National Priorities List, Final Rule, 10078-10084 [E7-3908]

Download as PDF 10078 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 300 [EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006–0755, EPA–HQ– SFUND–2006–0758, EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006– 0760, EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006–0761, EPA– HQ–SFUND–2006–0762; FRL–8283–7] RIN 2050–AD75 National Priorities List, Final Rule Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Final rule. sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES AGENCY: SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (‘‘CERCLA’’ or ‘‘the Act’’), as amended, requires that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (‘‘NCP’’) include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List (‘‘NPL’’) constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (‘‘EPA’’ or ‘‘the Agency’’) in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further investigations will allow EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what CERCLAfinanced remedial action(s), if any, may be appropriate. This rule adds five sites to the General Superfund Section of the NPL. EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date for this amendment to the NCP is April 6, 2007. ADDRESSES: For addresses for the Headquarters and Regional dockets, as well as further details on what these dockets contain, see section II, ‘‘Availability of Information to the Public’’ in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION portion of this preamble. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Jeng, phone (703) 603–8852, State, Tribal and Site Identification Branch; Assessment and Remediation Division; Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (mail code 5204P); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; or the Superfund Hotline, phone (800) 424– 9346 or (703) 412–9810 in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Table of Contents I. Background VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:48 Mar 06, 2007 Jkt 211001 A. What Are CERCLA and SARA? B. What Is the NCP? C. What Is the National Priorities List (NPL)? D. How Are Sites Listed on the NPL? E. What Happens to Sites on the NPL? F. Does the NPL Define the Boundaries of Sites? G. How Are Sites Removed From the NPL? H. May EPA Delete Portions of Sites From the NPL as They Are Cleaned Up? I. What Is the Construction Completion List (CCL)? II. Availability of Information to the Public A. May I Review the Documents Relevant to This Final Rule? B. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Headquarters Docket? C. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Regional Dockets? D. How Do I Access the Documents? E. How May I Obtain a Current List of NPL Sites? III. Contents of This Final Rule A. Additions to the NPL B. What Did EPA Do With the Public Comments It Received? IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review 1. What Is Executive Order 12866? 2. Is This Final Rule Subject to Executive Order 12866 Review? B. Paperwork Reduction Act 1. What Is the Paperwork Reduction Act? 2. Does the Paperwork Reduction Act Apply to This Final Rule? C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 1. What Is the Regulatory Flexibility Act? 2. How Has EPA Complied With the Regulatory Flexibility Act? D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 1. What Is the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)? 2. Does UMRA Apply to This Final Rule? E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism What Is Executive Order 13132 and Is It Applicable to This Final Rule? F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments 1. What Is Executive Order 13175? 2. Does Executive Order 13175 Apply to This Final Rule? G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental Health and Safety Risks 1. What Is Executive Order 13045? 2. Does Executive Order 13045 Apply to This Final Rule? H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Usage Is this Rule Subject to Executive Order 13211? I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 1. What Is the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act? 2. Does the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act Apply to This Final Rule? J. Congressional Review Act 1. Has EPA Submitted This Rule to Congress and the General Accounting Office? 2. Could the Effective Date of This Final Rule Change? PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 3. What Could Cause a Change in the Effective Date of This Rule? I. Background A. What Are CERCLA and SARA? In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601–9675 (‘‘CERCLA’’ or ‘‘the Act’’), in response to the dangers of uncontrolled releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, and releases or substantial threats of releases into the environment of any pollutant or contaminant that may present an imminent or substantial danger to the public health or welfare. CERCLA was amended on October 17, 1986, by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (‘‘SARA’’), Public Law 99–499, 100 Stat. 1613 et seq. B. What Is the NCP? To implement CERCLA, EPA promulgated the revised National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (‘‘NCP’’), 40 CFR part 300, on July 16, 1982 (47 FR 31180), pursuant to CERCLA section 105 and Executive Order 12316 (46 FR 42237, August 20, 1981). The NCP sets guidelines and procedures for responding to releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, or releases or substantial threats of releases into the environment of any pollutant or contaminant that may present an imminent or substantial danger to the public health or welfare. EPA has revised the NCP on several occasions. The most recent comprehensive revision was on March 8, 1990 (55 FR 8666). As required under section 105(a)(8)(A) of CERCLA, the NCP also includes ‘‘criteria for determining priorities among releases or threatened releases throughout the United States for the purpose of taking remedial action and, to the extent practicable, taking into account the potential urgency of such action, for the purpose of taking removal action.’’ ‘‘Removal’’ actions are defined broadly and include a wide range of actions taken to study, clean up, prevent or otherwise address releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants (42 U.S.C. 9601(23)). C. What Is the National Priorities List (NPL)? The NPL is a list of national priorities among the known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States. The list, which is appendix B of the NCP (40 CFR part 300), was required under section 105(a)(8)(B) of CERCLA, as amended by SARA. Section E:\FR\FM\07MRR1.SGM 07MRR1 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES 105(a)(8)(B) defines the NPL as a list of ‘‘releases’’ and the highest priority ‘‘facilities’’ and requires that the NPL be revised at least annually. The NPL is intended primarily to guide EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with a release of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. The NPL is only of limited significance, however, as it does not assign liability to any party or to the owner of any specific property. Also, placing a site on the NPL does not mean that any remedial or removal action necessarily need be taken. For purposes of listing, the NPL includes two sections, one of sites that are generally evaluated and cleaned up by EPA (the ‘‘General Superfund Section’’), and one of sites that are owned or operated by other Federal agencies (the ‘‘Federal Facilities Section’’). With respect to sites in the Federal Facilities Section, these sites are generally being addressed by other Federal agencies. Under Executive Order 12580 (52 FR 2923, January 29, 1987) and CERCLA section 120, each Federal agency is responsible for carrying out most response actions at facilities under its own jurisdiction, custody, or control, although EPA is responsible for preparing a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score and determining whether the facility is placed on the NPL. EPA’s role is less extensive than at other sites. D. How Are Sites Listed on the NPL? There are three mechanisms for placing sites on the NPL for possible remedial action (see 40 CFR 300.425(c) of the NCP): (1) A site may be included on the NPL if it scores sufficiently high on the Hazard Ranking System (‘‘HRS’’), which EPA promulgated as appendix A of the NCP (40 CFR part 300). The HRS serves as a screening tool to evaluate the relative potential of uncontrolled hazardous substances, pollutant or contaminants to pose a threat to human health or the environment. On December 14, 1990 (55 FR 51532), EPA promulgated revisions to the HRS partly in response to CERCLA section 105(c), added by SARA. The revised HRS evaluates four pathways: ground water, surface water, soil exposure, and air. As a matter of Agency policy, those sites that score 28.50 or greater on the HRS are eligible for the NPL; (2) Pursuant to 42 U.S.C 9605(a)(8)(B), each State may designate a single site as its top priority to be listed on the NPL, without any HRS score. This provision of CERCLA requires that, to the extent practicable, the NPL include one facility designated VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:48 Mar 06, 2007 Jkt 211001 by each State as the greatest danger to public health, welfare, or the environment among known facilities in the State. This mechanism for listing is set out in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c)(2); (3) The third mechanism for listing, included in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(c)(3), allows certain sites to be listed without any HRS score, if all of the following conditions are met: • The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the U.S. Public Health Service has issued a health advisory that recommends dissociation of individuals from the release. • EPA determines that the release poses a significant threat to public health. • EPA anticipates that it will be more cost-effective to use its remedial authority than to use its removal authority to respond to the release. EPA promulgated an original NPL of 406 sites on September 8, 1983 (48 FR 40658) and generally has updated it at least annually. E. What Happens to Sites on the NPL? A site may undergo remedial action financed by the Trust Fund established under CERCLA (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Superfund’’) only after it is placed on the NPL, as provided in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(b)(1). (‘‘Remedial actions’’ are those ‘‘consistent with permanent remedy, taken instead of or in addition to removal actions * * *.’’ 42 U.S.C. 9601(24).) However, under 40 CFR 300.425(b)(2) placing a site on the NPL ‘‘does not imply that monies will be expended.’’ EPA may pursue other appropriate authorities to respond to the releases, including enforcement action under CERCLA and other laws. F. Does the NPL Define the Boundaries of Sites? The NPL does not describe releases in precise geographical terms; it would be neither feasible nor consistent with the limited purpose of the NPL (to identify releases that are priorities for further evaluation), for it to do so. Indeed, the precise nature and extent of the site are typically not known at the time of listing. Although a CERCLA ‘‘facility’’ is broadly defined to include any area where a hazardous substance release has ‘‘come to be located’’ (CERCLA section 101(9)), the listing process itself is not intended to define or reflect the boundaries of such facilities or releases. Of course, HRS data (if the HRS is used to list a site) upon which the NPL placement was based will, to some extent, describe the release(s) at issue. PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 10079 That is, the NPL site would include all releases evaluated as part of that HRS analysis. When a site is listed, the approach generally used to describe the relevant release(s) is to delineate a geographical area (usually the area within an installation or plant boundaries) and identify the site by reference to that area. However, the NPL site is not necessarily coextensive with the boundaries of the installation or plant, and the boundaries of the installation or plant are not necessarily the ‘‘boundaries’’ of the site. Rather, the site consists of all contaminated areas within the area used to identify the site, as well as any other location where that contamination has come to be located, or from where that contamination came. In other words, while geographic terms are often used to designate the site (e.g., the ‘‘Jones Co. plant site’’) in terms of the property owned by a particular party, the site, properly understood, is not limited to that property (e.g., it may extend beyond the property due to contaminant migration), and conversely may not occupy the full extent of the property (e.g., where there are uncontaminated parts of the identified property, they may not be, strictly speaking, part of the ‘‘site’’). The ‘‘site’’ is thus neither equal to, nor confined by, the boundaries of any specific property that may give the site its name, and the name itself should not be read to imply that this site is coextensive with the entire area within the property boundary of the installation or plant. In addition, the site name is merely used to help identify the geographic location of the contamination, and is not meant to constitute any determination of liability at a site. For example, the name ‘‘Jones Co. plant site,’’ does not imply that the Jones company is responsible for the contamination located on the plant site. EPA regulations provide that the ‘‘nature and extent of the problem presented by the release’’ will be determined by a Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study (RI/FS) as more information is developed on site contamination (40 CFR 300.5). During the RI/FS process, the release may be found to be larger or smaller than was originally thought, as more is learned about the source(s) and the migration of the contamination. However, the HRS inquiry focuses on an evaluation of the threat posed and therefore the boundaries of the release need not be exactly defined. Moreover, it generally is impossible to discover the full extent of where the contamination ‘‘has come to be located’’ before all necessary studies and remedial work are E:\FR\FM\07MRR1.SGM 07MRR1 10080 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations completed at a site. Indeed, the known boundaries of the contamination can be expected to change over time. Thus, in most cases, it may be impossible to describe the boundaries of a release with absolute certainty. Further, as noted above, NPL listing does not assign liability to any party or to the owner of any specific property. Thus, if a party does not believe it is liable for releases on discrete parcels of property, it can submit supporting information to the Agency at any time after it receives notice it is a potentially responsible party. For these reasons, the NPL need not be amended as further research reveals more information about the location of the contamination or release. G. How Are Sites Removed From the NPL? EPA may delete sites from the NPL where no further response is appropriate under Superfund, as explained in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(e). This section also provides that EPA shall consult with states on proposed deletions and shall consider 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 Superfundfinanced response has been implemented and no further response action is required; or (iii) The remedial investigation has shown the release poses no significant threat to public health or the environment, and taking of remedial measures is not appropriate. H. May EPA Delete Portions of Sites From the NPL as They Are Cleaned Up? In November 1995, EPA initiated a new policy to delete portions of NPL sites where cleanup is complete (60 FR 55465, November 1, 1995). Total site cleanup may take many years, while portions of the site may have been cleaned up and available for productive use. I. What Is the Construction Completion List (CCL)? EPA also has developed an NPL construction completion list (‘‘CCL’’) to simplify its system of categorizing sites and to better communicate the successful completion of cleanup activities (58 FR 12142, March 2, 1993). Inclusion of a site on the CCL has no legal significance. Sites qualify for the CCL when: (1) Any necessary physical construction is complete, whether or not final cleanup levels or other requirements have been achieved; (2) EPA has determined that the response action should be limited to measures that do not involve construction (e.g., institutional controls); or (3) the site qualifies for deletion from the NPL. For the most upto-date information on the CCL, see EPA’s Internet site at https:// www.epa.gov/superfund. II. Availability of Information to the Public A. May I Review the Documents Relevant to This Final Rule? Yes, documents relating to the evaluation and scoring of the sites in this final rule are contained in dockets located both at EPA Headquarters and in the Regional offices. An electronic version of the public docket is available through https:// www.regulations.gov (see table below for Docket Identification numbers). Although not all Docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available Docket materials through the Docket facilities identified below in section II D. Site name City/state Elm Street Ground Water Contamination ......................................................... Terre Haute, IN ............................... Sonford Products ............................................................................................... Flowood, MS ................................... Bandera Road Ground Water Plume ................................................................ Leon Valley, TX .............................. East 67th Street Ground Water Plume ............................................................. Odessa, TX ..................................... Lockheed West Seattle ..................................................................................... Seattle, WA ..................................... sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES B. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Headquarters Docket? C. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Regional Dockets? The Headquarters Docket for this rule contains, for each site, the HRS score sheets, the Documentation Record describing the information used to compute the score, pertinent information regarding statutory requirements or EPA listing policies that affect the site, and a list of documents referenced in the Documentation Record. For sites that received comments during the comment period, the Headquarters Docket also contains a Support Document that includes EPA’s responses to comments. The Regional Dockets contain all the information in the Headquarters Docket, plus the actual reference documents containing the data principally relied upon by EPA in calculating or evaluating the HRS score for the sites located in their Region. These reference documents are available only in the Regional Dockets. For sites that received comments during the comment period, the Regional Docket also contains a Support Document that includes EPA’s responses to comments. D. How Do I Access the Documents? You may view the documents, by appointment only, after the publication of this rule. The hours of operation for VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:48 Mar 06, 2007 Jkt 211001 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 FDMS docket ID No. EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006– 0755 EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006– 0758 EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006– 0760 EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006– 0761 EPA–HQ–SFUND–2006– 0762 the Headquarters Docket are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Please contact the Regional Dockets for hours. Following is the contact information for the EPA Headquarters: Docket Coordinator, Headquarters; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; CERCLA Docket Office; 1301 Constitution Avenue; EPA West, Room 3340, Washington, DC 20004, 202/566– 1744. The contact information for the Regional Dockets is as follows: Joan Berggren, Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT), U.S. EPA, Superfund Records and Information Center, Mailcode HSC, One Congress Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02114–2023; 617/918–1417. E:\FR\FM\07MRR1.SGM 07MRR1 10081 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations Dennis Munhall, Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI), U.S. EPA, 290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007–1866; 212/637–4343. Dawn Shellenberger (ASRC), Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV), U.S. EPA, Library, 1650 Arch Street, Mailcode 3PM52, Philadelphia, PA 19103; 215/ 814–5364. Debbie Jourdan, Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN), U.S. EPA, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, 9th floor, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404/562–8862. Janet Pfundheller, Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI), U.S. EPA, Records Center, Superfund Division SRC–7J, Metcalfe Federal Building, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604; 312/353–5821. Brenda Cook, Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX), U.S. EPA, 1445 Ross Avenue, Mailcode 6SF–RA, Dallas, TX 75202– 2733; 214/665–7436. Michelle Quick, Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE), U.S. EPA, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101; 913/551– 7335. Gwen Christiansen, Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY), U.S. EPA, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Mailcode 8EPR–B, Denver, CO 