NOTICES
Notice of Listing on the Pennsylvania Priority List of Hazardous Sites for Remedial Response; Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act
[40 Pa.B. 7434]
[Saturday, December 25, 2010]
Baghurst Alley Site, Upper Salford Township, Montgomery County 1. Background
The Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA) (35 P. S. §§ 6020.101—6020.1305) was enacted in 1988 to provide for the cleanup of sites in this Commonwealth 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 environment. Under section 502(a) of HSCA, the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) (40 CFR Part 300, Appendix A), established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (42 U.S.C.A. §§ 9601—9675), 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 under HSCA.
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, 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 HSCA
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 following site is 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 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 2 Pa.C.S. §§ 501—508 and 701—704 (relating to Administrative Agency Law) and Chapters 5A and 7A or 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 site being added with this publication. Comments concerning the placement of the Baghurst Alley Site (Site) on the PAPL should be directed to Dustin Armstrong, Environmental Cleanup Program, Department of Environmental Protection, Southeast Regional Office, 2 East Main Street, Norristown, PA 19401, darmstrong@ state.pa.us. Comments received by facsimile will not be accepted. Public comments must be received by the Department by January 24, 2011.
The regional office Site file contains all information considered by the Department in placing the Baghurst Alley Site on the PAPL. Persons interested in reviewing the Site file should contact the Southeast Regional Office at (484) 250-5900. TDD users may contact the Department through the Pennsylvania AT&T Relay Service at (800) 654-5984.
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 one site on the PAPL. Table 1 lists the site added to the PAPL by this notice, its HRS score, municipality, county and Department region. Table 2 lists the ten sites currently on the PAPL, including the site added by this notice. The HRS score, municipality, county and Department region for each site are contained in this table. The sites are listed in decreasing order of HRS score.
F. Site Listing Summary
Baghurst Alley Site
The Site is located in Upper Salford Township, Montgomery County in the vicinity of Hendricks and Old Church Roads and Baghurst Drive. The source area is within a 51.91-acre farm property, currently known as the Miller Farm, located at 1926 Hendricks Road.
Residential well contamination at the Site was first reported in 1999 by the Montgomery County Health Department (MCHD). Follow-up sampling in the areas of Baghurst Alley and Hendricks Road revealed additional contaminated wells. Contaminants detected by MCHD and the Department included 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA), trichloroethene (TCE), 1,1-dichloroethene (1,1-DCE), 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA), 1,2-dichloroethene (1,2-DCE) and vinyl chloride. At least one of these compounds was detected at levels exceeding the Federal Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) in several homes.
A Response Justification Document was issued on November 23, 1999, for further investigation and response action. The Department installed point-of-entry treatment (POET) systems on 16 private wells and 1 common well that serves 11 additional homes. The Department maintains these POET systems as an Interim Response Action. In 2004 the Department initiated bottled water delivery to affected residents after the discovery of 1,4-dioxane in residential water supplies. 1,4-dioxane is not effectively removed by the POET systems installed by the Department. Concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in treated residential water supplies have exceeded 350 ug/l. No Federal MCL has been established for 1,4-dioxane, but the Commonwealth residential groundwater Statewide Health Standard established under the Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act is 5.6 ug/l.
Further site characterization revealed concentrations of volatile organic compounds in groundwater that exceed the Statewide Health Standards and MCLs, or both. 1,1,1-TCA, TCE and 1,1-DCE were detected at concentrations as high as 190,000, 45 and 6,100 ug/l, respectively. MCLs for these compounds are 200, 5 and 7 ug/l, respectively. The Department has also investigated soils and groundwater within the source area and groundwater in areas downgradient from the source to determine the extent and migration of contamination at the site.
The results of the site investigation were used to calculate a HRS score for the Site. The overall HRS score for the Site is 50. The Department does not have a cut-off score for listing sites on the PAPL. For comparison purposes only, the EPA requires an HRS score of 28.50 or more for a site to be listed on the Federal National Priorities List.
The Department has surveyed potential locations for water supply wells to serve homes affected by contamination. Investigations at four locations have highlighted potential difficulties with aquifer yield and the presence of naturally occurring arsenic. During the course of the investigation, the Department has continued to maintain the POET systems and to provide bottled water to residences affected by 1,4-dioxane contamination.
With the exception of the Miller Farm property owner, the Department has not identified any other potentially responsible parties. Releases of hazardous substances and contaminants from the Site continue to pose a substantial danger to the public health or safety and the environment. Additional remedial actions are required to permanently address contamination of domestic water supplies and continued offsite migration of contaminants in groundwater. For the Department to carry out a remedial response, the Site must be listed on the PAPL.
G. Additional Information
The Department of Environmental Protection, Southeast Regional Office, Stephan Sinding, Environmental Cleanup Program Manager; Ragesh Patel, Chief, Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program; Dustin Armstrong, Project Manger, 2 East Main Street, Norristown, PA 19401.
Table 1
Sites Being Added by this Notice
Site HRS Municipality County DEP Region Baghurst Alley 50 Upper Salford Township Montgomery Southeast
Table 2
Pennsylvania Priority List for Remedial Response
Site HRS Municipality County DEP Region Dupont/New Castle 54.75 New Castle Lawrence Northwest Baghurst Alley 50 Upper Salford Township Montgomery Southeast Intercourse TCE 50 Leacock Township Lancaster Southcentral Tomstown TCE 50 Quincy Township Franklin Southcentral Bishop Tube 40.79 East Whiteland Township Chester Southeast Chem Fab HSCA Site 39 Doylestown Borough and Township Bucks Southeast Gettysburg Foundry 38.20 Cumberland Township Adams 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. 10-2467. Filed for public inspection December 23, 2010, 9:00 a.m.]
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