National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, National Priorities List

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-5876-4]

National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan,

National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent for partial deletion of the Saegertown

Industrial Area Site from the National Priorities List (NPL).

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency, Region III (EPA)

announces its intent to delete certain releases on the Saegertown

Industrial Area Site (Site) from the National Priorities List (NPL) and

requests public comment on this proposed action. The NPL is published

at 40 CFR part 300, appendix B. Part 300 is the National Oil and

Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP), which the EPA

promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental

Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA).

EPA has determined that the Site as described on the NPL no longer

necessitates remedial measures for the properties affected by those

releases. This proposal for partial deletion includes releases on the

property formerly owned by the General American Transportation

Corporation (GATX) and Spectrum Control, Inc. (SCI) and property

currently owned by the Saegertown Manufacturing Corporation (SMC).

EPA bases its proposal to delete the releases from the former GATX

and SCI properties, and the SMC property (Deleted Properties) from the

Site on the determination by EPA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

(PADEP), that all appropriate actions under CERCLA have been

implemented to protect human health, welfare and the environment, as

defined by CERCLA, and, therefore, no further remedial measures

pursuant to CERCLA are deemed necessary for the Deleted Properties.

This partial deletion pertains only to releases on the former GATX

and SCI properties and the SMC property at the Site, and does not

include the Lord Corporation property (Operable Unit--1) at the Site.

Operable Unit--1 (OU-1) will remain on the NPL, and response activities

will continue for this Operable Unit.

DATES: Comments concerning this Site may be submitted on or before

September 22, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Steven J. Donohue, Remedial

Project Manager, 3HW22, U.S. EPA, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107, (215) 566-3215, Fax (215) 566-3001,

e-mail [email protected] EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV.

Comprehensive information on this Site is available for viewing in

the Site information repositories at the following locations: U.S. EPA,

Region III, Hazardous Waste Technical Information Center, 841 Chestnut

Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, (215) 566-5364; and the Saegertown

Area Library, 320 Broad Street, Saegertown, PA 16433, (814) 763-5203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven J. Donohue (3HW22), EPA Region

3, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, (215) 566-3215, Fax

(215) 566-3001, e-mail [email protected] EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. NPL Deletion Criteria

III. Deletion Procedures

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

I. Introduction

The Environmental Protection Agency, Region III (EPA) announces its

intent to delete releases on certain portions of the Saegertown

Industrial Area Site (Site) located in Saegertown, Crawford County,

Pennsylvania from the National Priorities List (NPL) published at 40

CFR part 300. These releases no longer pose a threat to human health or

the environment and therefore remedial measures according to CERCLA are

no longer necessary on the Deleted Properties. EPA requests comments on

this partial deletion.

The Deleted Properties at the Saegertown Industrial Area Site are

those properties, as originally listed on the NPL in February 1990,

located to the north of Pennsylvania Route 198. The Deleted Properties

are bounded by Route 198 to the south, generally bounded by an unnamed

intermittent tributary of Woodcock Creek to the east and the northern

property boundary of SMC to the north, and bounded by the former

Conrail railroad right of way to the west. A figure and the exact

coordinates that define the Deleted Properties at the Site are

contained in the NPL deletion docket.

Section II of this document explains the criteria for partially

deleting portions of a site from the NPL. Section III discusses the

procedures that EPA is using for this action. Section IV discusses the

Saegertown Industrial Area Site and explains how partial deletion

criteria are met for this Site.

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 Fund-Financed 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.

Site releases may not be deleted from the NPL until the state in

which the site is located has concurred with the proposed deletion. EPA

is required to provide the state with 30 working days for review of the

deletion notice prior to its publication in the Federal Register.

It states in the NCP (40 CFR 300.425(e)(3)) that all sites deleted

from the NPL are eligible for further Fund-financed remedial action

should future conditions warrant such action. 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 Hazard Ranking

System.

[[Page 44620]]

III. Deletion Procedures

Sections 300.425(e) (4) and (5) of the NCP set forth requirements

for deletions of site releases to assure public involvement in the

decision. EPA announced a policy change which permitted the partial

deletions of those releases from the NPL in a document published on

Wednesday, November 1, 1995 in the Federal Register (60 FR 55466).

