Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 / Proposed Rules 3061

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5951–1]

40 CFR Part 300

National Oil and Hazardous

Substances Pollution Contingency

Plan; National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the

Berlin and Farro Liquid Incineration

Site from the national priorities list;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: The United States

Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.

EPA) Region V announces its intent to

delete the Berlin and Farro Liquid

Incineration Site (the 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 responsible

parties have implemented all

appropriate response actions required

under CERCLA. U.S. EPA, in

consultation with the State of Michigan,

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

February 20, 1998.

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

repository located at: Gaines Township

Hall, 9255 W. Grand Blanc Rd., Gaines,

Michigan 48436. 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:

Robert Whippo at (312) 886–4759 (SR–

6J), Remedial Project Manager or Gladys

Beard (SR–6J), Associate Remedial

Project Manager, Superfund Division,

U.S. EPA, Region V, 77 W. Jackson

Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 886–

7253 or Don Deblasio, (P–19J), Office of

Public Affairs, U.S. EPA, Region V, 77

W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604,

(312) 886–4360.

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 (EPA) Region V announces its

intent to delete the Berlin and Farro

Liquid Incineration 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 or 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 Potentially Responsible Parties or

the Hazardous Substance Superfund

Response Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant

to section 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 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 that

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 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 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 Berlin and Farro facility is a 40-

acre site situated in a primarily rural

area approximately 31⁄2 miles south of

the town of Swartz Creek in Gaines

Township, Genesee County, Michigan.

The Site is located at 8322 South

Morrish Road, Swartz Creek, Michigan.

Primary land use in the area consists of

agricultural row crops and small

deciduous woodlands. Residences are

located within about 500 feet of the

northeast and southeast boundaries of

the Site. Approximately 80 permanent

residences are located within a 1⁄2 mile

radius of the Site. There are no known

endangered species or critical habitats

within close proximity of the Site.
3062 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 / Proposed Rules

Residents near the Site obtain

groundwater from wells in glacial till

aquifers and from the underlying

bedrock. There are 115 residential wells

within one mile of the Site.

Approximately 1⁄3 of the residential

wells draw water from the glacial till

aquifers. At least one well in the area

draws water from the shallow portion of

the aquifer. The remaining residential

wells draw water from the bedrock.

Berlin and Farro Liquid Incineration,

Inc. began operations at the site in April

1971. The facility was permitted to

accept industrial waste for incineration,

to store waste prior to incineration, and

to operate an on-site 1.1 acre landfill for

disposal of crushed used drums.

Numerous violations of permit

requirements were cited during the

period of operation, until September

1975 when Berlin and Farro lost its

operating incinerator permit for the

incinerator. Permit violations included

failure to comply with air emission

standards and on-site storage volume

limits, and failure to meet permit

standards prohibiting on-site disposal of

wastes other than solid wastes. The

facility also operated two unauthorized

waste storage lagoons and two unlined

storage lagoons, illegally buried five

tanks of waste water, buried liquid

wastes, operated underground storage

tanks, poured liquid wastes into

subsurface agricultural drains and

dumped large volumes of gallons of

barreled waste into two pits. These

permit violations and unpermitted

activities led to the revocation of Berlin

and Farro’s incinerator and landfill

permits on September 16, 1975. From

1975 until 1978, while the permit

revocations were under appeal, Berlin

and Farro was permitted by the State of

Michigan (the State) to transport

industrial waste for other generators, but

not to transport wastes to its own site.

Michigan Department of Environmental

Quality (MDEQ) investigations

indicated that illegal dumping of

industrial wastes into the lagoons

apparently continued after 1975. In

1978, Berlin and Farro’s appeal of its

permit revocation failed.

Limited cleanup activities were

conducted by Berlin and Farro under a

plan submitted to MDEQ from 1978

until 1980, when Berlin and Farro filed

for chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

In 1978 and 1981, ownership of the

property was transferred to the State for

nonpayment of property taxes. Ten

acres of the site remained under the

jurisdiction of the Genesee County

Circuit Court as a result of a lawsuit

filed by the State. The site was proposal

for the National Priorities List (NPL) on

July 16, 1992 and was placed on the

NPL on September 8, 1983.

U.S. EPA identified more than 125

generators through review of site

records. U.S. EPA, the State, and certain

settling PRPs undertook surface cleanup

actions intermittently from December

1981 through October 1984.

