[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 215 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60058-60060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29150]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5916-7]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan 
National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Browning-Ferris Industries--
South Brunswick Landfill Site from the National Priorities List; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II announces 
its intent to delete the Browning-Ferris Industries--South Brunswick 
Landfill Site (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 EPA promulgated pursuant to 
section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended, 42 U.S.C 9601 et seq. 
EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) 
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.

DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before 
December 8, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Mary Anne Rosa, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, 290 Broadway-
19th Floor, New York, NY 10007-1866.
    The deletion docket and other comprehensive information on this 
Site is available for viewing at the Browning-Ferris Industries--South 
Brunswick Landfill Site information repository at the following 
location: Town of South Brunswick Municipal Building, P.O. Box 190, 
Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852, (908) 329-4000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Anne Rosa, Remedial Project 
Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II, 290 
Broadway--19th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866, (212) 637-4407.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

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

I. Introduction

    EPA Region II announces its intent to delete the Browning-Ferris 
Industries--South Brunswick Landfill Site, which is located in South 
Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, from the NPL, which 
constitutes Appendix B of the 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 
Sec. 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 until 
December 8, 1997.
    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 Site and explains how the 
Site meets the deletion criteria.

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

    Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that sites may be deleted 
from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In making a 
determination to delete a site from the NPL, EPA in consultation with 
NJDEP, shall consider whether any of the following criteria have been 
met:
    (i) Responsible parties or other parties have implemented all 
appropriate response actions required; or
    (ii) All appropriate 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 of 
hazardous substances poses no significant threat to public health or 
the environment and, therefore, remedial measures are not appropriate.

III. Deletion Procedures

    The following procedures were used for the intended deletion of 
this Site: (1) EPA Region II issued a Record of Decision (ROD) which 
documented the remedial action activities; (2) all appropriate 
responses under CERCLA

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have been implemented as documented in the Final Close-Out Report dated 
September 1997; (3) the NJDEP concurred with the proposed deletion; (4) 
a notice has been published in the local newspaper and has been 
distributed to appropriate Federal, State and local officials and other 
interested parties announcing the commencement of a 30-day public 
comment period on EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete; and (5) all 
relevant documents have been made available for public review in the 
local Site information repository.
    Deletion of sites from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or 
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. The NPL is designed 
primarily for informational purposes and to assist Agency management of 
Superfund sites. As mentioned in section II of this document, 
Sec. 300.425 (e)(3) of the NCP states that the deletion of a site from 
the NPL does not preclude eligibility for future response actions.
    For deletion of this Site, EPA's Regional Office will accept and 
evaluate public comments before making a final decision to delete. If 
necessary, the Agency 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 the Regional Office.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

    The following summary provides the Agency's rationale for the 
proposal to delete this Site from the NPL.

A. Site Background

    The Site is located along New Road, approximately one-half mile 
northwest of U.S. Route 1, in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The 
landfill occupies an area of approximately 68 acres. A significant 
portion of the land surrounding the Site is wooded. It is owned by 
Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) of South Jersey. The Site, which 
operated for more than 20 years as a solid waste landfill, accepted 
municipal refuse, pesticides, chemical wastes and hazardous wastes.

B. History

    In June 1980, EPA conducted an investigation of the Site. The 
sampling results revealed elevated levels of volatile organic compounds 
in several on-site monitoring wells, as well as on-site surface water 
sampling locations.
    The data from this sampling effort resulted in the Site being 
proposed for the Superfund NPL on December 1, 1982, and the Site was 
included on the NPL on November 1, 1983.
    In April 1982, BFI and EPA entered into an agreement concerning the 
remedial efforts to be performed. The agreement was in the form of a 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Administrative Order on 
Consent (Index No. RCRA-700320101) which outlined the remedial 
approach.

C. Characterization

    The remedial action activities, initiated in February 1983, 
consisted of the construction of a leachate collection/treatment 
system, slurry wall, multi-layer cap and gas venting system. The 
remedial action was completed in September 1985. EPA issued a Record of 
Decision on September 30, 1987, which affirmed that the remedial action 
undertaken was consistent with CERCLA, as amended, and to the extent 
practicable, the NCP.
    A public availability session was conducted by EPA in August 1987 
to discuss with the community the remedial actions implemented and the 
post-remedial environmental monitoring program. Public comments were 
received and addressed in the Responsiveness Summary portion of the 
September 30, 1987, Record of Decision.