80202–1129; 303/312–6463. Dawn Richmond, Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU), U.S. EPA, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; 415/972–3097. Ken Marcy, Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA), U.S. EPA, 1200 6th Avenue, Mail Stop ECL–115, Seattle, WA 98101; 206/ 553–2782. E. How May I Obtain a Current List of NPL Sites? You may obtain a current list of NPL sites via the Internet at https:// www.epa.gov/superfund/ (look under the Superfund sites category) or by contacting the Superfund Docket (see contact information above). III. Contents of This Final Rule A. Additions to the NPL This final rule adds the following five sites to the NPL, all to the General Superfund Section: State Site name City/county IN ............................................... MS ............................................. TX .............................................. TX .............................................. WA ............................................. Elm Street Ground Water Contamination ....................................................................................... Sonford Products ............................................................................................................................ Bandera Road Ground Water Plume .............................................................................................. East 67th Street Ground Water Plume ........................................................................................... Lockheed West Seattle ................................................................................................................... Terre Haute. Flowood. Leon Valley. Odessa. Seattle. B. What Did EPA Do With the Public Comments It Received? EPA reviewed all comments received on the sites in this rule and responses to comments are below. EPA received comments from the Mayor of Leon Valley, Texas on behalf of the City Council. The comment letter included a Leon Valley City Council resolution requesting that the Bandera Road Ground Water Plume be added to the NPL in order to remediate the community’s water contamination. For the reasons set forth in the Administrative Record for the site, EPA is adding this site to the NPL. For the remainder of sites in this rule, EPA received no comments, therefore, EPA is placing them on the NPL at this time. All comments that were received by EPA are contained in the Headquarters Docket and are also listed in EPA’s electronic public Docket and comment system at https:// www.regulations.gov. IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review 1. What Is Executive Order 12866? Under Executive Order 12866, (58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)) the Agency must determine whether a regulatory action is ‘‘significant’’ and therefore subject to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review and the requirements of the Executive Order. The Order defines ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ as one that is likely VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:48 Mar 06, 2007 Jkt 211001 to result in a rule that may: (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President’s priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive Order. 2. Is This Final Rule Subject to Executive Order 12866 Review? No. The listing of sites on the NPL does not impose any obligations on any entities. The listing does not set standards or a regulatory regime and imposes no liability or costs. Any liability under CERCLA exists irrespective of whether a site is listed. It has been determined that this action is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under the terms of Executive Order 12866 and is therefore not subject to OMB review. B. Paperwork Reduction Act 1. What Is the Paperwork Reduction Act? According to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., an agency may not conduct or PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information that requires OMB approval under the PRA, unless it has been approved by OMB and displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA’s regulations, after initial display in the preamble of the final rules, are listed in 40 CFR part 9. 2. Does the Paperwork Reduction Act Apply to This Final Rule? This action does not impose an information collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. EPA has determined that the PRA does not apply because this rule does not contain any information collection requirements that require approval of the OMB. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information. E:\FR\FM\07MRR1.SGM 07MRR1 10082 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA’s regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9. C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 1. What Is the Regulatory Flexibility Act? Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996) whenever an agency is required to publish a notice of rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare and make available for public comment a regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions). However, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required if the head of an agency certifies the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. SBREFA amended the Regulatory Flexibility Act to require Federal agencies to provide a statement of the factual basis for certifying that a rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 2. How Has EPA Complied With the Regulatory Flexibility Act? This rule listing sites on the NPL does not impose any obligations on any group, including small entities. This rule also does not establish standards or requirements that any small entity must meet, and imposes no direct costs on any small entity. Whether an entity, small or otherwise, is liable for response costs for a release of hazardous substances depends on whether that entity is liable under CERCLA 107(a). Any such liability exists regardless of whether the site is listed on the NPL through this rulemaking. Thus, this rule does not impose any requirements on any small entities. For the foregoing reasons, I certify that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 1. What Is the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)? Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public Law 104–4, establishes requirements for Federal Agencies to assess the effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:48 Mar 06, 2007 Jkt 211001 EPA generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit analysis, for proposed and final rules with ‘‘Federal mandates’’ that may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year. Before EPA promulgates a rule where a written statement is needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the least costly, most costeffective, or least burdensome alternative that achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205 do not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative if the Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that alternative was not adopted. Before EPA establishes any regulatory requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect small governments, including tribal governments, it must have developed under section 203 of the UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must provide for notifying potentially affected small governments, enabling officials of affected small governments to have meaningful and timely input in the development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant Federal intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and advising small governments on compliance with the regulatory requirements. 2. Does UMRA Apply to This Final Rule? No, EPA has determined that this rule does not contain a Federal mandate that may result in expenditures of $100 million or more for State, local, and tribal governments in the aggregate, or by the private sector in any one year. This rule will not impose any federal intergovernmental mandate because it imposes no enforceable duty upon State, tribal or local governments. Listing a site on the NPL does not itself impose any costs. Listing does not mean that EPA necessarily will undertake remedial action. Nor does listing require any action by a private party or determine liability for response costs. Costs that arise out of site responses result from site-specific decisions regarding what actions to take, not directly from the act of listing a site on the NPL. For the same reasons, EPA also has determined that this rule contains no regulatory requirements that might PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 significantly or uniquely affect small governments. In addition, as discussed above, the private sector is not expected to incur costs exceeding $100 million. EPA has fulfilled the requirement for analysis under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism What Is Executive Order 13132 and Is It Applicable to This Final Rule? Executive Order 13132, entitled ‘‘Federalism’’ (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ‘‘meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.’’ ‘‘Policies that have federalism implications’’ is defined in the Executive Order to include regulations that have ‘‘substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.’’ Under section 6 of Executive Order 13132, EPA may not issue a regulation that has federalism implications, that imposes substantial direct compliance costs, and that is not required by statute, unless the Federal government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by State and local governments, or EPA consults with State and local officials early in the process of developing the proposed regulation. EPA also may not issue a regulation that has federalism implications and that preempts State law, unless the Agency consults with State and local officials early in the process of developing the proposed regulation. This final rule does not have federalism implications. It will not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132. Thus, the requirements of section 6 of the Executive Order do not apply to this rule. F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments 1. What Is Executive Order 13175? Executive Order 13175, entitled ‘‘Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments’’ (65 FR 67249, November 6, 2000), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ‘‘meaningful and timely input by tribal officials in the development of E:\FR\FM\07MRR1.SGM 07MRR1 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations regulatory policies that have tribal implications.’’ ‘‘Policies that have tribal implications’’ is defined in the Executive Order to include regulations that have ‘‘substantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal government and the Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal government and Indian tribes.’’ 