Accordingly, during the proposal to delete a release from the NPL, EPA

is required to conduct the following activities:

(i) Publish a notice of intent for partial deletion in the Federal

Register and solicit comment through a public comment period of a

minimum of 30 calendar days;

(ii) Publish a notice of availability of the notice of intent for

partial deletion in a major local newspaper of general circulation at

or near the release that is proposed for deletion;

(iii) Place copies of information supporting the proposed partial

deletion in the information repository at or near the site proposed for

deletion; and,

(iv) Respond to each significant comment and any significant new

data submitted during the comment period in a Responsiveness Summary.

If EPA determines that the deletion is appropriate after

considering comments received during the public comment period and

receiving the states's concurrence, EPA then publishes a notice of

partial deletion in the Federal Register and places the final partial

deletion package, including the Responsiveness Summary, in the site

repositories.

Partial deletion of a site release from the NPL does not itself

create, alter, or revoke any individual's rights or obligations. As

stated in section II of this document, Sec. 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP

provides that the deletion of a site release from the NPL does not

preclude eligibility for future response actions.

IV. Basis for Intended Site Deletion

The following summary provides EPA's rationale for the proposed

partial deletion of the Saegertown Industrial Area Site releases from

the NPL.

The Saegertown Industrial Area Site consists of an approximately

100 acres area located in an industrial park in the Borough of

Saegertown, Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Saegertown is located

approximately 25 miles south of the City of Erie, Pennsylvania, and 5

miles north of the City of Meadville, Pennsylvania.

In July 1984, EPA began to investigate the Saegertown Industrial

Area Site. Sampling confirmed the presence of trichloroethylene (TCE)

and trichloroethane (TCA) in ground water on the Site. Soil and sludge

samples from a pond on the Site revealed the presence of TCE,

tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In

late 1989, four companies signed an Administrative Order on Consent

with EPA to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS)

for the Site. On February 21, 1990, the Site was listed on the NPL list

of Superfund Sites.

The Site was defined on the NPL as consisting of four properties in

the industrial park: the Lord property, the former GATX property, and

the SMC and SCI properties. The RI/FS for the Site examined each of

these four areas separately. Based primarily on the information

collected during the RI/FS, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for

the Saegertown Industrial Area Site on January 29, 1993, which called

for remedial action on two areas of the industrial park: the Lord

property and the property formerly owned by the GATX.

On the Lord property, the RI/FS estimated that 7,500 pounds of

chlorinated ethenes had leaked from a sump area into the ground water.

As a result, the RI/FS estimated that 9.3 million gallons of ground

water were estimated to be contaminated with PCE, 1,2 dichloroethene,

vinyl chloride and TCE. In the January 1993 ROD for the Site, EPA

selected a remedy for the Lord property consisting of the following

components: delineation of the ground water plume; ground water

extraction and treatment through air stripping or UV/oxidation; air

sparging injection wells; vapor extraction and treatment through carbon

adsorption; and long-term ground water monitoring. Subsequent to the

ROD, EPA defined the Lord property remedy as Operable Unit 1 (OU-1) at

the Site.

On the property formerly owned by GATX, the RI/FS estimated that

9,000 cubic yards of sludge and soil were contaminated with volatile

organic compounds (VOCs) and PAHs in the lagoon, sludge bed and pond

area. The remedy stated in the ROD for the former GATX property

consisted of the following components: excavation of contaminated

sludge and soil; onsite incineration with air pollution controls;

restoration or replacement of the pond and wetland; and long-term

ground water monitoring. Subsequent to the issuance of the ROD, EPA

defined the former GATX property remedy as Operable Unit 2 (OU-2) at

the Site.

The RI/FS indicated that the releases from the SMC and the SCI

properties posed no significant threat to public health or the

environment. The ROD, therefore, selected no action for the SMC and SCI

properties at the Site. On September 17, 1993 SCI sold it's property at

the Site to SMC.

EPA signed separate Consent Orders with Lord Corporation in

September 1993, and with GATX Corporation in August 1994, for the

cleanup of their respective current and former properties at the Site.