A Remedial Investigation (RI) was

conducted from March 1986 through

January 1989. A Remedial Investigation/

Feasibility Study (RI/FS) Report and a

Proposed Plan were released to the

public on July 20, 1990. A fact sheet

summarizing this Proposed Plan and

remedial alternatives were released to

the public on August 2, 1990. The

notice of availability for the RI/FS

Report and the Proposed Plan was

published in the Flint Journal on July

20, 1990. A sixty-day public comment

period was held from July 20, 1990

through September 19, 1990. On

September 7, 1990, U.S. EPA sent a

letter to all persons on the site mailing

list informing them about a change in its

preference among the various

alternatives under consideration, subject

to review of public comments.

At the start of the 1990 public

comment period, U.S. EPA proposed a

remedial alternative which addressed

both groundwater and soil

contamination at the Berlin and Farro

Liquid Incineration Site, Swartz Creek,

Michigan. The alternative, as specified

in the proposed plan, called for on-site

incineration of contaminated soils and

for the extraction of contaminated

groundwater with treatment via air

stripping. On-site incineration was

projected to last for approximately 1

year and extraction and treatment of the

groundwater was projected to last for at

least 30 years. In addition, the Berlin

and Farro proposed planned required

groundwater monitoring and long-term

maintenance of the air stripper.

Initial written comments received by

the U.S. EPA and those voiced at the

August 9, 1990 public meeting in

Swartz Creek indicated that most

concerned members of the public were

strongly opposed to on-site incineration.

The strong opposition to the proposed

plan expressed early in the comment

period, especially those comments

offered at the public meeting, led the

U.S. EPA and the MDEQ to alter the

preferred soil cleanup plan. This

opposition was based on the short term

risk presented by the estimated 380 days

of operation of the on-site incinerator. In

addition, information was provided

indicating that much of the volume of

soil proposed to be remediated was to

be treated based only on metal,

contamination. Incineration is not

generally considered an effective

treatment for metals, and in fact may

produce treatment residuals that could

require significant additional treatment.

The new plan called for the removal of

excavated soils to a licensed off-site

facility for treatment and disposal. This

plan retained the use of an air stripper

for treatment of contaminated

groundwater.

A second public meeting was held on

September 12, 1990. At this meeting

representatives from U.S. EPA and

MDEQ discussed the changes that the

Agencies were considering based on

public comments. During this 1990

public comment period U.S. EPA

continued negotiations with PRPs

regarding cleanup options at Berlin and

Farro as required under the terms of the

RI/FS Consent Decree (Decree). U.S.

EPA made it clear that at the end of the

public comment period, following

response to all comments, the terms of

the Decree would be met and it

intended to sign a ROD as early as the

last week of September 1990. PRPs filed

for and were granted an order which

enjoined the U.S. EPA from issuing a

ROD as planned. The Court ruled on

September 27, 1990 that terms of the

Decree would not be fulfilled and a ROD

could not be issued, until an additional

sixty-day period of negotiations had

been held.

U.S. EPA and MDEQ determined,

based on information developed and

clarified during these extended

negotiations that remedial action to

address soil contamination other than

the previously proposed options is most

appropriate for Berlin and Farro.

A Proposed Plan for this remedial

alternative was released July 11, 1991.

The notice of availability for the

Proposed Plan was published in the

Flint Journal on July 8, 1991. A sixtyday public comment period was held

from July 11, 1991 through September 9,

1991. In addition, a public meeting was

held on August 8, 1991. At this meeting,

representatives of the U.S. EPA and

MDEQ answered questions about

problems at the site and the remedial

alternatives under consideration and

accepted formal comments from the

Public regarding the proposed

alternative and other alternatives

analyzed in the FS.

On September 30, 1991, U.S. EPA

signed a Record of Decision (ROD) for

the final remedy at the Site. The ROD

required: (1) excavation of on-site soil

and sediment and sediments from

Slocum Drain where levels of

contamination exceed ROD cleanup

standards; (2) disposal of these materials

in an on-site hazardous waste disposal

cell; and (3) extraction and treatment by

air stripping of ground water with
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 13 / Wednesday, January 21, 1998 / Proposed Rules 3063

contaminant levels above the ROD

cleanup standards. Following

completion of these elements of the

cleanup, permanent deed and land use

restrictions were to be implemented to

control land use, to restrict development

of the Site and to prohibit installation of

ground water wells.

U.S. EPA issued a Unilateral

Administrative Order (UAO) to PRPs

September 24, 1993. During an October

28, 1994 meeting attended by

representatives of U.S. EPA, MDEQ and

the PRP technical committee and by

follow-up letter dated December 2, 1994

responsible party representatives

requested U.S. EPA and MDEQ to

consider an alternate cleanup option for

remediation of contaminated soil and

sediment and contaminated

groundwater. In addition, the Predesign

Report submitted in March 1995

included a contingency proposal for

modification of the groundwater

remedy, if necessary, following

assessment of monitoring results.