D. Monitoring

    The May 1993 EPA-approved Post-Remedial Environmental Monitoring 
Program (PREMP) Work Plan was designed to assess the effectiveness of 
the completed Remedial Action and evaluate off-Site migration of 
contaminants. The PREMP was conducted from May 1993 to January 1994 and 
included the collection of twenty-seven groundwater samples, thirty-
four soil samples, eight surface water samples and twelve sediment 
samples. Post-remedial environmental monitoring indicated that volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs), semi-VOCs, and inorganic contaminant 
concentrations have decreased in surface water, groundwater, sediment 
and soil samples. Therefore, the results from this investigation 
document the effectiveness of the remedy and indicate there is no 
significant off-Site migration of contaminants. Although minimal 
groundwater contamination was detected in the southeastern portion of 
the Site in the area of monitoring well R-10, regulating the leachate 
collection system to induce inward gradients appears to have 
significantly reduced contamination. As part of the overall Site 
Operation and Maintenance Plan activities, EPA has required BFI to 
periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the leachate collection 
system and routinely monitor well R-10 and downgradient surface water 
quality to ensure the effectiveness of the remedy. The multi-layered 
cap has effectively reduced infiltration, as indicated by the 
significant reduction in the amount of leachate generation over time. 
The leachate collection system and slurry wall have reduced leachate 
levels within the landfill, resulting in inward hydraulic gradients 
over much of the Site. Historically, leachate was pre-treated to reduce 
iron concentrations in the effluent. BFI has been notified by the Stony 
Brook Regional Sewerage Authority (SBRSA) of a change in BFI's license 
classification from a Class 1 to Restricted Industrial User. BFI is no 
longer required to treat for iron. BFI discharges directly to the 
sanitary sewer line while still monitoring monthly per the requirements 
of the license issued by the SBRSA. Also, the gas venting system is 
operating in accordance with the existing NJDEP Air Pollution Control 
Program permit and a series of perimeter gas monitoring probes are 
periodically monitored. Project Managers from EPA and BFI conducted a 
Site inspection on September 12, 1995. The purpose of this inspection 
was to determine the current status of the Site and the adequacy of the 
Site cleanup. The remedial action, completed since September 1985, 
remains in place and is operating and functioning as designed.

E. Operation and Maintenance

    The cleanup of the Site was performed in compliance with ``clean 
closure'' requirements and consistent with the Resource Conservation 
and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, CERCLA, as amended, and to the 
extent practicable, the NCP. Pursuant to the 1989 Administrative Order, 
BFI has committed to performing Operation and Maintenance (O&M) 
activities at the Site. In August 1997, EPA approved the Site O&M Plan, 
which defines the long-term O&M activities for the Site. The O&M Plan 
addresses those activities required for controlling the groundwater 
gradient in the area of monitoring well R-10, maintaining the 
effectiveness of the response action, and monitoring Site conditions to 
determine the occurrence of any environmental threat. O&M activities 
include periodic inspections and maintenance of waste containment 
measures, periodic air, groundwater and surface water monitoring, 
certain institutional controls, periodic leachate collection and 
treatment measures, or any other activities necessary to ensure

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the continued protection of public health and the environment.

F. Protectiveness

    All the completion requirements for this Site have been met as 
described in the Final Close-Out Report (COR) dated September 1997. The 
Final COR documents the effectiveness of the post-remedial 
environmental monitoring and that the remedy (slurry wall, multi-
layered cap, leachate collection system, gas venting system and 
installation of a Site security fence) remains protective. Site O&M 
activities will be performed by BFI, with EPA oversight.
    EPA and NJDEP have determined that all appropriate Fund-financed 
responses under CERCLA at the Site have been completed, and that no 
further construction activities by responsible parties is necessary 
except for operation and maintenance requirements. EPA will be 
providing oversight of all operation and maintenance activities. 
Consequently, EPA is proposing deletion of this Site from the NPL. 
Documents supporting this action are available in the docket.

    Dated: September 29, 1997.
William J. Muszynski,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-29150 Filed 11-5-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P