Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 101 /Wednesday, May 27, 1998 / Proposed Rules 28961

approving WCDHD’s general program

for receiving delegation of unchanged

NESHAPs. The direct final rule also

explains the procedure for future

delegation of NESHAPs to NDEP and

WCDHD. EPA is taking direct final

action without prior proposal because

the Agency views this as a

noncontroversial action and anticipates

no adverse comments. A detailed

rationale for this approval is set forth in

the direct final rule. If no relevant

adverse comments are received in

response to this document, no further

activity is contemplated in relation to

this proposed rule. If EPA receives

relevant adverse comments, the direct

final rule will not take effect and all

public comments received will be

addressed in a subsequent final rule

based on this proposed rule. The EPA

will not institute a second comment

period on this proposal. Any parties

interested in commenting on this

proposal should do so at this time.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received in writing by June 26,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this

action should be addressed to: Andrew

Steckel, Rulemaking Office (AIR–4), Air

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, CA 94105–3901.

Copies of the submitted requests are

available for public inspection at EPA’s

Region IX office during normal business

hours (docket number A–96–25).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mae

Wang, Rulemaking Office (AIR–4), Air

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, CA 94105–3901,

Telephone: (415) 744–1200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

document concerns delegation of

unchanged NESHAPs to the Nevada

Division of Environmental Protection

and the Washoe County District Health

Department. For further information,

please see the information provided in

the direct final action which is located

in the Rules section of this Federal

Register.

Authority: This action is issued under the

authority of section 112 of the Clean Air Act,

as amended, 42 U.S.C. 7412.

Dated: May 4, 1998.

Felicia Marcus,

Regional Administrator, Region IX.

[FR Doc. 98–13987 Filed 5–26–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL–6102–3]

National Oil and Hazardous

Substances Contingency Plan;

National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the

Novaco Industries Superfund site from

the National Priorities List; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The United States

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Region 5 announces its intent to delete

the Novaco Industries 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 EPA promulgated

pursuant to section 105 of the

Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability

Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended.

EPA and the Michigan Department of

Environmental Quality (MDEQ) have

determined that the Site no longer poses

a 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 June 26,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed

to: Russell D. Hart, U.S. EPA Region 5,

Superfund Division, 77 West Jackson

Boulevard, Mail Stop: SR–6J, Chicago,

Illinois 60604. Comprehensive

information on this Site is available

through the administrative record which

is available for viewing at the following

locations:

U.S. EPA Records Center—Seventh

Floor, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,

Chicago, Illinois 60604.

Bedford Township Hall and Monroe

County Library—Bedford Branch,

Bedford, Michigan.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Russell D. Hart, U.S. EPA Region 5,

Superfund Division, SR–6J Chicago,

Illinois 60604, (312) 886–4844.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

III. Deletion Procedures

IV. Basis of Intended Site Deletion

I. Introduction

EPA Region 5 announces its intent to

delete the Novaco Industries Site

location in Temperance, Michigan from

the NPL, 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

section 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 document

in the Federal Register.

Section II of this document 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 Novaco

Industries 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.

Even if a site is deleted from the NPL,

where hazardous substances, pollutants,

or contaminants remain at the site above

levels that allow for unlimited use and

unrestricted exposure, EPA’s policy is

that a subsequent review of the site will

be conducted at least every five years

after the initiation of the remedial action

at the site to ensure that the site remains

protective of public health and the

environment. In the case of this Site, the

selected remedy is protective of human

health and the environment. The five

year groundwater monitoring program

required by the 1991 Record of Decision

(ROD) Amendment has indicated that

no hazardous substances or

contaminants remain on site above
28962 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 101 /Wednesday, May 27, 1998 / Proposed Rules

levels that allow for unlimited use or

exposure. Therefore no five year review

of this remedy is required. If new

information becomes available which

indicates a need for further action, EPA

may initiate remedial actions. Whenever

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 Hazardous Ranking

System.

III. Deletion Procedures

The following procedures were used

for the intended deletion of this Site: (1)

EPA Region 5 issued a ROD in 1986

which called for groundwater

extraction, on-site treatment of

chromium contaminated groundwater,

and discharge to Indian Creek; (2) EPA

Region 5 amended the ROD in 1991 by

requiring only additional monitoring

well installation and a five year

monitoring program to verify that no

unacceptable levels of contaminants

from the site remain in the groundwater;

(3) based on the findings of that five

year monitoring program the EPA

Region 5 determined that no further

response is appropriate for this site

since during the monitoring program no

exceedances occurred of either

hexavalent chromium or total chromium

drinking water Maximum Contaminant

Limit (MCL) of 50 ug/l as established by

the Safe Drinking Water Act; (4) MDEQ

concurrence concerning Novaco

Industries Site deletion was sought and

obtained; (5) 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 (6) all relevant

documents, including a tabulation

summary of all 1993–1997 sampling

results have been made available for

public review in the local Site

information repositories.

