National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan National Priorities List

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[FRL-6200-8]

National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan

National Priorities List

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of intent for partial deletion of the Treasure Island

Naval Station--Hunters Point Annex Site from the National Priorities

List (NPL).

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9, announces

its intent to delete operable unit (OU) No. 1, also known as Parcel A,

of Treasure Island Naval Station--Hunters Point Annex, also known as

Hunters Point Naval Shipyard (HPS), Superfund Site (EPA ID #

CA1170090087) 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 Substance Pollution

Contingency Plan (NCP), which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105

of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and

Liability Act (CERCLA).

This proposal for partial deletion pertains to Parcel A, which

includes the upland area of HPS and a portion of the lowlands. A

majority of Parcel A had functioned as a residential area for Navy

personnel and is designated, by the City of San Francisco Redevelopment

Agency, for future residential use. The Navy has issued a ``no action''

Record of Decision (ROD) for Parcel A. EPA bases its proposal to delete

Parcel A on the determination by EPA and the State of California,

through the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA),

Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), that all appropriate

actions under CERCLA have been implemented to protect human health,

welfare, and the environment at Parcel A.

This partial deletion pertains only to Parcel A of the HPS Site and

does not include Parcels B, C, D, E, and F. Parcels B, C, D, E, and F

will remain on the NPL, and response activities will continue at these

parcels.

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

January 14, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Carolyn J. Douglas (SFD-5), NPL

Coordinator, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA

94105, 415-744-2343, Fax 415-744-1916, email DOUGLAS.CAROLYN@EPAMAIL.

EPA. GOV.

Information repositories: Comprehensive information on this Site is

available for viewing at the following locations:

U.S. EPA, Region 9, Superfund Records Center, 4th floor, 95 Hawthorne

St., San Francisco, CA 94105, 415-536-2000

Anna E. Waden Branch Library, 5075 Third St., San Francisco, CA 94124,

415-715-4100

San Francisco Main Public Library, Civic Center, San Francisco, CA

94102, 415-557-4400

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claire Trombadore (SFD-8-2), RPM, U.S.

EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105, 415-744-2409,

Fax 415-744-1916, email TROMBADORE.CLAIRE@ EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. NPL Partial Deletion Criteria

III. Partial Deletion Procedures

IV. Basis for Intended Site Partial Deletion

I. Introduction

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9,

announces its intent to delete a portion of the Treasure Island Naval

Station--Hunters Point Annex, also known as Hunters Point Naval

Shipyard (HPS), Site located in San Francisco, California, from the

National Priorities List (NPL), which constitutes Appendix B of the

National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP),

40 CFR part 300, and requests public comment on this proposal.

This proposal for partial deletion pertains to Parcel A, which

consists of the upland area, as well as a portion of the lowlands, of

HPS. Parcel A is bounded by the other portions of HPS and the Bayview-

Hunters Point district of San Francisco. Parcel A boundaries extend up

to Crisp St. and across Spear Ave. to the south, up to Griffith St. to

the west, and up to Fisher Ave. and

[[Page 69033]]

across Robinson St. and Galvez Ave. to the east. On the north, the

Bayview-Hunters Point district of San Francisco is delineated from HPS

by a fence. A figure and the exact coordinates that define the deleted

property at the Site are contained in the NPL Partial 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

HPS Site and explains how partial deletion criteria are met for this

Site.

II. NPL Partial 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 partial

deletion. EPA is required to provide the state with 30 working days for

review of the partial deletion notice prior to its publication in the

Federal Register.

As described in 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from

the NPL are eligible for further remedial action should future

conditions warrant such action. If new information becomes available

which indicates the 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 Hazard Ranking System.

III. Partial Deletion Procedures

The following procedures were used for the intended partial

deletion of this site: (1) All appropriate response under CERCLA has

been implemented and no further EPA response is appropriate; (2) the

State of California has concurred with the partial deletion; (3) a

notice has been published in the local newspapers and has been

distributed to the appropriate Federal, State and local officials and

other interested parties announcing the commencement of the 30-day

public comment period on EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete; and (4) all

relevant documents have been made available in the local site

information repositories.

Deletion from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or revoke any

individual's rights or obligations. As mentioned in section II of this

document, Sec. 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.

EPA's Region 9 office will accept and evaluate public comments on

EPA's Notice of Intent to Delete before making a final decision to

delete the specified parcel. If necessary, Region 9 will prepare a

Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public comments

received.

If EPA determines, with the State's concurrence, that the partial

deletion is appropriate after consideration of public comment, then EPA

will place a final Notice for Partial Deletion in the Federal Register,

completing the process. Public notices and copies of the Responsiveness

Summary, if necessary, will be available in the site repositories.

IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

The following summary provides EPA's rationale for the proposed

partial deletion of Parcel A of the HPS Site from the NPL.

Site Description

HPS is located on a promontory in southeastern San Francisco. The

promontory is bounded on the north, east, and south by San Francisco

Bay and on the west by the Bayview-Hunters Point district of the City

of San Francisco. The entire HPS covers 936 acres, 493 of which are on

land and 443 of which are under water. To facilitate the environmental

investigation and remediation and ultimate transfer of the property to

the City of San Francisco, HPS was divided into several parcels

(Parcels A through F).

Parcel A, consisting of the upland areas of HPS and a fraction of

the lowlands, is bounded by the other portions of HPS and the Bayview-

Hunters Point district and covers approximately 88 acres. Land to the

northwest of Parcel A is used for residential purposes. The other HPS

parcels that bound Parcel A are currently undergoing investigation and

remediation for future redevelopment. Under the City of San Francisco

Redevelopment Agency's current land-use plan, those parcels will

ultimately be used primarily for commercial and industrial purposes,

whereas Parcel A will be used for residential as well as for light

commercial purposes.