In 1991, Lord excavated contaminated soil on its property. The area

was backfilled and the soil was taken for offsite incineration. Pre-

design studies and studies of the extent of the remaining contamination

at the Lord property began in 1994. Additional monitoring wells were

installed in the overburden above the bedrock and in the bedrock to

delineate the extent of ground water contamination and investigate the

geology at the Site. In 1996, Lord discovered additional soil

contamination in the ground under the western tank farm (WTF) on its

property. Lord excavated 770 cubic yards of soil from the area. This

soil is currently being biologically treated on the Lord property. Lord

installed a bioventing system beneath the WTF to treat unexcavated soil

around the tank foundations. During the spring and summer of 1997, Lord

has been delineating the extent of ground water contamination on the

west side of French Creek. This contamination has impacted one private

well on the west side of the Creek. Lord has installed a treatment

system on one impacted private well to remove contaminants of concern

at the Site. Lord is continuing to perform additional hydrogeologic

studies on the west side of French Creek.

Because the selected remedy for the Lord Corporation OU-1 at the

Site has not yet been fully implemented and completed, this portion of

the Site is not yet protective of human health and the environment and

is not being proposed for deletion.

In March of 1995 and 1996, EPA modified the former GATX property

remedy to allow off-site thermal treatment of contaminated soils and

sludge and resource recovery. Off-site disposal of the contaminated

sludge and soil began in the summer of 1995 and was completed in the

fall of 1996. Over 32,000 tons of soil and sludge were excavated and

removed from the former GATX property for off-site thermal treatment

and resource recovery. Analysis of samples collected from the pond,

sludge bed and lagoon areas on the former GATX property confirmed that

the performance standard specified by the ROD, which defines the soil

[[Page 44621]]

cleanup goal, was achieved in all the excavation areas. The excavated

areas on the former GATX property were then backfilled with clean soil,

graded back to pre-existing contours and seeded. EPA inspected the

former GATX property on October 10, 1996 and approved the

demobilization of the remedial action contractor from the Site. EPA

reinspected the former GATX property on June 4, 1997 and confirmed that

vegetation had been fully re-established in the disturbed areas.

The ROD did not call for remedial action on the ground water

beneath the former GATX property. Analytical results of ground water

samples taken before the remedial action indicated that contaminants of

concern were either not detected or were detected at concentrations

below their Safe Drinking Water Act Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)

concentrations. Analysis of ground water samples from monitoring wells

on the former GATX property has been performed quarterly through the

remedial action and following completion of the remedial action. The

concentrations of selected VOCs peaked during February of 1996 with

some detections slightly in excess of allowable MCLs. In samples taken

during quarterly monitoring in November 1996, February 1997 and May

1997 no VOCs have exceeded their respective allowable MCL

concentrations. Monitoring is continuing and VOCs concentrations appear

to be declining. Most VOCs concentrations are now below the detection

limits of the analytical equipment.

GATX has implemented all appropriate response actions required

under CERCLA on its former property at the Site. With the exception of

continuing monitoring of the ground water, no further action is

required at the former GATX property. In July 1997, EPA approved the

remedial action certification report documenting the completion of the

cleanup of the former GATX property in accordance with the ROD. The

remedy selected and implemented at the former GATX property, OU-2 of

the Site, remains protective of human health and the environment. The

former GATX property is available for unrestricted use and unlimited

access. Due to the continued ground water monitoring on the former GATX

property, EPA will include this portion of the Site in the next Five-

Year Review of the Site.

In public meetings in Saegertown the community has requested that

EPA cleanup and delete portions of the Site as soon as possible to

allow development of the industrial park. EPA is proposing to delete

all appropriate areas of the Site in order to foster the re-use of

Deleted Properties at the Site.

EPA believes that releases from the former GATX property, as well

as the former SCI property and the SMC property (where no action was

selected by the ROD), may be deleted from the Site as defined on the

National Priority List and that no further remedial measures are

necessary for the Deleted Properties of the Site.

Dated: August 8, 1997.

Thomas Voltaggio,

Acting Regional Administrator, USEPA Region 3.

[FR Doc. 97-22065 Filed 8-21-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P