Deletion of the Site 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. As mentioned in

section II of this document, section

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 on EPA’s Notice of

Intent to Delete 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 document.

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 site summary provides

the Agency’s rational for the proposal to

delete this Site from the NPL.

A. Site Background

The Novaco Industries site is located

at 9411 Summerfield Road, at the

intersection of Summerfield and Piehl

in Temperance, Michigan. The site lies

approximately 50 miles south of Detroit

and 5 miles north of Toledo. The facility

occupies a 2.6 acre parcel. The Novaco

study area consists of Novaco

Industries, the Veterans of Foreign Wars

(VFW) Post #9656, and nearby

residences having water supply wells

screened within the sand/gravel aquifer

or limestone aquifer which could be

affected by the Novaco site.

B. History

The Novaco Industries site formerly

performed tool and die manufacturing

and repair. Approximately 85

residences and businesses are located

within a half-mile of the site. Around

1979, a buried tank of chromic acid,

used for plating purposes, developed a

leak and an unknown quantity of acid

leaked into the surrounding soils. By the

early 1980s, chromium was detected at

concentrations above both federal and

state drinking water standards, in three

water supply wells at Novaco

Industries, the nearby VFW Post, and

the Moyer’s residence and one

observation well. Novaco replaced the

three water supply wells and extracted

and treated contaminated groundwater

in 1979. Following winter shutdown of

the groundwater purge and treat system,

Novaco never resumed its operation and

declared bankruptcy.

The Novaco site was subsequently

placed on the NPL in September 1983.

While Novaco’s short-term remedial

operation did succeed in removing

substantial amounts of contamination

(approximately 400 pounds of

hexavalent chromium), the remaining

contamination continued to migrate.

The Remedial Investigation (RI),

performed by the EPA, identified a

small area of contaminated groundwater

with concentrations of chromium that

exceeded relevant cleanup criteria.

Based on these studies the EPA issued

a Record of Decision (ROD) on June 27,

1986, which required the installation of

a groundwater purge and on-site

treatment system to remove the

remaining contamination.

Design investigations conducted

during spring 1988, determined that the

previously defined nature and extent of

groundwater contamination no longer

held true at Novaco. Additional

investigations were performed in the

spring of 1989. Based on those studies,

which indicated the concentrations of

chromium contamination no longer

exceeded relevant cleanup criteria, the

EPA proposed to amend the existing

ROD to a ‘‘no action ROD’’ with

groundwater monitoring for five years

and if the chromium concentrations

remained below the cleanup criteria no

further action would be warranted. The

state concurred with this amended ROD.

The EPA issued the amended ROD in

September 1991. The groundwater

monitoring network established during

the RI was further developed and

sampling for the five year program

began in February 1993. During the first

year samples were collected quarterly.

Since the results of that sampling

indicated all samples were below the

detection limits stated in the quality

assurance project plan the frequency of

sampling was reduced to semi-annually.

The five year program has been

completed and indicated there are no

chromium concentrations above

relevant cleanup criteria. Therefore no

further remedial action is needed.

EPA periodically sent summaries of

analytical results to concerned

residents.

EPA’s ARCS contractor has completed

the task of dismantling the groundwater

monitoring network in accordance with

procedures established by the Michigan

Department of Environmental Quality.

This work was accomplished in

December 1997, and was in part

overseen in the field by MDEQ

representatives.

C. Characterization of Risk

Confirmational monitoring of

groundwater conducted from 1993–1997

demonstrated that no significant risk to

public health or the environment is

posed by residual materials remaining at

the Site. EPA and MDEQ believe that

conditions at the site do not now pose

unacceptable risks to human health or

the environment.

One of the three criteria for deletion

specifies that EPA may delete a site

from the NPL if ‘‘all appropriate

response under CERCLA has been

implemented, and no further action by

responsible parties is appropriate.’’
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 101 /Wednesday, May 27, 1998 / Proposed Rules 28963

EPA, with the concurrence of MDEQ,

believes that this criterion for deletion

has been met. Subsequently, EPA is

proposing deletion of this Site from the

NPL. Documents supporting this action

are available from the docket.

Dated: May 14, 1998.

David Ullrich,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region V.

[FR Doc. 98–13853 Filed 5–26–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; 12-Month Finding for a

Petition To List the Stone Mountain

Fairy Shrimp as Endangered and

Designate Critical Habitat

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of 12-month petition

finding.

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service

(Service) announces a 12-month finding

for a petition to list the Stone Mountain

fairy shrimp (Branchinella lithaca)

under the Endangered Species Act, as

amended. After review of all available

scientific and commercial information,

the Service finds that listing this species

is not warranted. The Service will

continue to monitor the status of this

species and its habitat.