2. Does Executive Order 13175 Apply to This Final Rule? This final rule does not have tribal implications. It will not have substantial direct effects on tribal governments, on the relationship between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal government and Indian tribes, as specified in Executive Order 13175. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this final rule. G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental Health and Safety Risks 1. What Is Executive Order 13045? Executive Order 13045: ‘‘Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks’’ (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) applies to any rule that: (1) is determined to be ‘‘economically significant’’ as defined under Executive Order 12866, and (2) concerns an environmental health or safety risk that EPA has reason to believe may have a disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory action meets both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental health or safety effects of the planned rule on children, and explain why the planned regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and reasonably feasible alternatives considered by the Agency. I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 1. What Is the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act? Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104– 113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note), directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling procedures, and business practices) that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA to provide Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides not to use available and applicable voluntary consensus standards. 2. Does the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act Apply to This Final Rule? No. This rulemaking does not involve technical standards. Therefore, EPA did not consider the use of any voluntary consensus standards. J. Congressional Review Act H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Usage 1. Has EPA Submitted This Rule to Congress and the General Accounting Office? The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, that includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. EPA has submitted a report containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A ‘‘major rule’’ cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This rule is not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Is This Rule Subject to Executive Order 13211? This rule is not a ‘‘significant energy action’’ as defined in Executive Order 2. Could the Effective Date of This Final Rule Change? Provisions of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) or section 305 of 2. Does Executive Order 13045 Apply to This Final Rule? This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because it is not an economically significant rule as defined by Executive Order 12866, and because the Agency does not have reason to believe the environmental health or safety risks addressed by this section present a disproportionate risk to children. sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES 13211, ‘‘Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use’’ (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001) because it is not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy. VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:48 Mar 06, 2007 Jkt 211001 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 10083 CERCLA may alter the effective date of this regulation. Under the CRA, 5 U.S.C. 801(a), before a rule can take effect the federal agency promulgating the rule must submit a report to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General. This report must contain a copy of the rule, a concise general statement relating to the rule (including whether it is a major rule), a copy of the cost-benefit analysis of the rule (if any), the agency’s actions relevant to provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (affecting small businesses) and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (describing unfunded federal requirements imposed on state and local governments and the private sector), and any other relevant information or requirements and any relevant Executive Orders. EPA has submitted a report under the CRA for this rule. The rule will take effect, as provided by law, within 30 days of publication of this document, since it is not a major rule. Section 804(2) defines a major rule as any rule that the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finds has resulted in or is likely to result in: an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more; a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, Federal, State, or local government agencies, or geographic regions; or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based enterprises to compete with foreignbased enterprises in domestic and export markets. NPL listing is not a major rule because, as explained above, the listing, itself, imposes no monetary costs on any person. It establishes no enforceable duties, does not establish that EPA necessarily will undertake remedial action, nor does it require any action by any party or determine its liability for site response costs. Costs that arise out of site responses result from site-by-site decisions about what actions to take, not directly from the act of listing itself. Section 801(a)(3) provides for a delay in the effective date of major rules after this report is submitted. 3. What Could Cause a Change in the Effective Date of This Rule? Under 5 U.S.C. 801(b)(1) a rule shall not take effect, or continue in effect, if Congress enacts (and the President signs) a joint resolution of disapproval, described under section 802. E:\FR\FM\07MRR1.SGM 07MRR1 10084 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations Another statutory provision that may affect this rule is CERCLA section 305, which provides for a legislative veto of regulations promulgated under CERCLA. Although INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919,103 S. Ct. 2764 (1983) and Bd. of Regents of the University of Washington v. EPA, 86 F.3d 1214,1222 (D.C. Cir. 1996) cast the validity of the legislative veto into question, EPA has transmitted a copy of this regulation to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. If action by Congress under either the CRA or CERCLA section 305 calls the effective date of this regulation into question, EPA will publish a document of clarification in the Federal Register. List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300 PART 300—[AMENDED] Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous substances, Hazardous waste, Intergovernmental relations, Natural resources, Oil pollution, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water pollution control, Water supply. I Dated: February 27, 2007. Susan Parker Bodine, Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. 40 CFR part 300 is amended as follows: I 1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as follows: Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 9601–9657; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 2923, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193. 2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended by adding the following sites in alphabetical order to read as follows: I Appendix B to Part 300—National Priorities List TABLE 1.—GENERAL SUPERFUND SECTION Notes (a) State Site name * IN .................. * * * * Elm Street Ground Water Contamination ........................................................................ * Terre Haute. * * MS ................ * * * * Sonford Products ............................................................................................................. * Flowood. * * TX ................. * * * * Bandera Road Ground Water Plume ............................................................................... * Leon Valley. * * TX ................. * * * * East 67th Street Ground Water Plume ............................................................................ Odessa. * WA ................ * * * * Lockheed West Seattle .................................................................................................... Seattle. * * * City/county * * * * * * * * A = Based on issuance of health advisory by Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (HRS score need not be ≥ 28.50). C = Sites on Construction Completion list. S = State top priority (HRS score need not be ≥ 28.50) P = Sites with partial deletion(s). (a) * * * * * Management Regulation (FMR) by revising coverage on personal property and moving it into subchapter B of the FMR. This final rule adds a new part to subchapter B of the FMR to provide an overview of the property disposal regulation and provide definitions for terms found in the FMR parts. [FR Doc. E7–3908 Filed 3–6–07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION 41 CFR Part 102–35 DATES: [FMR Amendment 2007–01; FMR Case 2004–102–1; Docket 2007–001; Sequence 3] FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: RIN 3090–AH93 Federal Management Regulation; FMR Case 2004–102–1, Disposition of Personal Property Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration (GSA). ACTION: Final rule. sroberts on PROD1PC70 with RULES AGENCY: SUMMARY: The General Services Administration is amending the Federal VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:48 Mar 06, 2007 Jkt 211001 Effective Date: April 6, 2007. Mr. Robert Holcombe, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Personal Property Management Policy, at (202) 501–3828, or e-mail at robert.holcombe@gsa.gov for clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat, Room 4035, GS Building, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 501–4755. Please cite FMR Amendment 2007–01, FMR Case 2004–102–1. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 A. Background A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on September 12, 2006 (71 FR 53646) soliciting comments on proposed changes to 41 CFR part 102– 35. The due date for comments was extended in a Federal Register proposed rule document on October 18, 2006 (71 FR 61445). Comments were received from three respondents relating to the sale of personal property. These comments do not directly address any provisions contained in this final rule, and will be held for consideration when the regulation covering the sale of Federal personal property assets, Federal Management Regulation (FMR) part 102–38, is released for comment. FMR part 102–38 is currently being reviewed within GSA for revisions. This final rule adds a new part, 102– 35, to subchapter B of the FMR to provide an overview of the property disposal regulation and to provide E:\FR\FM\07MRR1.SGM 07MRR1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 7, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10078-10084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3908]



