National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List Update

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5089-6]

National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;

National Priorities List Update

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent to delete the Olmsted County Landfill Site

from the National Priorities List; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

Region V announces its intent to delete the Olmsted County Landfill

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 Contingency Plan

(NCP), which USEPA 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 USEPA,

because it has been determined that all Fund-financed responses under

CERCLA have been implemented and USEPA, in consultation with the State

of Minnesota, has determined that no further response is appropriate.

Moreover, USEPA 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 November 14, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Ramon Torres (HSRM-6J) Remedial

Project Manager or Gladys Beard (HSRM-6J) Associate Remedial Project

Manager, Office of Superfund, USEPA, Region V, 77 W. Jackson Blvd.,

Chicago, IL 60604. Comprehensive information on the site is available

at USEPA's Region V office and at the local information repository

located at: Rochester Public Library, 11 First Street, SE., Rochester

MN 55904. 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),

USEPA, Region V, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 353-

5821.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ramon Torres (HSRM-6J) Remedial

Project Manager or Gladys Beard (HSRM-6J) Associate Remedial Project

Manager, Office of Superfund, USEPA, Region V, 77 W. Jackson Blvd.,

Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 886-7253 or Derrick Kimbrough (P-19J), Office

of Public Affairs, USEPA, Region V, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL

60604, (312) 886-9749.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

III. Deletion Procedures

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

I. Introduction

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region V announces its

intent to delete the Olmsted County Sanitary Landfill 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 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

Hazardous Substance Superfund Response Trust Fund (Fund). Pursuant to

Sec. 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 USEPA 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 USEPA'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 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, USEPA 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

Sec. 300.425(e) has been met, USEPA may formally begin deletion

procedures once the State has concurred with the intent to delete. This

Federal Register document, 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 USEPA's intention

to delete the site from the NPL. All critical documents needed to

evaluate USEPA's decision are generally included in the information

repository and the deletion docket.

Upon completion of the public comment period, if necessary, the

USEPA Regional Office will prepare a Responsiveness Summary to evaluate

and address comments that were received. The public is welcome to

contact the USEPA Region V Office to obtain a copy of this

responsiveness summary, if one is prepared. If USEPA 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 Olmsted County Landfill is located in the Oronoco Township just

east of State Highway 52 about three miles north of Rochester's city

limits. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued the landfill's

operating permit to the City of Rochester in 1970, and amended it in

1972, 1979 and 1984. In late 1982 the city transferred ownership of the

landfill to Olmsted County. The facility's permitted boundary

encompasses 304 acres. The county stopped sending municipal wastes to

the landfill in 1987, but one cell continued to be used for demolition

debris and coal ash from Rochester Public Utilities until March 1993.

The county has now officially ceased using the landfill. It has been

permanently covered, and the landfill was certified closed by the

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in December 1993.

Beginning in 1983, monitoring wells on the Site showed groundwater

beneath the landfill was being contaminated with volatile organic

compounds (VOCs) that are typically found at landfills. The landfill

was added to the Permanent List of Priorities (the Minnesota Superfund

list) in 1984, and in 1986 the USEPA placed it on the National

Priorities List (Federal Superfund list), 51 FR 21054-21112. Under a

cooperative agreement with the USEPA, the MPCA assumed management of

Superfund activities at the Site. The MPCA issued a Request for

Response Action in 1989 directing the city and the county to

investigate the nature and extent of the contamination. Olmsted County

has taken the lead in funding and conducting the investigation.

The Remedial Investigation (RI) of the Olmsted County Landfill Site

included an ongoing dye-trace study to determine the direction and rate

of groundwater flow in the vicinity of the landfill. Ambient air and

landfill gas samples were characterized, along with ground- and

surface-water samples.

Numerous field investigations were conducted over a 13-month

period. The RI was completed in July 1992. The supplemental RI, which

was completed in September 1993, was conducted in order to further

investigate gas emissions at the site.

Based on the findings in the Remedial Investigation and the

Supplemental Remedial Investigation, further response under CERCLA is

not necessary. The low potential for Site impacts will be adequately

addressed under the Minnesota Solid Waste Rules for landfills. The

continued monitoring, long-term care and contingency actions are

specified in a Closure Order and Post Closure Care Plan issued to the

County on March 22, 1994, by the MPCA. Continued monitoring to insure

compliance with Minnesota Solid Waste Rules will adequately protect

human health and the environment. Annual reviews of the data collected

are a current requirement under the Rules.

On June 21, 1994, a Record of Decision was signed that concludes no

remedial action under CERCLA is necessary at the Site. The selected no-

action remedial alternative was chosen in accordance with CERCLA.

EPA, with concurrence of the State of Minnesota, has determined

that all appropriate Fund-financed responses under CERCLA at the

Olmsted County Landfill site have been completed, and no further

Superfund response is appropriate in order to provide protection of

human health and the environment.

Dated: September 29, 1994.

Valdas V. Adamkus,

Regional Administrator, USEPA, Region V.

[FR Doc. 94-25194 Filed 10-12-94; 8:45 am]

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