Following public review of and

comment upon the proposed changes to

remedial action at the Site, the ROD was

amended on October 24, 1995. The

amended ROD specified a revised

Remedial Action (RA) for the Site soils/

sediments and groundwater based on

the RI and predesign data and

reevaluation of the cleanup standards

for soil and groundwater.

An Amended ROD was signed on

October 24, 1995. The major

components of this remedy include:

• Excavation of contaminated soil

and sediment from the central site area

and Slocum Drain and transportation to

an off-site facility for appropriate

treatment/disposal.

• Excavation of the water-bearing

zones in the area of highest groundwater

contamination and off-site disposal of

the excavated materials.

• Implementation of a groundwater

monitoring program and

implementation of site deed restrictions

on the installation of drinking water

wells until all cleanup standards have

been met and maintained.

Activities at the Site were consistent

with the amended ROD and the RD/RA

statement of work for design and

construction. The RD Report, including

a Quality Assurance Project Plan

(QAPP), incorporated all necessary U.S.

EPA and State quality assurance and

quality control (QA/QC) procedures and

protocol. U.S. EPA analytical methods

were used for all validation and

monitoring samples during RA

activities. All procedures and protocol

followed for soil, groundwater, and air

sample during the RA are documented

in the RD Report and were conducted

through a participating Contract

Laboratory Program (CLP) in accordance

with the statement of work.

A Close Out Report was signed on

September 18, 1996, which stated that

the Site meets all site completion

requirements as specified in OSWER

Directive 9320.2–3c, Procedures for

Completion and Deletion of National

Priorities Sites and Update. Specifically,

confirmatory sampling verifies that the

Site has achieved the ROD cleanup

objective, that all soil, sediment, and

groundwater cleanup standards have

been met and that all cleanup actions

specified in the amended ROD have

been implemented. Furthermore, U.SS.

EPA has removed all other

contamination detected to acceptable

levels. Confirmatory groundwater

sampling and backfilling and grading

the Site with unaffected Site soils

provide further assurance that the Site

no longer poses unacceptable threats to

human health or the environment. No

further activity is planned at the Site.

A five-year review pursuant to

OSWER Directive 9355.7–02 (‘‘Structure

and Components of Five-Year Reviews’’)

will not be conducted at the Site. There

are no hazardous Substances that

remain at the Site above health-based

levels, U.S. EPA will not conduct a fiveyear review.

EPA, with concurrence from the State

of Michigan, has determined that

responsible parties have implemented

all appropriate responses under

CERCLA at the Berlin and Farro Liquid

Incineration Site, and no further

CERCLA response actions are

appropriate in order to provide

protection of human health and

environment. Therefore, EPA proposes

to delete the Site from the NPL.

Dated: December 9, 1997.

David A. Ullrich,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region V.

[FR Doc. 98–1249 Filed 1–20–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT AGENCY

44 CFR Part 67

[Docket No. FEMA–7243]

Proposed Flood Elevation

Determinations

AGENCY: Federal Emergency

Management Agency, FEMA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: Technical information or

comments are requested on the

proposed base (1% annual chance) flood

elevations and proposed base flood

elevation modifications for the

communities listed below. The base

flood elevations are the basis for the

floodplain management measures that

the community is required either to

adopt or to show evidence of being

already in effect in order to qualify or

remain qualified for participation in the

National Flood Insurance Program

(NFIP).

DATES: The comment period is ninety

(90) days following the second

publication of this proposed rule in a

newspaper of local circulation in each

community.

ADDRESSES: The proposed base flood

elevations for each community are

available for inspection at the office of

the Chief Executive Officer of each

community. The respective addresses

are listed in the following table.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frederick H. Sharrocks, Jr., Chief,

Hazard Identification Branch, Mitigation

Directorate, 500 C Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20472, (202) 646–2796.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Federal Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA or Agency) proposes to make

determinations of base flood elevations

and modified base flood elevations for

each community listed below, in

accordance with section 110 of the

Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973,

42 U.S.C. 4104, and 44 CFR 67.4(a).

These proposed base flood and

modified base flood elevations, together

with the floodplain management criteria

required by 44 CFR 60.3, are the

minimum that are required. They

should not be construed to mean that

the community must change any

existing ordinances that are more

stringent in their floodplain

management requirements. The

community may at any time enact

stricter requirements of its own, or

pursuant to policies established by other

Federal, state or regional entities. These

proposed elevations are used to meet

the floodplain management

requirements of the NFIP and are also

used to calculate the appropriate flood

insurance premium rates for new

buildings built after these elevations are

made final, and for the contents in these

buildings.

National Environmental Policy Act

This proposed rule is categorically

excluded from the requirements of 44

CFR Part 10, Environmental

Consideration. No environmental

impact assessment has been prepared.