[[Page 10078]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 300

[EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0755, EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0758, EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-
0760, EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0761, EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0762; FRL-8283-7]
RIN 2050-AD75


National Priorities List, Final Rule

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires 
that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency 
Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known 
releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or 
contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List 
(``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide 
the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the Agency'') in 
determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further 
investigations will allow EPA to assess the nature and extent of public 
health and environmental risks associated with the site and to 
determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be 
appropriate. This rule adds five sites to the General Superfund Section 
of the NPL.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The effective date for this amendment to the NCP is 
April 6, 2007.

ADDRESSES: For addresses for the Headquarters and Regional dockets, as 
well as further details on what these dockets contain, see section II, 
``Availability of Information to the Public'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION portion of this preamble.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Jeng, phone (703) 603-8852, 
State, Tribal and Site Identification Branch; Assessment and 
Remediation Division; Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology 
Innovation (mail code 5204P); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; or the Superfund 
Hotline, phone (800) 424-9346 or (703) 412-9810 in the Washington, DC, 
metropolitan area.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
    A. What Are CERCLA and SARA?
    B. What Is the NCP?
    C. What Is the National Priorities List (NPL)?
    D. How Are Sites Listed on the NPL?
    E. What Happens to Sites on the NPL?
    F. Does the NPL Define the Boundaries of Sites?
    G. How Are Sites Removed From the NPL?
    H. May EPA Delete Portions of Sites From the NPL as They Are 
Cleaned Up?
    I. What Is the Construction Completion List (CCL)?
II. Availability of Information to the Public
    A. May I Review the Documents Relevant to This Final Rule?
    B. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Headquarters 
Docket?
    C. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Regional 
Dockets?
    D. How Do I Access the Documents?
    E. How May I Obtain a Current List of NPL Sites?
III. Contents of This Final Rule
    A. Additions to the NPL
    B. What Did EPA Do With the Public Comments It Received?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
    A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review
    1. What Is Executive Order 12866?
    2. Is This Final Rule Subject to Executive Order 12866 Review?
    B. Paperwork Reduction Act
    1. What Is the Paperwork Reduction Act?
    2. Does the Paperwork Reduction Act Apply to This Final Rule?
    C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
    1. What Is the Regulatory Flexibility Act?
    2. How Has EPA Complied With the Regulatory Flexibility Act?
    D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
    1. What Is the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)?
    2. Does UMRA Apply to This Final Rule?
    E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
    What Is Executive Order 13132 and Is It Applicable to This Final 
Rule?
    F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With 
Indian Tribal Governments
    1. What Is Executive Order 13175?
    2. Does Executive Order 13175 Apply to This Final Rule?
    G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From 
Environmental Health and Safety Risks
    1. What Is Executive Order 13045?
    2. Does Executive Order 13045 Apply to This Final Rule?
    H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect 
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Usage Is this Rule Subject to 
Executive Order 13211?
    I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act
    1. What Is the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act?
    2. Does the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 
Apply to This Final Rule?
    J. Congressional Review Act
    1. Has EPA Submitted This Rule to Congress and the General 
Accounting Office?
    2. Could the Effective Date of This Final Rule Change?
    3. What Could Cause a Change in the Effective Date of This Rule?

I. Background

A. What Are CERCLA and SARA?

    In 1980, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9601-9675 (``CERCLA'' or 
``the Act''), in response to the dangers of uncontrolled releases or 
threatened releases of hazardous substances, and releases or 
substantial threats of releases into the environment of any pollutant 
or contaminant that may present an imminent or substantial danger to 
the public health or welfare. CERCLA was amended on October 17, 1986, 
by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (``SARA''), Public 
Law 99-499, 100 Stat. 1613 et seq.

B. What Is the NCP?

    To implement CERCLA, EPA promulgated the revised National Oil and 
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP''), 40 CFR part 
300, on July 16, 1982 (47 FR 31180), pursuant to CERCLA section 105 and 
Executive Order 12316 (46 FR 42237, August 20, 1981). The NCP sets 
guidelines and procedures for responding to releases and threatened 
releases of hazardous substances, or releases or substantial threats of 
releases into the environment of any pollutant or contaminant that may 
present an imminent or substantial danger to the public health or 
welfare. EPA has revised the NCP on several occasions. The most recent 
comprehensive revision was on March 8, 1990 (55 FR 8666).
    As required under section 105(a)(8)(A) of CERCLA, the NCP also 
includes ``criteria for determining priorities among releases or 
threatened releases throughout the United States for the purpose of 
taking remedial action and, to the extent practicable, taking into 
account the potential urgency of such action, for the purpose of taking 
removal action.'' ``Removal'' actions are defined broadly and include a 
wide range of actions taken to study, clean up, prevent or otherwise 
address releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, 
pollutants or contaminants (42 U.S.C. 9601(23)).

C. What Is the National Priorities List (NPL)?

    The NPL is a list of national priorities among the known or 
threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or 
contaminants throughout the United States. The list, which is appendix 
B of the NCP (40 CFR part 300), was required under section 105(a)(8)(B) 
of CERCLA, as amended by SARA. Section

[[Page 10079]]

105(a)(8)(B) defines the NPL as a list of ``releases'' and the highest 
priority ``facilities'' and requires that the NPL be revised at least 
annually. The NPL is intended primarily to guide EPA in determining 
which sites warrant further investigation to assess the nature and 
extent of public health and environmental risks associated with a 
release of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. The NPL is 
only of limited significance, however, as it does not assign liability 
to any party or to the owner of any specific property. Also, placing a 
site on the NPL does not mean that any remedial or removal action 
necessarily need be taken.
    For purposes of listing, the NPL includes two sections, one of 
sites that are generally evaluated and cleaned up by EPA (the ``General 
Superfund Section''), and one of sites that are owned or operated by 
other Federal agencies (the ``Federal Facilities Section''). With 
respect to sites in the Federal Facilities Section, these sites are 
generally being addressed by other Federal agencies. Under Executive 
Order 12580 (52 FR 2923, January 29, 1987) and CERCLA section 120, each 
Federal agency is responsible for carrying out most response actions at 
facilities under its own jurisdiction, custody, or control, although 
EPA is responsible for preparing a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score 
and determining whether the facility is placed on the NPL. EPA's role 
is less extensive than at other sites.

D. How Are Sites Listed on the NPL?

    There are three mechanisms for placing sites on the NPL for 
possible remedial action (see 40 CFR 300.425(c) of the NCP): (1) A site 
may be included on the NPL if it scores sufficiently high on the Hazard 
Ranking System (``HRS''), which EPA promulgated as appendix A of the 
NCP (40 CFR part 300). The HRS serves as a screening tool to evaluate 
the relative potential of uncontrolled hazardous substances, pollutant 
or contaminants to pose a threat to human health or the environment. On 
December 14, 1990 (55 FR 51532), EPA promulgated revisions to the HRS 
partly in response to CERCLA section 105(c), added by SARA. The revised 
HRS evaluates four pathways: ground water, surface water, soil 
exposure, and air. As a matter of Agency policy, those sites that score 
28.50 or greater on the HRS are eligible for the NPL; (2) Pursuant to 
42 U.S.C 9605(a)(8)(B), each State may designate a single site as its 
top priority to be listed on the NPL, without any HRS score. This 
provision of CERCLA requires that, to the extent practicable, the NPL 
include one facility designated by each State as the greatest danger to 
public health, welfare, or the environment among known facilities in 
the State. This mechanism for listing is set out in the NCP at 40 CFR 
300.425(c)(2); (3) The third mechanism for listing, included in the NCP 
at 40 CFR 300.425(c)(3), allows certain sites to be listed without any 
HRS score, if all of the following conditions are met:
     The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
(ATSDR) of the U.S. Public Health Service has issued a health advisory 
that recommends dissociation of individuals from the release.
     EPA determines that the release poses a significant threat 
to public health.
     EPA anticipates that it will be more cost-effective to use 
its remedial authority than to use its removal authority to respond to 
the release.
    EPA promulgated an original NPL of 406 sites on September 8, 1983 
(48 FR 40658) and generally has updated it at least annually.

