[Federal Register: June 13, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 115)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 33724-33727]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jn08-21]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1983-0002, Notice 4; FRL-8579-4]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List Update
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Direct Final Notice of Deletion of the Old Inger Oil Refinery,
Superfund site from the National Priorities List.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is
publishing a direct final Notice of Deletion of the Old Inger Oil
Refinery Site (Site) located in Ascension Parish, Louisiana from the
National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, promulgated pursuant to
section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is appendix B of 40 CFR
part 300, which is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution
Contingency Plan (NCP). This direct final deletion is being published
by EPA with the concurrence of the State of Louisiana, through the
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), because EPA has
determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA, other
than operation and maintenance and five-year reviews, have been
completed. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions
under Superfund.
DATES: This direct final deletion will be effective August 12, 2008
unless EPA receives adverse comments by July 14, 2008. If adverse
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the
direct final deletion in the Federal Register informing the public that
the deletion will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-1983-0002, Notice 4, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov (Follow on-line instructions
for submitting comments).
E-mail: coats.janetta@epa.gov.
Fax: 214-665-6660.
Mail: Janetta Coats, Community Involvement, U.S. EPA
Region 6 (6SF-TS), 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202-2733, (214) 665-
7308 or 1-800-533-3508.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
1983-0002, Notice 4. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be
included in the public docket without change and may be made available
online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site
is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in the hard
copy. Publicly available docket materials are available either
electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the
following information repositories:
[[Page 33725]]
U.S. EPA Online Library System at http://www.epa.gov/natlibra/
ols.htm;
U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 700, Dallas, Texas
75202-2733, (214) 665-6617, by appointment only Monday through Friday 9
a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Public Records
Center, Galvez Building, 1st Floor, 602 N. Fifth Street, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bartolome Canellas (6SF-RL), Remedial
Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, U.S.
EPA, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202, (214) 665-6662 or 1-800-
533-3508 or canellas.bart@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Site Deletion
V. Deletion Action
I. Introduction
The EPA Region 6 office is publishing this direct final Notice of
Deletion of the Old Inger Oil Refinery Site, near Darrow, Ascension
Parish, Louisiana from the NPL. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40
CFR part 300, which is the 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 maintains the NPL as a list of
sites that appear to present a significant risk to public health,
welfare, or the environment. Sites on the NPL may be the subject of
remedial actions financed by the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Fund).
As described in 300.425(e) (3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the NPL
remain eligible for remedial actions if conditions at the deleted sites
warrant such actions.
Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of
intent to delete. This action will be effectiveAugust 12, 2008 unless
EPA receives adverse comments by July 14, 2008. Along with the direct
final Notice of Deletion, EPA is co-publishing a Notice of Intent to
Delete in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of the Federal Register. If
adverse comments are received within the 30-day public comment period
on this document, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of this direct
final deletion before the effective date of the deletion, and the
deletion will not take effect. EPA will, as appropriate, prepare a
response to comments and continue with the deletion process on the
basis of the Notice of Intent to Delete and the comments already
received. There will be no additional opportunity to comment.
Section II of this notice explains the criteria for deleting sites
from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using for
this action. Section IV discusses the Old Inger Refinery Site and
explains how the Site meets the deletion criteria. Section V discusses
EPA's actions to delete the Site from the NPL unless adverse comments
are received during the public comment period.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
The NCP establishes the criteria that EPA 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 to protect public
health and the environment. In making such a determination pursuant to
40 CFR 300.425(e), EPA will consider, in consultation with the state,
whether the following criteria have been met:
i. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all
appropriate response actions required;
ii. All appropriate Fund-financed (Hazardous Substance Superfund
Response Trust Fund) response under CERCLA has 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,
the taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
Pursuant to CERCLA section 121 (c) and the NCP, EPA conducts five-
year reviews to ensure the continued protectiveness of remedial actions
where hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants remain at a
site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted
exposure. EPA conducts such five-year reviews even if a site is deleted
from the NPL. EPA may initiate further action to ensure continued
protectiveness at a deleted site if new information becomes available
that indicates it is appropriate. Whenever there is a significant
release from a site deleted from the NPL, the deleted site may be
restored to the NPL without application of the hazard ranking system.
