[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 121 (Tuesday, June 23, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37615-37617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12793]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-1989-0008; FRL-10010-39-Region 5]


National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; 
National Priorities List: Partial Deletion of the Southeast Rockford 
Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notification of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 is issuing 
a Notification of Intent to Delete Source Area 4 of Operable Unit 3 
(OU3) of the Southeast Rockford Groundwater Contamination Superfund 
Site located in Rockford, Illinois, from the National Priorities List 
(NPL) and requests public comments on this proposed action. The NPL, 
promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, 
is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution 
Contingency Plan (NCP). The EPA and the State of Illinois, through the 
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), have determined that 
all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed for 
Source Area 4. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions 
under Superfund.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 23, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
SFUND-1989-0008, by one of the following methods:
    https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or 
removed from Regulations.gov. EPA may publish any comment received to 
its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Email: Deletions@usepa.onmicrosoft.com.
    Written comments submitted by mail are temporarily suspended and no 
hand deliveries will be accepted. We encourage the public to submit 
comments via email or at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID no. EPA-HQ-SFUND-
1989-0008. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
https://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

[[Page 37616]]

protected through https://www.regulations.gov or email. The https://www.regulations.gov website 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 email comment 
directly to EPA without going through https://www.regulations.gov, your 
email 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 https://www.regulations.gov index, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-1989-0008. 
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 hard copy. Publicly 
available docket materials are available electronically at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-1989-0008 and at 
https://www.epa.gov/superfund/southeast-rockford-groundwater or you may 
contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section for additional availability information.
    The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket Center and Regional 
Records Centers for public visitors to reduce the risk of transmitting 
COVID-19. In addition, many site information repositories are closed 
and information in these repositories, including the deletion docket, 
has not been updated with hardcopy or electronic media. For further 
information and updates on EPA Docket Center services, please visit us 
online at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local area 
health departments, and our Federal partners so that we can respond 
rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Cibulskis, NPL Deletion 
Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5, at (312) 
886-1843 or via email at cibulskis.karen@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

I. Introduction

    EPA Region 5 announces its intent to delete Source Area 4 of OU3 of 
the Southeast Rockford Groundwater Contamination Superfund Site (SERGWC 
Site or Site) from the NPL and requests public comment on this proposed 
action. The NPL constitutes Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the 
NCP, which EPA promulgated pursuant to Section 105 of CERCLA of 1980, 
as amended. EPA maintains the NPL as the 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 
40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, sites deleted from the NPL remain 
eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if future conditions 
warrant such actions. The other portions of the SERGWC Site, including 
Operable Unit 1--Municipal Water Supply, Operable Unit 2--Groundwater, 
and the other source areas in OU3, are not being considered for 
deletion as part of this action and will remain on the NPL.
    EPA will accept comments on its proposal to delete Source Area 4 of 
OU3 of the SERGWC Site from the NPL 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 of this document discusses the 
procedures that EPA is using for this action. Section IV of this 
document discusses where to access and review information that 
demonstrates how the deletion criteria have been met for Source Area 4 
of OU3 of the SERGWC Site.

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, or portions 
thereof, may be deleted from the NPL where no further response is 
appropriate. In making such a determination pursuant to 40 CFR 
300.425(e), EPA 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;
    ii. All appropriate Fund-financed 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 or a 
portion of 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 Source Area 4 of OU3 
of the SERGWC Site from the NPL:
    (1) EPA consulted with the State of Illinois prior to developing 
this Notification of Intent for Partial Deletion.
    (2) EPA has provided the State thirty (30) working days for review 
of this notification prior to publication of it today.
    (3) In accordance with the criteria discussed above, EPA has 
determined that no further response is appropriate for Source Area 4 of 
OU3 of the SERGWC Site.
    (4) The State of Illinois, through the IEPA, concurred with 
deletion of Source Area 4 of OU3 of the SERGWC Site from the NPL on May 
8, 2020.
    (5) Concurrently with the publication of this Notification of 
Intent for Partial Deletion in the Federal Register, an announcement of 
the availability of the Notification of Intent for Partial Deletion is 
being published in a major local newspaper, the Rockford Register Star. 
The newspaper notice announces the 30-day public comment period 
concerning the Notification of Intent for Partial Deletion of the 
SERGWC Site from the NPL.

[[Page 37617]]

    (6) EPA placed copies of documents supporting the proposed partial 
deletion in the deletion docket and made these items available for 
public inspection and copying at https://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-1989-0008 and at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/southeast-rockford-groundwater.
    If comments are received within the 30-day public comment period on 
this document, EPA will evaluate and respond appropriately to the 
comments before making a final decision to delete Source Area 4 of OU3 
of the SERGWC Site from the NPL. If necessary, EPA will prepare a 
Responsiveness Summary to address any significant public comments 
received. After the public comment period, if EPA determines it is 
still appropriate to delete Source Area 4 of OU3 of the SERGWC Site 
from the NPL, the EPA will publish a final Notification of Partial 
Deletion in the Federal Register. Public notices, public submissions, 
and copies of the Responsiveness Summary, if prepared, will be made 
available to interested parties and in the docket listed above.
    Deletion of a portion of a site from the NPL does not itself 
create, alter, or revoke any individual's rights or obligations. 
Deletion of a portion 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. Section 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states that the deletion 
of a site or a portion of a site from the NPL does not preclude 
eligibility for future response actions, should future conditions 
warrant such actions.

IV. Basis for Intended Partial Site Deletion

    The EPA placed copies of a Site-Specific Justification for the 
Partial Deletion of Source Area 4 from the National Priorities List and 
other documents supporting the proposed partial deletion in the 
deletion docket. The material provides explanation of EPA's rationale 
for the partial deletion and demonstrates how Source Area 4 of OU3 of 
the SERGWC Site meets the deletion criteria. This information is made 
available for public inspection in the docket identified above.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals, 
Hazardous substances, Hazardous waste, Intergovernmental relations, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water 
pollution control, Water supply.

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; E.O. 
13626, 77 FR 56749, 3 CFR, 2013 Comp., p. 306; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 
54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 2923, 3 CFR, 
1987 Comp., p. 193.

    Dated: June 9, 2020.
Kurt Thiede,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2020-12793 Filed 6-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