E. What Happens to Sites on the NPL?

    A site may undergo remedial action financed by the Trust Fund 
established under CERCLA (commonly referred to as the ``Superfund'') 
only after it is placed on the NPL, as provided in the NCP at 40 CFR 
300.425(b)(1). (``Remedial actions'' are those ``consistent with 
permanent remedy, taken instead of or in addition to removal actions * 
* *.'' 42 U.S.C. 9601(24).) However, under 40 CFR 300.425(b)(2) placing 
a site on the NPL ``does not imply that monies will be expended.'' EPA 
may pursue other appropriate authorities to respond to the releases, 
including enforcement action under CERCLA and other laws.

F. Does the NPL Define the Boundaries of Sites?

    The NPL does not describe releases in precise geographical terms; 
it would be neither feasible nor consistent with the limited purpose of 
the NPL (to identify releases that are priorities for further 
evaluation), for it to do so. Indeed, the precise nature and extent of 
the site are typically not known at the time of listing.
    Although a CERCLA ``facility'' is broadly defined to include any 
area where a hazardous substance release has ``come to be located'' 
(CERCLA section 101(9)), the listing process itself is not intended to 
define or reflect the boundaries of such facilities or releases. Of 
course, HRS data (if the HRS is used to list a site) upon which the NPL 
placement was based will, to some extent, describe the release(s) at 
issue. That is, the NPL site would include all releases evaluated as 
part of that HRS analysis.
    When a site is listed, the approach generally used to describe the 
relevant release(s) is to delineate a geographical area (usually the 
area within an installation or plant boundaries) and identify the site 
by reference to that area. However, the NPL site is not necessarily 
coextensive with the boundaries of the installation or plant, and the 
boundaries of the installation or plant are not necessarily the 
``boundaries'' of the site. Rather, the site consists of all 
contaminated areas within the area used to identify the site, as well 
as any other location where that contamination has come to be located, 
or from where that contamination came.
    In other words, while geographic terms are often used to designate 
the site (e.g., the ``Jones Co. plant site'') in terms of the property 
owned by a particular party, the site, properly understood, is not 
limited to that property (e.g., it may extend beyond the property due 
to contaminant migration), and conversely may not occupy the full 
extent of the property (e.g., where there are uncontaminated parts of 
the identified property, they may not be, strictly speaking, part of 
the ``site''). The ``site'' is thus neither equal to, nor confined by, 
the boundaries of any specific property that may give the site its 
name, and the name itself should not be read to imply that this site is 
coextensive with the entire area within the property boundary of the 
installation or plant. In addition, the site name is merely used to 
help identify the geographic location of the contamination, and is not 
meant to constitute any determination of liability at a site. For 
example, the name ``Jones Co. plant site,'' does not imply that the 
Jones company is responsible for the contamination located on the plant 
site.
    EPA regulations provide that the ``nature and extent of the problem 
presented by the release'' will be determined by a Remedial 
Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) as more information is 
developed on site contamination (40 CFR 300.5). During the RI/FS 
process, the release may be found to be larger or smaller than was 
originally thought, as more is learned about the source(s) and the 
migration of the contamination. However, the HRS inquiry focuses on an 
evaluation of the threat posed and therefore the boundaries of the 
release need not be exactly defined. Moreover, it generally is 
impossible to discover the full extent of where the contamination ``has 
come to be located'' before all necessary studies and remedial work are

[[Page 10080]]

completed at a site. Indeed, the known boundaries of the contamination 
can be expected to change over time. Thus, in most cases, it may be 
impossible to describe the boundaries of a release with absolute 
certainty.
    Further, as noted above, NPL listing does not assign liability to 
any party or to the owner of any specific property. Thus, if a party 
does not believe it is liable for releases on discrete parcels of 
property, it can submit supporting information to the Agency at any 
time after it receives notice it is a potentially responsible party.
    For these reasons, the NPL need not be amended as further research 
reveals more information about the location of the contamination or 
release.

G. How Are Sites Removed From the NPL?

    EPA may delete sites from the NPL where no further response is 
appropriate under Superfund, as explained in the NCP at 40 CFR 
300.425(e). This section also provides that EPA shall consult with 
states on proposed deletions and shall consider 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 Superfund-financed response has been 
implemented and no further response action is required; or
    (iii) The remedial investigation has shown the release poses no 
significant threat to public health or the environment, and taking of 
remedial measures is not appropriate.

H. May EPA Delete Portions of Sites From the NPL as They Are Cleaned 
Up?

    In November 1995, EPA initiated a new policy to delete portions of 
NPL sites where cleanup is complete (60 FR 55465, November 1, 1995). 
Total site cleanup may take many years, while portions of the site may 
have been cleaned up and available for productive use.

I. What Is the Construction Completion List (CCL)?

    EPA also has developed an NPL construction completion list 
(``CCL'') to simplify its system of categorizing sites and to better 
communicate the successful completion of cleanup activities (58 FR 
12142, March 2, 1993). Inclusion of a site on the CCL has no legal 
significance.
    Sites qualify for the CCL when: (1) Any necessary physical 
construction is complete, whether or not final cleanup levels or other 
requirements have been achieved; (2) EPA has determined that the 
response action should be limited to measures that do not involve 
construction (e.g., institutional controls); or (3) the site qualifies 
for deletion from the NPL. For the most up-to-date information on the 
CCL, see EPA's Internet site at https://www.epa.gov/superfund.

II. Availability of Information to the Public

A. May I Review the Documents Relevant to This Final Rule?

    Yes, documents relating to the evaluation and scoring of the sites 
in this final rule are contained in dockets located both at EPA 
Headquarters and in the Regional offices.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
https://www.regulations.gov (see table below for Docket Identification 
numbers). Although not all Docket materials may be available 
electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available 
Docket materials through the Docket facilities identified below in 
section II D.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Site name                         City/state                      FDMS docket ID No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elm Street Ground Water Contamination...  Terre Haute, IN..........  EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0755
Sonford Products........................  Flowood, MS..............  EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0758
Bandera Road Ground Water Plume.........  Leon Valley, TX..........  EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0760
East 67th Street Ground Water Plume.....  Odessa, TX...............  EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0761
Lockheed West Seattle...................  Seattle, WA..............  EPA-HQ-SFUND-2006-0762
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Headquarters Docket?

    The Headquarters Docket for this rule contains, for each site, the 
HRS score sheets, the Documentation Record describing the information 
used to compute the score, pertinent information regarding statutory 
requirements or EPA listing policies that affect the site, and a list 
of documents referenced in the Documentation Record. For sites that 
received comments during the comment period, the Headquarters Docket 
also contains a Support Document that includes EPA's responses to 
comments.

C. What Documents Are Available for Review at the Regional Dockets?

    The Regional Dockets contain all the information in the 
Headquarters Docket, plus the actual reference documents containing the 
data principally relied upon by EPA in calculating or evaluating the 
HRS score for the sites located in their Region. These reference 
documents are available only in the Regional Dockets. For sites that 
received comments during the comment period, the Regional Docket also 
contains a Support Document that includes EPA's responses to comments.