No wetlands or surface waters are located at Parcel A. Limited

quantities of groundwater are present in localized fractures of the

bedrock (which, along with localized areas in which it is covered by

fill, underlies all of Parcel A). Parcel A groundwater is not

considered suitable as a potential source of drinking water because of

low well yield.

No underground storage tanks (UST), aboveground tanks (AST), drums,

or hazardous materials storage areas remain on Parcel A. Sewer lines,

storm drains, and steam lines located in Parcel A were also included in

the early investigations, but no further action was required for these

utilities.

Site History

Hunters Point was first developed for dry dock use in 1867. The

Navy acquired title to the land in 1940 and began developing the area

for various shipyard activities. In 1942, the Navy began using HPS for

shipbuilding, repair, and maintenance. From 1945 to 1974, the shipyard

was primarily used as a repair facility by the Navy. The Navy

discontinued activities at HPS in 1974. From 1976 to 1986, the Navy

leased 98 percent of HPS, including all of Parcel A, to the Triple A

Machine Shop Company (Triple A), a private ship repair company. In

1986, the Navy reoccupied the property. Currently, portions of Parcel A

are subleased for use as artists' studios.

Throughout its history, Parcel A was used by both the Navy and

Triple A for primarily residential purposes. In addition, the Navy used

one building for the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory

Program. Most of the other structures were used as offices and

warehouses.

Site Investigation Activities

The Navy began environmental studies at HPS in 1984 under the U.S.

Department of Defense (DOD) Installation Restoration Program. Between

1984 and 1991, the Navy performed a series of investigations, both

installation-wide and specific to Parcel A, to identify potential

source areas of contamination and to investigate air quality.

In 1989, EPA added HPS to the NPL due to the presence of hazardous

materials from past shipyard operations (proposed in 54 FR 29820, and

final in 54 FR 48184). In 1990, the Navy, EPA,

[[Page 69034]]

and the State of California entered into a Federal Facilities Agreement

(FFA) to coordinate environmental activities at HPS. In 1991, the DOD

designated HPS for closure as an active military base under its Base

Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program.

The Navy carried out a preliminary assessment/site inspection (PA/

SI) of potential source areas on Parcel A that had been identified

during the Navy's previous investigations. Soils at some sites

contained semivolatile organic compounds (SVOC), pesticides,

polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH),

metals, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and herbicides. In the

process of conducting the Remedial Investigation (RI), contaminated

soils in these limited areas were excavated, disposed of off-site, and

replaced with clean soil. At the completion of the RI, the Navy

determined that all necessary response actions had been taken for

Parcel A soils.

As part of the Parcel A RI, groundwater was also investigated. The

RI concluded that the only contamination concern was from motor oil (a

form of TPH). Due to low well yield, lack of historical use of Parcel A

groundwater, and the nature of this bedrock aquifer, it was concluded

that no complete pathway for exposure to Parcel A groundwater exists.

Furthermore, motor oil is not specified as a hazardous substance under

CERCLA, and the State does not intend to require further action on this

release. As requested by the Regional Water Quality Control Board

(RWQCB), however, Parcel A will be subject to a deed notification so

that future users will be informed that motor oil was detected in

groundwater.

In addition to evaluating human health issues, an Ecological Risk

Assessment was conducted. The Ecological Risk Assessment concluded

that, due to the limited availability of habitat, the scarcity of

potential receptors, and the low level of contaminants detected on

Parcel A of HPS, the risks to ecological receptors from Parcel A are

minimal.

After the RI, the Navy, EPA, and Cal/EPA concurred that no further

action is necessary on Parcel A. The proposed plan for this portion of

HPS was released for public comment in August 1995. After reviewing

comments and determining that no significant changes to the preferred

remedy were required, the Navy, in concurrence with EPA and Cal/EPA,

issued a ``no action'' Record of Decision (ROD) in November 1995. Since

hazardous substances are not present at Parcel A at concentrations

above acceptable risk levels, the five year review requirement of

CERCLA section 121(c) is not applicable.

Community Involvement

In the late 1980s, the Navy formed a Technical Review Committee

(TRC), consisting of community members and representatives of

regulatory agencies, to discuss environmental issues pertaining to HPS.

In 1993, pursuant to the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, 10

U.S.C. 2705(d), the TRC was replaced by a Restoration Advisory Board

(RAB), at which representatives from the Navy, the local community, and

regulatory agencies meet monthly to discuss environmental progress at

HPS.

The draft RI report and proposed plan for Parcel A were released to

the public in the summer of 1995. The proposed plan was mailed to

stakeholders involved with HPS. Notice of availability of the proposed

plan was published in local newspapers. The Parcel A ROD summarizes

comments received during the subsequent public meeting and 30 day

public comment period. These community participation activities fulfill

the requirements of section 113(k)(2)(B)(i-v) and section 117(a)(2) of

CERCLA. In addition to this, the Navy publishes an HPS-specific

quarterly newsletter for the local community entitled Environmental

Clean-Up News.

Current Status

One of the three criteria for site deletion specifies that EPA may

delete a site from the NPL if ``responsible parties or other parties

have implemented all appropriate response actions required.'' EPA, with

the concurrence of the State of California, believes that this

criterion for this partial deletion has been met. The State of

California concurs with the proposed partial deletion of Parcel A of

the Treasure Island Naval Station--Hunter's Point Annex Site.

Subsequently, EPA is proposing partial deletion of this Site from the

NPL.

Laura Yoshi,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 9.

[FR Doc. 98-32989 Filed 12-14-98; 8:45 am]

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