DATES: The finding announced in this

document was made on May 11, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Questions, comments, or

information concerning this petition

should be sent to the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive

South, Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida

32216. The petition finding, supporting

data, and comments are available for

public inspection, by appointment,

during normal business hours at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

John F. Milio (904/232–2580, ext. 112)

(see ADDRESSES section).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 4(b)(3)(B) of the Endangered

Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended

(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), requires that,

for any petition to list, delist, or

reclassify a species that contains

substantial scientific and commercial

information, the Service make a finding

within 12 months of receipt of the

petition on whether the petitioned

action is (a) not warranted; (b)

warranted; or (c) warranted but

precluded from immediate proposal by

other pending proposals of higher

priority. Such 12-month findings are to

be published promptly in the Federal

Register.

The processing of this petition

conforms with the Service’s listing

priority guidance published in the

Federal Register on December 5, 1996

(61 FR 64475), and extended on October

23, 1997, for fiscal year 1998 (62 FR

55268). Administrative findings for

listing petitions that are not assigned to

tier 1 (emergency listing actions) are

processed as a tier 3 priority. The

processing of this petition falls under

tier 3. At this time, the Southeast Region

has no pending tier 1 actions and has

completed its pending tier 2 actions

(resolving the status of outstanding

proposed listings).

On March 31, 1995, the Service

received a petition from Mr. Larry

Winslett, President of the ‘‘Friends of

Georgia,’’ Lithonia, Georgia. The

petition, dated March 29, 1995,

requested the Service to emergency list

the Stone Mountain fairy shrimp,

Branchinella lithaca, as endangered and

designate critical habitat. The petitioner

believed that previous and ongoing

impacts to vernal (temporary) pool

habitat at Stone Mountain, the shrimp’s

only known location, and potential

physical and chemical effects from a

then impending renovation project at

the mountain’s summit, threatened the

survival of the species. The Service, in

the 90-day finding, determined that the

petition presented substantial

information indicating that listing the

species may be warranted. The finding

concluded that an emergency listing

action was not appropriate, and noted

the Service would consider critical

habitat designation if it found at 12

months that listing was warranted. A

notice announcing the 90-day finding

and initiation of a status review of the

species was published in the Federal

Register on July 22, 1997 (62 FR 39210).

The Service has reviewed the petition,

the literature cited in the petition, other

available literature and information, and

consulted with species experts and

other researchers familiar with vernal

pool habitats. On the basis of the best

scientific and commercial information

available, the Service finds the petition

is not warranted at this time. The status

review documented habitat

modifications such as disturbance of

vernal pool sediments and physical

debris entering pools at and near the

mountain summit from recreational and

construction activities, and facility

operations. Solid wastes and liquid

discharges may also directly impact the

fairy shrimp. These modifications did

not appear to occur at all pools or to an

equal extent at affected pools. Due to

this variability, lack of current and

historic information on specific

distribution and abundance of B.

lithaca, and lack of historic data on the

habitat, the Service is not able to

confirm that these modifications, as

well as other manmade or natural

factors, threaten the continued existence

of the Stone Mountain fairy shrimp.

The status review also did not reveal

any threats to the species from disease

or predation, or overutilization for

commercial, recreational, scientific, or

educational purposes. The Service does

not believe that existing regulatory

mechanisms are inadequate. Because of

likely habitat overlap between the Stone

Mountain fairy shrimp and two

federally-listed plants, the black-spored

quillwort (Isoetes melanospora) and

little amphianthus (Amphianthus

pusillus) at Stone Mountain, the Federal

and State regulations that protect and

conserve those plants and their vernal

pools are also benefitting B. lithaca. In

addition, special legislation passed in

1997 by the Georgia General Assembly

promotes the continuation of protection

and conservation for the designated

natural district at State-owned Stone

Mountain Park, as outlined in its

current Master Plan (Alice Richards,

Stone Mountain Memorial Association,

in litt. 1998). Since Stone Mountain and

its vernal pools all occur within the

park’s natural district, the Service

believes that this legislation provides

further protection for the Stone

Mountain fairy shrimp and its habitat.

Casual surveys to locate B. lithica at

Stone Mountain earlier this decade were

unsuccessful. The last documented

collection of the species was in 1951. At

the 90-day finding the Service felt that

a regular survey involving collection of

water and sediment samples at various

sites was needed to accurately

determine the species’ status. This

survey was conducted in 1997 and also

failed to find evidence of the species’

continued existence at Stone Mountain,

which may mean the species is extinct.

Despite this latest failure (A. Richards,

in litt. 1997, pers. comm. 1998, Denton

Belk, The World Conservation Union, in

litt. 1998), the erratic occurrence of

some anostracans (Donald 1983) led

Belk (in litt. 1998) to believe the species

may still exist at Stone Mountain. There

is also some potential that the species

may exist at locations other than Stone

Mountain (L. Winslett, Friends of

Georgia, in litt. 1996). Within the

Georgia Piedmont physiographic area

there are other rock outcrops whose