D. How Do I Access the Documents?

    You may view the documents, by appointment only, after the 
publication of this rule. The hours of operation for the Headquarters 
Docket are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
excluding Federal holidays. Please contact the Regional Dockets for 
hours.
    Following is the contact information for the EPA Headquarters: 
Docket Coordinator, Headquarters; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 
CERCLA Docket Office; 1301 Constitution Avenue; EPA West, Room 3340, 
Washington, DC 20004, 202/566-1744.
    The contact information for the Regional Dockets is as follows:
    Joan Berggren, Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT), U.S. EPA, 
Superfund Records and Information Center, Mailcode HSC, One Congress 
Street, Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02114-2023; 617/918-1417.

[[Page 10081]]

    Dennis Munhall, Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI), U.S. EPA, 290 Broadway, 
New York, NY 10007-1866; 212/637-4343.
    Dawn Shellenberger (ASRC), Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV), U.S. 
EPA, Library, 1650 Arch Street, Mailcode 3PM52, Philadelphia, PA 19103; 
215/814-5364.
    Debbie Jourdan, Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN), U.S. 
EPA, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, 9th floor, Atlanta, GA 30303; 404/562-8862.
    Janet Pfundheller, Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI), U.S. EPA, 
Records Center, Superfund Division SRC-7J, Metcalfe Federal Building, 
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604; 312/353-5821.
    Brenda Cook, Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX), U.S. EPA, 1445 Ross 
Avenue, Mailcode 6SF-RA, Dallas, TX 75202-2733; 214/665-7436.
    Michelle Quick, Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE), U.S. EPA, 901 North 5th 
Street, Kansas City, KS 66101; 913/551-7335.
    Gwen Christiansen, Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY), U.S. EPA, 
1595 Wynkoop Street, Mailcode 8EPR-B, Denver, CO 80202-1129; 303/312-
6463.
    Dawn Richmond, Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU), U.S. EPA, 75 
Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; 415/972-3097.
    Ken Marcy, Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA), U.S. EPA, 1200 6th Avenue, 
Mail Stop ECL-115, Seattle, WA 98101; 206/553-2782.

E. How May I Obtain a Current List of NPL Sites?

    You may obtain a current list of NPL sites via the Internet at 
https://www.epa.gov/superfund/ (look under the Superfund sites category) 
or by contacting the Superfund Docket (see contact information above).

III. Contents of This Final Rule

A. Additions to the NPL

    This final rule adds the following five sites to the NPL, all to 
the General Superfund Section:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  State                                    Site name                          City/county
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN......................................  Elm Street Ground Water Contamination.....  Terre Haute.
MS......................................  Sonford Products..........................  Flowood.
TX......................................  Bandera Road Ground Water Plume...........  Leon Valley.
TX......................................  East 67th Street Ground Water Plume.......  Odessa.
WA......................................  Lockheed West Seattle.....................  Seattle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. What Did EPA Do With the Public Comments It Received?

    EPA reviewed all comments received on the sites in this rule and 
responses to comments are below.
    EPA received comments from the Mayor of Leon Valley, Texas on 
behalf of the City Council. The comment letter included a Leon Valley 
City Council resolution requesting that the Bandera Road Ground Water 
Plume be added to the NPL in order to remediate the community's water 
contamination. For the reasons set forth in the Administrative Record 
for the site, EPA is adding this site to the NPL.
    For the remainder of sites in this rule, EPA received no comments, 
therefore, EPA is placing them on the NPL at this time. All comments 
that were received by EPA are contained in the Headquarters Docket and 
are also listed in EPA's electronic public Docket and comment system at 
https://www.regulations.gov.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review

1. What Is Executive Order 12866?
    Under Executive Order 12866, (58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993)) the 
Agency must determine whether a regulatory action is ``significant'' 
and therefore subject to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review 
and the requirements of the Executive Order. The Order defines 
``significant regulatory action'' as one that is likely to result in a 
rule that may: (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million 
or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of 
the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere 
with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially alter 
the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 
programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) 
raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the 
President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the Executive 
Order.
2. Is This Final Rule Subject to Executive Order 12866 Review?
    No. The listing of sites on the NPL does not impose any obligations 
on any entities. The listing does not set standards or a regulatory 
regime and imposes no liability or costs. Any liability under CERCLA 
exists irrespective of whether a site is listed. It has been determined 
that this action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the 
terms of Executive Order 12866 and is therefore not subject to OMB 
review.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

1. What Is the Paperwork Reduction Act?
    According to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq., an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to a collection of information that requires OMB 
approval under the PRA, unless it has been approved by OMB and displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations, after initial display in the preamble of the final rules, 
are listed in 40 CFR part 9.
2. Does the Paperwork Reduction Act Apply to This Final Rule?
    This action does not impose an information collection burden under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. 
EPA has determined that the PRA does not apply because this rule does 
not contain any information collection requirements that require 
approval of the OMB.
    Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources 
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or 
provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time 
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize 
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and 
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to 
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; 
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; 
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; 
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

[[Page 10082]]

    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations in 40 CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

1. What Is the Regulatory Flexibility Act?
    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 
as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
(SBREFA) of 1996) whenever an agency is required to publish a notice of 
rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare and make 
available for public comment a regulatory flexibility analysis that 
describes the effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small 
businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions). 
However, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required if the head of 
an agency certifies the rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. SBREFA amended the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act to require Federal agencies to provide a 
statement of the factual basis for certifying that a rule will not have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
2. How Has EPA Complied With the Regulatory Flexibility Act?
    This rule listing sites on the NPL does not impose any obligations 
on any group, including small entities. This rule also does not 
establish standards or requirements that any small entity must meet, 
and imposes no direct costs on any small entity. Whether an entity, 
small or otherwise, is liable for response costs for a release of 
hazardous substances depends on whether that entity is liable under 
CERCLA 107(a). Any such liability exists regardless of whether the site 
is listed on the NPL through this rulemaking. Thus, this rule does not 
impose any requirements on any small entities. For the foregoing 
reasons, I certify that this rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

1. What Is the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)?
    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public 
Law 104-4, establishes requirements for Federal Agencies to assess the 
effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal 
governments and the private sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA, EPA 
generally must prepare a written statement, including a cost-benefit 
analysis, for proposed and final rules with ``Federal mandates'' that 
may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal governments, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in any 
one year. Before EPA promulgates a rule where a written statement is 
needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires EPA to identify and 
consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives and adopt the 
least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative that 
achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of section 205 do 
not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable law. Moreover, 
section 205 allows EPA to adopt an alternative other than the least 
costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative if the 
Administrator publishes with the final rule an explanation why that 
alternative was not adopted. Before EPA establishes any regulatory 
requirements that may significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments, including tribal governments, it must have developed under 
section 203 of the UMRA a small government agency plan. The plan must 
provide for notifying potentially affected small governments, enabling 
officials of affected small governments to have meaningful and timely 
input in the development of EPA regulatory proposals with significant 
Federal intergovernmental mandates, and informing, educating, and 
advising small governments on compliance with the regulatory 
requirements.
2. Does UMRA Apply to This Final Rule?
    No, EPA has determined that this rule does not contain a Federal 
mandate that may result in expenditures of $100 million or more for 
State, local, and tribal governments in the aggregate, or by the 
private sector in any one year. This rule will not impose any federal 
intergovernmental mandate because it imposes no enforceable duty upon 
State, tribal or local governments. Listing a site on the NPL does not 
itself impose any costs. Listing does not mean that EPA necessarily 
will undertake remedial action. Nor does listing require any action by 
a private party or determine liability for response costs. Costs that 
arise out of site responses result from site-specific decisions 
regarding what actions to take, not directly from the act of listing a 
site on the NPL.
    For the same reasons, EPA also has determined that this rule 
contains no regulatory requirements that might significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments. In addition, as discussed above, the 
private sector is not expected to incur costs exceeding $100 million. 
EPA has fulfilled the requirement for analysis under the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