III. Deletion Procedures
The following procedures apply to deletion of the Site:
(1) EPA consulted with the state of Oklahoma prior to developing
this direct final Notice of Deletion and the Notice of Intent to Delete
co-published today in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of the Federal
Register.
(2) EPA has provided the state 30 working days for review of this
notice and the parallel Notice of Intent to Delete prior to their
publication today, and the state, through the Oklahoma Department of
Environmental Quality, has concurred on the deletion of the Site from
the NPL.
(3) Concurrent with the publication of this direct final Notice of
Deletion, a notice of availability is being published in the Ascension
Citizen and is being distributed to appropriate federal, state and
local government officials and other interested parties. The newspaper
notice announces the 30-day public comment period concerning the Notice
of Intent to Delete the Site from the NPL.
(4) The EPA placed copies of documents supporting the deletion in
the Site information repositories identified above.
(5) If adverse comments are received within the 30-day public
comment period on this document, EPA will publish a timely notice of
withdrawal of this direct final notice of deletion before its effective
date and will prepare a response to comments and continue with the
deletion process on the basis of the notice of intent to delete and the
comments already received.
Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. Deletion of a site from
the NPL does not in any way alter EPA's right to take enforcement
actions, as appropriate. The NPL is designed primarily for
informational purposes and to assist EPA management of Superfund sites.
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, should future
conditions warrant such actions.
IV. Basis for Site Deletion
The following information provides EPA's rationale for deleting the
Site from the NPL:
Site Background and History
The Site is located approximately 4.5 miles north of Darrow,
Ascension Parish, Louisiana on the east bank of the Mississippi River
on Highway 75. The Site extends over approximately 16 acres and is
bounded to the north by the Louisiana Highway 75, the levees of the
[[Page 33726]]
Mississippi River to the south and to the east and west by vacant lots.
The Site is a former waste oil reclamation facility that began
operation in 1967. During operations lagoons were used for disposal of
waste sludges and oils. Periodically, the materials in the lagoons were
pumped into the adjacent swamps to maintain storage capacity. Some of
the Site problems included a large spill during unloading of used oil
from a barge, tanks overfilling, and drums and construction debris
being buried in lagoons. After the major spill in 1978, the property
changed ownership. The new owners had intended to clean up the Site,
but abandoned it in 1980.
From April 1983 through August 1988, five emergency removal actions
were conducted to stabilize the Site including: Site security,
migration control, excavation and containment of consolidated soils,
sampling and analysis. These immediate actions reduced the potential
for contact with Site contamination and the farther spread of
contaminated materials to make the Site safer while long-term cleanup
activities proceeded.
Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
Investigations by both the EPA and LDEQ revealed the presence of
contaminated waste oils, sludges, sediments, and water. From the
investigations, it was determined that the types and concentrations of
contaminants at the Site posed a potential hazard to human health and
the environment. The Site was subsequently placed on the National
Priorities List for remediation under CERCLA as the State's highest
priority site.
Record of Decision Findings
The EPA, with concurrence from the State of Louisiana, signed the
ROD on September 25, 1984. The major components of the selected remedy
included:
Closing and sealing of an ungrouted on-site well.
Pumping and treatment of the shallow ground water aquifer
via carbon adsorption.
Carbon adsorption treatment and discharge of contaminated
fluids.
In situ containment and capping of slightly contaminated
soils.
On-site land treatment of heavily contaminated soils and
sludges.
Disposal of contaminated wood.
Land Use Restrictions.
Remedial activities were implemented in phases.
The initial phase started in 1990 and was completed in 1992. During
this phase, contaminated liquids and sludges were removed from the
surface impoundment, and the wastewater treatment plant and the on-site
land treatment unit were constructed.
A second phase was started in 1998 and completed in 2002. During
this phase, contaminated soils were excavated, treated in the land
treatment unit returned back to the excavation. Approximately
15,712,300 gallons of water were treated in the treatment plant;
approximately 63,398 tons of soils were excavated and treated; the Site
was graded and approximately 40,000 cubic yards of clay and 24,800
cubic yards of topsoil were applied to build a cap.
