to

conduct the following activities:

(i) Publish a notice of intent to delete

in the Federal Register and solicit

comment through a public comment

period of a minimum of 30 calendar

days;

(ii) Publish a notice of availability of

the notice of intent to delete in a major

local newspaper of general circulation at

or near the site that is proposed for

deletion;

(iii) Place copies of information

supporting the proposed deletion in the

information repository at or near the site

proposed for deletion; and,
5950 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules

(iv) Respond to each significant

comment and any significant new data

submitted during the comment period

in a Responsiveness Summary.

If appropriate after consideration of

comments received during the public

comment period, EPA then publishes a

notice of deletion in the Federal

Register and places the final deletion

package, including the Responsiveness

Summary, in the Site repositories.

Deletion of a site from the NPL does

not itself create, alter, or revoke any

individual’s rights or obligations. As

stated in Section II of this Notice,

Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP

provides that the deletion of a site from

the NPL does not preclude eligibility for

future response actions.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

The following site summary provides

EPA’s rationale for the proposal to

delete the Sealand, Limited Site from

the NPL.

The Site is a former waste oil

recycling facility operated between

August of 1982 until August of 1983 by

Sealand, Limited, Incorporated (Inc.). It

is located in Mt. Pleasant, Delaware,

approximately two miles south of the

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and

several hundred feet east of the

intersection of Routes 896 and 71/301.

Land use in the area surrounding the

site is a mix of residential and

industrial. The Site is bordered on the

west by an active Conrail spur, to the

south by Route 71/301, and to the north

and east by a 15-acre parcel of land

owned by Tilcon Minerals, Inc.

During its operation, Sealand, Limited

accepted a variety of waste oil products

for treatment and recycling. The facility

was abandoned in August of 1983.

Twenty-one steel tanks or hoppers, one

10,000 gallon wooden storage tank,

approximately 300 55-gallon drums, and

various mixing chambers and pressure

vessels were left onsite. An inspection

by the Delaware Department of Natural

Resources and Environmental Control

(DNREC) revealed that the wooden

storage tank and numerous 55-gallon

drums were leaking hazardous

substances onto the ground.

In response, EPA initiated an

emergency removal action in December

of 1983. During this action, all of the

drums were removed from this site, as

was all of the liquid contained in the

various tanks, which were cleaned and

left near the Site. The process area was

capped with one foot of clay and six

inches of topsoil.

In December of 1988, EPA and 14

Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

entered into an Administrative Order on

Consent to conduct a Remedial

Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

at the Site. During the Remedial

Investigation, both ground water and the

soil beneath and near the capped area

were sampled. Low levels of volatile

organic compounds and some

semivolatile compounds were found in

the soil beneath the cap. Metals were

found in Site soil at levels generally

consistent with background levels.

Neither volatile nor semivolatile

compounds were found at significant

concentrations in the ground water. One

onsite well contained elevated levels of

metals, particularly nickel; however,

there was no clear correlation between

the Site and the metals.

During the Risk Assessment, ground

water was not considered a potential

contaminant exposure pathway. The

most likely exposure scenarios included

children who could be exposed to

shallow soil while trespassing on the

Site, and workers who could be exposed

to subsurface soil during construction

activities. The Risk Assessment

assumed that the Site, which is zoned

for industrial use and is bordered by an

active Conrail freight line and a paving

company, would not be rezoned for

residential use. Given this assumption,

the risks associated with the two most

likely exposure scenarios were below

the lower boundary of the acceptable

risk range. It was determined that the

Site did not pose a threat to human

health or the environment, and the

Region issued a Record of Decision

(ROD) calling for no further action in

September of 1991.

During the preparation of the ROD,

DNREC expressed concern about the

proposed remedy. They believed that

the contaminants which would be left in

place beneath the cap could pose a

future threat to ground water. In

response to this concern, EPA included

in the selected remedy a review of the

site five years after the signing of the

ROD, even though a five year review

would not ordinarily be required for this

type of remedy. Furthermore, EPA

acknowledged in the ROD that although

Federal law did not require action at the

site, the State was still free to act under

its own laws. Nonetheless, DNREC did

not concur with the ROD.

Subsequent to the signing of the ROD,

DNREC took action pursuant to the

authority of 7 Del. C., Chapter 91, the

Delaware Hazardous Substance Cleanup

Act (HSCA). HSCA was not considered

an Applicable or Relevant and

Appropriate Requirement (ARAR)

during the remedy selection process, as

ARARs are not considered in a no action

decision. DNREC required the PRPs to

install additional monitoring wells and

to resample the ground water. The

results of the sampling showed no

organic contamination in the wells.

However, some metals, including

nickel, were present at elevated levels in

some wells. There was no clear pattern

to the wells containing metals; one is

apparently upgradient of the

contaminated soil, and adjacent to the

active Conrail tracks.

Using this information, DNREC issued

a Proposed Plan of Remedial Action in

October of 1995. The proposed remedial

action included five years of continued

ground water monitoring, as well as

deed restrictions to ensure that the

property’s zoning does not change from

industrial to residential. This plan has

since been finalized, and DNREC is

negotiating with the PRPs to conduct

this work.

Based on the information presented

above, EPA has determined that the Site

does not pose a significant threat to

human health or the environment and

that no further action, consistent with

CERCLA, is required. Thus, the required

NPL deletion criteria presented in

Section II, above, have been met.

DNREC has concurred on this

determination. Correspondence

documenting this concurrence is

included in the Site repositories.

The ROD stated that EPA would

conduct a review of the Site five years

after the signing of the ROD to

reevaluate Site conditions. The

evaluation was completed in September

of 1996, and concluded that the remedy

selected in the ROD remained protective

of human health and the environment

and that no further action, and no

additional site reviews, will be

necessary, particularly in light of

DNREC’s planned actions.

EPA, with the concurrence of DNREC,

believes that the criteria for deletion of

the Site have been met. Therefore, EPA

is proposing deletion of the Site from

the NPL. Documents supporting this

action are available in the Site

repositories described above.

Dated: January 15, 1997.

Stanley L. Laskowski,

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region

3.

[FR Doc. 97–2993 Filed 2–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL–5684–8]

National Oil and Hazardous

Substances Pollution Contingency

Plan; National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.