Document ID: EPA-HQ-SFUND-2002-0001-0126
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2018-01-31T05:00Z

RESPONSIVENESS SUMMARY

Introduction
	
	A Notice of Intent to Delete for the Hatheway & Patterson Superfund Site was published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2017, Federal Register Number: 82 FR 56939-56940.  The publication of this notice was intended to inform the public that EPA planned to delete the Site from the National Priorities List, and provide a 30-day public comment period on the proposed deletion.  The closing date for comments on the Notice of Intent to Delete was January 2, 2018.  Six (6) written comments were received.  These comments are available in the Information Repositories.  All public comments were considered in EPA's final decision to delete the Site from the NPL.  

Responsiveness Summary

	The Responsiveness Summary has been prepared to provide responses to comments submitted to EPA during the 30-day public comment period regarding the Notice of Intent to Delete (Federal Register Number: 82 FR 56939-56940) of the Hatheway and Patterson Superfund Site.  The original comments are summarized below and available at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND -2002-0001, with the support materials under document type "Public Submissions", and at the information repositories at the following addresses: U.S. EPA Region 1, Superfund Records Center, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA 02109; and the Mansfield Public Library, 255 Hope Street, Mansfield, MA 02048.

Summary of Comment from an Anonymous resident of Virginia and Public Health student:
      This comment was posted on regulations.gov on December 5, 2017 as an attached file.  The commenter expressed: (i) concern about the capping mechanism for the in-place pollutants and whether it is sufficiently durable, especially to extreme weather events; and (ii) questioned whether there are established mechanisms to ensure the safety of the Mansfield community's water supply from toxins and whether the Hatheway and Patterson Site would continue to receive additional support from EPA.  The commenter also requested the community be informed of any plan for any emergent scenarios in which the threat of contamination could affect the water supply and that EPA continue to aggressively reach out to the public to keep them up to date about the results of monitoring on the site.
      
Response:
      The capping mechanisms used to cover the pollutants left in-place consist of several protective and impervious layers in addition to the bituminous asphalt cover and was constructed according to plans and specifications approved by EPA and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Mass DEP) to provide long term protection during adverse weather events typical of Massachusetts.  Below the 2-inch asphalt cover, the cap includes approximately 4-inches of bituminous binder and 6-inches of subbase over a geotextile impermeable membrane.  Collectively, these layers minimize infiltration of rain and melted snow and also provide protection from freeze/thaw conditions.  Caps with similar specifications have been constructed at other sites and have been demonstrated to provide effective, long term protection.  
      
      The integrity and effectiveness of the cap is periodically evaluated by MassDEP during routine inspections and through groundwater monitoring conducted according to the approved Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Plan for the Hatheway and Patterson Superfund Site, dated August 2017.  Section 3.4 through 3.6 of the O&M Plan provides the monitoring protocols for the inspections and subsequent actions that may be required.  The O&M Plan is available in the Administrative Record for this proposed deletion (https://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/01/605873).  
      
      Institutional controls are also in place to protect the integrity of the cap by limiting activities that may occur in this area, as required by the 2005 Record of Decision and the 2011 Explanation of Significant Differences.  The institutional controls also prevent exposure to contaminated soil and restrict access and use of the groundwater in the area. A copy of the institutional control used for the Foxborough property, which is in the form of Notice of Activity and Uses Limitations (NAULs), is available in the Administrative record for this proposed deletion (https://semspub.epa.gov/work/01/586608.pdf).
      
      Although groundwater use is restricted on the Hatheway and Patterson Site, this does not impact the Town of Mansfield's water supply.  The Town's water supply does not draw water from the groundwater aquifer below the Site, which is considered non-potable.  Furthermore, the water supply is monitored by the Town and evaluated by MassDEP on a routine basis in accordance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.  
      
      Finally, EPA will also conduct periodic reviews of the site at a minimum of every five years.  During these reviews, EPA will inspect the site and will review all monitoring data to insure the remedy continues to function as designed and constructed, and remains protective of public health and the environment.  EPA will continue to keep the community informed of the results of groundwater and other sampling data collected from the Site.  This information is typically reported as part of the Five-Year Review Report.   A press release or other public notice is made when the Five-Year Review is initiated and when it is complete.  

Summary of Comment from Anonymous party:
      This comment was posted on regulations.gov on December 12, 2017.  The commenter indicated that the Hatheway & Patterson Superfund Site should not be removed from the NPL because in their opinion, EPA has not completed everything required under CERCLA, including operation, maintenance, monitoring, and Five-Year Reviews.  
      
Response:
      EPA maintains the National Priorities List (NPL) as a priority list of sites that present a significant risk to public health, welfare, or the environment.  As described in 300.425(e)(3) of the National Contingency Plan (NCP), sites deleted from the NPL remain eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if future conditions warrant such actions.  EPA has made a determination that all response actions have been completed for the Site and it is appropriate for deletion. 
      