The final phase of remedial work involved the evaluation of the
shallow groundwater. A network of monitoring wells was installed and a
quarterly sampling and evaluation program was instituted to run for a
period of two years.
In summary, the Site was remediated by removing the impoundments,
tanks, associated refinery equipment and debris. Contaminated soils
were treated by on-site bioremediation of the affected media in a land
treatment unit, capped with a clay cap and revegetated with a topsoil
layer and native grasses. Finally, the shallow ground water was
investigated and no unacceptable risks were identified.
The Institutional Controls (ICs) at the Site include a lien on the
property for the amount of the remedial costs, which shows that the
property has contaminants, and has been subject to a remedial action;
and a notice in the mortgage and conveyance records stating that
residual contaminant concentrations remain at the Site but are below
established remedial standards.
The EPA, with concurrence from the State of Louisiana, signed an
Explanation of Significant Difference on September 12, 2006. This
document explains why closing an onsite well, and further pumping and
treatment of ground water, were not implemented after other remedial
activities were implemented.
A Final Close Out Report was signed on September 12, 2006.
Characterization of Risk
The 1984 ROD identified that the most significant risk levels to
public health and the environment were generated by the heavily
contaminated soils and sludges and present a risk of migration of
contaminated ground water and contaminating offsite drainageways.
Response Actions
EPA Region 6 and the State of Louisiana agree that carbon
adsorption and discharge off site of contaminated fluids and land
treatment for heavily contaminated soils and sludges were alternatives
which effectively mitigated and minimized the most immediate risks to
public health and the environment and limited future risk of the
migration of contaminated ground water.
Cleanup Standards
Residual waste left in place does not allow for ``unlimited use and
unrestricted exposure (uu/ue).'' Residual contaminant concentrations
remain at the Site but are below established remedial standards. As
indicated above, ground water monitoring was conducted quarterly for
two years to confirm that shallow ground water does not represent an
unacceptable risk and meets the requirements of the State under the
Louisiana Risk Evaluation and Corrective Action Program (RECAP).
Operation and Maintenance
Long term O&M activities will be to maintain the cap and to ensure
the fencing remains intact and secure. Activities conducted by the
State include periodic mowing and tracking the maintenance of the Site
cap, and the continuation of Five-Year reviews to be conducted by the
EPA every five years.
Five-Year Review
The threshold for Five-Years Reviews is unlimited use/unrestricted
exposure. Future Five-Year Reviews will continue to monitor the
maintenance of the ICs, and the limited use of the Site at the toe of
the Mississippi River levee, to ensure protection of human health and
the environment. The most recent Five-Year Review was completed on July
23, 2007.
Community Involvement
Public participation activities have been satisfied as required in
CERCLA section 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and CERCLA section 117, 42
U.S.C. 9617. Documents in the deletion docket which EPA relied on for
recommendation of the deletion from the NPL are available to the public
in the information repositories.
V. Deletion Action
The EPA, with concurrence of the State of Louisiana, has determined
that all appropriate responses under CERCLA have been completed, and
that no further response actions under CERCLA, other than O&M and five-
year
[[Page 33727]]
reviews, are necessary. Therefore, EPA is deleting the Site from the
NPL.
Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication. This action will
be effective August 12, 2008 unless EPA receives adverse comments by
July 14, 2008. If adverse comments are received within the 30-day
public comment period, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of this
direct final notice of deletion before the effective date of the
deletion and it will not take effect, and EPA will prepare a response
to comments and continue with the deletion process on the basis of the
notice of intent to delete and the comments already received. There
will be no additional opportunity to comment.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals,
Hazardous waste, Hazardous substances, Intergovernmental relations,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water
pollution control, Water supply.
Dated: May 22, 2008.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 40 CFR part 300 is amended as
follows:
PART 300--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); E.O.
12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR
2923, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193.
Appendix B--[Amended]
0
2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended under Louisiana
(``LA'') by removing the entry for ``Old Inger Oil Refinery'' in
``Darrow, Louisiana''.
[FR Doc. E8-13367 Filed 6-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P