NOTICES
Notice of Listing on the Pennsylvania Priority List of Hazardous Sites for Remedial Response; Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act
[39 Pa.B. 3219]
[Saturday, June 27, 2009]
Intercourse TCE Site, Leacock Township, Lancaster County Tomstown TCE Site, Quincy Township,
Franklin County1. Background
The Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA) (35 P. S. §§ 6020.101--6020.1305) was enacted to provide for the cleanup of Pennsylvania sites that are releasing or threatening the release of hazardous substances. Section 502(a) of HSCA (35 P. S. § 6020.502) requires that the Department of Environmental Protection (Department) publish in the Pennsylvania Bulletin a priority list of sites with releases or threatened releases for the purpose of taking remedial response. This list is called the Pennsylvania Priority List of Hazardous Sites for Remedial Response (PAPL). The Department places sites on the PAPL when the Department has determined through investigation that there are releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, or releases or substantial threatened releases of contaminants, which present a substantial threat to the public health, safety and envi-ronment. In accordance with the requirements of section 502(a) of HSCA, the Hazard Ranking System (HRS; 40 CFR Part 300, Appendix A) (HRS) established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 9601--9675, (CERCLA), is utilized to rank the sites for placement on the PAPL. The HRS uses mathematical formulas that reflect the relative importance and interrelationships of the various human health and environmental factors to arrive at a final score on a scale of 0 to 100. The values are assigned using information obtained from site investigations. Section 502(a) of HSCA also directs the Department to consider its administrative, enforcement, and financial capabilities when placing sites on the PAPL. HRS scores are finalized by the Department using the HRS in effect at the time the score is prepared and the proposed listing notice is issued pursuant to the statute.
The HRS was developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the method used to evaluate the relative potential of hazardous substance releases to cause health or safety problems, or ecological or environmental damage. It is the principal mechanism for placing a site on the National Priorities List (NPL), the list of priority releases for long-term remedial evaluation and response under CERCLA. The HRS is calculated by utilizing known information to establish the level of threat presented in four potential pathways of human or environmental exposure: groundwater, surface water, air and soil exposure. Within each pathway of exposure, the HRS considers three categories of factors:
(1) Factors that indicate the presence or likelihood of a release to the environment;
(2) Factors that indicate the nature and quantity of the substances presenting the potential threat;
(3) Factors that indicate the human or environmental targets potentially at risk from the site.
The resultant HRS score represents an estimate of the relative probability and magnitude of harm to human populations or sensitive environments from potential exposure to hazardous substances by the groundwater, surface water, soil exposure or air pathways.
2. Summary and Purpose
Placement of a site on the PAPL is used to identify sites that need further study and/or remedial response decisions to address threats to the public health, safety or the environment. The Department will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to take enforcement or other actions under HSCA or other authorities, and/or to proceed directly with HSCA-funded remedial response actions and seek cost recovery after the cleanup.
Remedial response actions will not necessarily be taken in the same order as a site's ranking on the PAPL. The investigation conducted to place a site on the PAPL may not be sufficient to determine either the extent of contamination or the appropriate response actions for a site. The Department may undertake further site investigation and/or an analysis of remedial alternatives to determine appropriate response actions. The length of time needed to complete these studies will vary due to the complexity of a site. Response action decisions and implementation will proceed on individual sites regardless of the progress at other sites. Given the limited resources available in the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund, the Department must carefully balance the relative needs for response at the sites it has studied. The Department may decide not to immediately proceed with a HSCA remedial action or that no remedial action is necessary.
3. Technical Evaluation Grants under Act 108
Under section 510 of HSCA (35 P. S. § 6020.510), the Department may make available a reasonable sum as a grant to the governing body of the host municipality of a site where the Department is considering a remedial response. The host municipality shall use this sum solely to conduct an independent technical evaluation of the proposed remedial response. The grant shall not exceed $50,000. Information and a technical evaluation grant package may be obtained from the Department's regional office in which the site is located. Refer to the Additional Information section of this notice.