What Is Executive Order 13132 and Is It Applicable to This Final Rule?
    Executive Order 13132, entitled ``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August 
10, 1999), requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure 
``meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 
development of regulatory policies that have federalism implications.'' 
``Policies that have federalism implications'' is defined in the 
Executive Order to include regulations that have ``substantial direct 
effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government.''
    Under section 6 of Executive Order 13132, EPA may not issue a 
regulation that has federalism implications, that imposes substantial 
direct compliance costs, and that is not required by statute, unless 
the Federal government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct 
compliance costs incurred by State and local governments, or EPA 
consults with State and local officials early in the process of 
developing the proposed regulation. EPA also may not issue a regulation 
that has federalism implications and that preempts State law, unless 
the Agency consults with State and local officials early in the process 
of developing the proposed regulation. This final rule does not have 
federalism implications. It will not have substantial direct effects on 
the States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132. 
Thus, the requirements of section 6 of the Executive Order do not apply 
to this rule.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

1. What Is Executive Order 13175?
    Executive Order 13175, entitled ``Consultation and Coordination 
with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 67249, November 6, 2000), 
requires EPA to develop an accountable process to ensure ``meaningful 
and timely input by tribal officials in the development of

[[Page 10083]]

regulatory policies that have tribal implications.'' ``Policies that 
have tribal implications'' is defined in the Executive Order to include 
regulations that have ``substantial direct effects on one or more 
Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal government and 
the Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities 
between the Federal government and Indian tribes.''
2. Does Executive Order 13175 Apply to This Final Rule?
    This final rule does not have tribal implications. It will not have 
substantial direct effects on tribal governments, on the relationship 
between the Federal government and Indian tribes, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
government and Indian tribes, as specified in Executive Order 13175. 
Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this final rule.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health and Safety Risks

1. What Is Executive Order 13045?
    Executive Order 13045: ``Protection of Children from Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) applies 
to any rule that: (1) is determined to be ``economically significant'' 
as defined under Executive Order 12866, and (2) concerns an 
environmental health or safety risk that EPA has reason to believe may 
have a disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory action 
meets both criteria, the Agency must evaluate the environmental health 
or safety effects of the planned rule on children, and explain why the 
planned regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and 
reasonably feasible alternatives considered by the Agency.
2. Does Executive Order 13045 Apply to This Final Rule?
    This rule is not subject to Executive Order 13045 because it is not 
an economically significant rule as defined by Executive Order 12866, 
and because the Agency does not have reason to believe the 
environmental health or safety risks addressed by this section present 
a disproportionate risk to children.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Usage

Is This Rule Subject to Executive Order 13211?
    This rule is not a ``significant energy action'' as defined in 
Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 
28355, May 22, 2001) because it is not likely to have a significant 
adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

1. What Is the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act?
    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104-113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 
note), directs EPA to use voluntary consensus standards in its 
regulatory activities unless to do so would be inconsistent with 
applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards 
are technical standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, 
sampling procedures, and business practices) that are developed or 
adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies. The NTTAA directs EPA 
to provide Congress, through OMB, explanations when the Agency decides 
not to use available and applicable voluntary consensus standards.
2. Does the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act Apply to 
This Final Rule?
    No. This rulemaking does not involve technical standards. 
Therefore, EPA did not consider the use of any voluntary consensus 
standards.

J. Congressional Review Act

1. Has EPA Submitted This Rule to Congress and the General Accounting 
Office?
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, that includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA has submitted a report containing this rule and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A ``major rule'' 
cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
2. Could the Effective Date of This Final Rule Change?
    Provisions of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) or section 305 of 
CERCLA may alter the effective date of this regulation.
    Under the CRA, 5 U.S.C. 801(a), before a rule can take effect the 
federal agency promulgating the rule must submit a report to each House 
of the Congress and to the Comptroller General. This report must 
contain a copy of the rule, a concise general statement relating to the 
rule (including whether it is a major rule), a copy of the cost-benefit 
analysis of the rule (if any), the agency's actions relevant to 
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (affecting small 
businesses) and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (describing 
unfunded federal requirements imposed on state and local governments 
and the private sector), and any other relevant information or 
requirements and any relevant Executive Orders.
    EPA has submitted a report under the CRA for this rule. The rule 
will take effect, as provided by law, within 30 days of publication of 
this document, since it is not a major rule. Section 804(2) defines a 
major rule as any rule that the Administrator of the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) finds has resulted in or is likely to result in: an 
annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more; a major increase 
in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, Federal, 
State, or local government agencies, or geographic regions; or 
significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, 
productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based 
enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and 
export markets. NPL listing is not a major rule because, as explained 
above, the listing, itself, imposes no monetary costs on any person. It 
establishes no enforceable duties, does not establish that EPA 
necessarily will undertake remedial action, nor does it require any 
action by any party or determine its liability for site response costs. 
Costs that arise out of site responses result from site-by-site 
decisions about what actions to take, not directly from the act of 
listing itself. Section 801(a)(3) provides for a delay in the effective 
date of major rules after this report is submitted.
3. What Could Cause a Change in the Effective Date of This Rule?
    Under 5 U.S.C. 801(b)(1) a rule shall not take effect, or continue 
in effect, if Congress enacts (and the President signs) a joint 
resolution of disapproval, described under section 802.

[[Page 10084]]

    Another statutory provision that may affect this rule is CERCLA 
section 305, which provides for a legislative veto of regulations 
promulgated under CERCLA. Although INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919,103 S. 
Ct. 2764 (1983) and Bd. of Regents of the University of Washington v. 
EPA, 86 F.3d 1214,1222 (D.C. Cir. 1996) cast the validity of the 
legislative veto into question, EPA has transmitted a copy of this 
regulation to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives.
    If action by Congress under either the CRA or CERCLA section 305 
calls the effective date of this regulation into question, EPA will 
publish a document of clarification in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

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

    Dated: February 27, 2007.
Susan Parker Bodine,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

0
40 CFR part 300 is amended as follows:

PART 300--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; E.O. 
12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 
2923, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193.


0
2. Table 1 of Appendix B to part 300 is amended by adding the following 
sites in alphabetical order to read as follows:

Appendix B to Part 300--National Priorities List

                                       Table 1.--General Superfund Section
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               State                              Site name                    City/county         Notes \(a)\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
IN................................  Elm Street Ground Water               Terre Haute..........
                                     Contamination.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
MS................................  Sonford Products....................  Flowood..............
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
TX................................  Bandera Road Ground Water Plume.....  Leon Valley..........
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
TX................................  East 67th Street Ground Water Plume.  Odessa...............
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
WA................................  Lockheed West Seattle...............  Seattle..............
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\(a)\ A = Based on issuance of health advisory by Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (HRS score
  need not be >= 28.50).
C = Sites on Construction Completion list.
S = State top priority (HRS score need not be >= 28.50)
P = Sites with partial deletion(s).

* * * * *
 [FR Doc. E7-3908 Filed 3-6-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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