      CERCLA Section 9601(25) and Section 300.5 of the NCP both define response as removal or remedial action, including enforcement related activities.  Response actions may include a combination of engineering and/or institutional controls selected to address risks posed at the site.  If waste is left in place, O&M activities may continue after all response actions have been completed but is not considered a response action.  Monitoring ensures the protectiveness of the response action once the clean-up levels have been achieved.  EPA Region 1 has documented that all response actions have been completed in a Remedial Action Completion report (https://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/01/495545).  The Final Close Out Report for the Site (https://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/01/605867) also summarizes recent groundwater and surface water monitoring data and an analysis that demonstrates that cleanup levels have been achieved.  As discussed in EPA guidance, including Close Out Procedures for National Priorities List Sites, OSWER 9320.2  - 22 and Comprehensive Five-Year Review `Guidance OSWER 9355.7-03B-P; Operation and Maintenance, Monitoring and Five-Year Reviews are ongoing activities for Superfund sites with containment remedies conducted after site deletion from the NPL.  These continue after a response action is complete.
      
      The objectives of the selected remedy, to address current and future risks due to direct contact and incidental ingestion of soil and risks to future users of groundwater, have been met.  The remedy was completed from 2009 through 2010 due to funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).  A total of 34,000 tons of soil was removed from the Northern Mansfield Property and the Foxborough Property and 9,500 tons of soil was removed from the eastern portion of the Southern Mansfield Property for off-site disposal to a RCRA subtitle C hazardous waste landfill.  Although, approximately 5,000 tons of soil exceeding arsenic cleanup levels were consolidated in the "Capped Consolidation Area" on the Foxborough Property under a multi-layer low-permeability barrier, there are institutional controls in the form of Notice of Activity and Uses Limitations (NAULs) in-place, to prevent uncontrolled access to the Site.  On-going monitoring conducted by the MassDEP per the O & M Plan provide further assurances that the Site no longer poses any threats to human health or the environment.  MassDEP will continue routine monitoring of the Site, which includes semi-annual monitoring of groundwater and sampling of sediment and surface water at least once every five years.  EPA will also conduct Five-Year Reviews to ensure that the remedial actions remain protective.
      
Summary of Comment from Anonymous party:
      This comment was posted on regulations.gov on January 2, 2018.  The commenter indicated that the deletion of the Hatheway & Patterson Superfund Site from the NPL should be delayed because in the commenters opinion, EPA has not made definitive data and information readily available to the public to determine whether or not the proper tests were fully administered and whether the Site should be deleted from the NPL. 
      
Response:
      EPA has made a determination that sufficient data has been collected to demonstrate that site risks are controlled and that further response actions are not needed.  The data that supports this determination is located in a number of documents that are posted to the docket and at the public information repositories.  For example, the Final Close Out Report for the Site, available on the Hatheway & Patterson website (https://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/01/605867) and in the docket for deletion of the Site, summarizes recent groundwater and surface water monitoring data and an analysis that demonstrates that cleanup levels have been achieved.  Previous sampling data is also provided in the first Five-Year Review for the Site completed in 2014; this report can also be found in the deletion docket and on the Hatheway & Patterson website at https://semspub.epa.gov/work/01/567899.pdf.  All samples collected from the Site follow EPA and/or state quality controls. 
      
      Remedial Action (RA) plans for all phases of construction included a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) dated October 2009 and QAPP Revision 1, dated March 2010.  The QAPP incorporated all EPA and State quality assurance and quality control procedures and protocols (where necessary).  All procedures and protocols were followed for soil, sediment, water and air sampling during the RA.  EPA approved analytical methods were used for all validation and monitoring samples during all RA activities.  EPA has determined that the analytical results are accurate to the degree needed to assure satisfactory execution of the RA and are consistent with the ROD and the RD/RA plans and specifications.
            
      In general, based on EPA's evaluation of the data, the remedy protects human health and the environment because remediation of the soil (soil removal and on-site consolidation) has been completed to cleanup levels that are considered protective for the anticipated future use of the property, and there is no current use of on-site groundwater which is classified as non-potable.  Institutional controls are in place.  Operation and maintenance activities are on-going and will ensure that the consolidation area and associated components of the remedy (e.g., groundwater monitoring wells) remain in good condition.  In addition, monitoring of groundwater will continue to assess the protectiveness of the remedy.
      
      Monitoring data collected as part of the operation and maintenance plan for the Site will continue to be collected for the foreseeable future and the data will be continuously evaluated.  The data will be reported as part of the next Five-Year Review scheduled for 2019.  During the Five-Year Review, EPA will evaluate whether the remedy remains protective.  If additional actions are warranted, EPA will implement those actions.  EPA has determined that the deletion need not be delayed.

Summary of Comments from Anonymous parties:
      Two comments were submitted on regulations.gov on December 5, 2017.  The commenters offer opinions regarding interest in utilizing America's oil and natural gas resources to provide alternative sources of energy internationally as a means of improving lives of American families.  
      
Response:
      The commenters did not articulate a position on this proposed deletion.  Therefore, no response is warranted as a result of these comments.

Summary of Comment from an Anonymous party:
      This comment was posted on regulations.gov on December 6, 2017.  The commenter offers an opinion regarding Renewable Electricity Futures and EPA's New Source Review (NSR) regulations.  
      
Response:
      The commenter did not articulate a position on this proposed deletion.  Therefore, no response is warranted as a result of this comment.