A municipality will be sent grant information by the Department after a listing announcement has been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The grant will be signed; however, the grant will not be effective until the proposed remedial response is available for public review. At that time, the municipality may proceed with the review of the Department's proposed remedial response.
Pennsylvania Priority List of Hazardous Sites for Remedial Response
A. Effective Date
The sites listed are being placed on the PAPL effective upon publication of this announcement in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
B. Contact Persons
Individual site information may be obtained by contacting the Department's regional office in which the site is located whose address can be found in the Additional Information section of this notice.
C. Statutory Authority
The PAPL is published under the authority of section 502(a) of the HSCA. Under section 502(b) of HSCA, a decision to place a site on the list or to remove a site from the list is not a final action subject to review under the 2 Pa.C.S. § 103 (relating to Admistrative Agency Law) and section 4 of the Environmental Hearing Board Act (35 P. S.§ 7514), nor shall it confer a right or duty upon the Department or any person.
D. Review and Public Comment
HSCA provides for a 30-day public comment period subsequent to publication of the PAPL. This Pennsylvania Bulletin announcement opens the 30-day comment period for the sites being added with this publication. Written comments should be mailed to: Arthur L. Dalla Piazza, Environmental Cleanup Program, Department of Environmental Protection, Southcentral Region, 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110.
The regional office site files contain all information considered by the Department in placing a site on the PAPL. Files are available for review in the appropriate regional Field Operations Office, by appointment only, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday excluding State holidays. Contact the regional Environmental Cleanup Program Manager, whose address can be found in the Additional Information section of this notice. The Department considers all written comments received during the formal comment period. All written comments and the Department's responses will be placed into the site file and will later be incorporated into the Administrative Record.
E. Contents of List
This notice places two sites on the PAPL. Table 1 lists the sites added to the PAPL by this notice. The names of the sites, HRS scores, municipalities, counties and the Department regions are included in this table. Table 2 lists nine sites currently on the PAPL. Included are the sites added by this notice. The names of the sites, HRS scores, municipalities, counties and the Department's regions are included in this table. The sites are listed in decreasing order of HRS scores.
F. Site Listing Summaries
Intercourse TCE Site
The Intercourse TCE Site is located in Leacock Township, Lancaster County, PA. Land use in the area is commercial and residential surrounded by agriculture. From 2005-2008, residential well sampling was completed at 360 properties. Of these 360 properties, trichloroethylene (TCE) has been detected in well water at 150 properties, with 74 properties returning TCE concentrations of 5 parts per billion (ppb) to 25 ppb. Twelve properties exceed 25 ppb for TCE. TCE is listed as a probable human carcinogen by the EPA. Chronic effects on the liver, kidneys and immune and endocrine systems have been documented in humans exposed to TCE occupationally or from contaminanted drinking water. The Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for public water supplies and the Statewide Health Standard for groundwater cleanup for TCE is 5 ppb. Except for a development that has installed a treated community water supply, residents in the area rely on private wells for their water supplies. Minimal TCE degradation products have been detected in the groundwater samples indicating that the aquifer is not inherently conducive to natural attenuation.
The Department has completed a Prompt Interim Response at the site, offering bottled water to residences with water supply TCE contamination of 5 ppb to 25 ppb. Carbon treatment systems have been offered to those residents whose water supplies are impacted with TCE over 25 ppb. To date, the Department has installed carbon treatment systems on 11 residences and is supplying bottled water to 47 residences. Two carbon treatment systems were installed on commercial facilities and are maintained by these facilities. Twenty eight residences that were eligible for the Prompt Interim Response declined the response.
The Department and its contractor, Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc., conducted a remedial investigation that found TCE in the groundwater at levels from nondetect to 398 ppb. Major fractures/solution features were found at approximately 70--90 feet and 150--200 feet below ground surface (bgs). An electrical resistivity survey mapped saturated fractures trending generally northwest/southeast and northeast/southwest. An east/west fracture was also identified. The groundwater plume within the fractures is restricted to the area south of Old Philadelphia Pike, east of Clearview and Belmont Roads, north of Pequea Lane and west of Carriage Drive. Membrane interface probe and soil boring investigations in potential source areas did not conclusively identify a source of the groundwater contamination. No responsible party has been found and no enforcement actions have been taken.
Tomstown TCE Site
The Tomstown TCE site is located in a rural area of Quincy Township, Franklin County. The site comprises approximately 460 acres and is primarily agricultural and rural residential. An area within the village of Tomstown was being evaluated for a proposed residential subdivision. Three test wells were installed for the proposed development, and samples were collected in July 2006. The sample results revealed the presence of trichloroethylene (TCE) in groundwater at the site. The Department conducted sampling from October 2006 through March 2008 of approximately 90 private wells and several surface water springs. Twenty-nine residences and one business had VOC contamination, with TCE concentrations ranging from less than 1 ppb to 34 ppb. The Maximum Contaminant Level for public water supplies and the groundwater Statewide Health Standard for TCE is 5 ppb. It appears there is widespread groundwater contamination impacting residential private wells.
The Department initiated a Prompt Interim Response at the site in January 2007, offering bottled water to residences with water supply TCE contamination of 5 ppb to 25 ppb and carbon treatment systems to those residences with water supplies impacted with TCE over 25 ppb. To date, the Department has installed carbon treatment systems on 5 residences and is supplying bottled water to 7 residences. Four residences that were eligible for the Prompt Interim Response either declined the response or are no longer occupied.
The Department began an initial site investigation in May 2007. Eleven monitoring wells were constructed throughout the site. These wells and the impacted residential wells were sampled in August 2007. TCE was found at very low levels in four of the monitoring wells (0.03 ppb to 1 ppb). TCE levels in the residential wells were comparable to the levels found during the initial sampling in 2006. Field work on a second phase of the investigation began in February 2008. This work included the re-sampling of existing monitoring wells, test wells installed for the proposed development, and select residential wells. A geophysical investigation was conducted to locate and identify potential subsurface bedrock features, such as joints, fractures, and voids. This subsurface information can be used to better define groundwater flow pathways at the Site and how they relate to the spread of impacted groundwater to residential wells. No responsible party has been found as yet; therefore, no enforcement actions have been taken.
G. Additional Information
Intercourse TCE Site
The Department of Environmental Protection, Southcentral Region, John F. Krueger, Environmental Cleanup Program Manager; Arthur L. Dalla Piazza, Chief, Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program; Crystal J. Snook, Project Manger, 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110.
Tomstown TCE Site
The Department of Environmental Protection, Southcentral Region, John F. Krueger, Environmental Cleanup Program Manager; Arthur L. Dalla Piazza, Chief, Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program; Ruth A. Bishop, Project Manager, 909 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110.
Table 1
Sites Being Added by this Notice
Site HRS Municipality County DEP Region Intercourse TCE 50 Leacock Township Lancaster Southcentral Tomstown TCE 50 Quincy Township Franklin Southcentral
Table 2
Pennsylvania Priority List for Remedial Response
Site HRS Municipality County DEP Region Intercourse TCE 50 Leacock Township Lancaster Southcentral Tomstown TCE 50 Quincy Township Franklin Southcentral Dupont/New Castle 54.75 New Castle Lawrence Northwest Chem Fab HSCA Site 39 Doylestown Borough and Township Bucks Southeast Gettysburg Foundry 38.20 Cumberland Township Adams Southcentral F. E. Cooper 33.62 Broad Top Township Bedford Southcentral Bear Creek Area Chemical 28.46 Fairview, Parker, Concord Township, Petrolia, Fairview, Karns City, Bruin Borough, Butler County; Perry Township, Armstrong County Butler, Armstrong Northwest Schiller 24.65 Richmond Township Crawford Northwest Mun. and Ind. Disp. 19.58 Elizabeth Township Allegheny Southwest JOHN HANGER,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 09-1150. Filed for public inspection June 26, 2009, 9:00 a.m.]
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