National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan; National Priorities List Update

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the deletion of the 29th and Mead Ground Water Contamination Site located in Wichita, Kansas, from the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is Appendix B of 40 CFR part 300. Part 300 is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) which EPA promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. In light of the planned State action in this case, EPA finds that no further response under CERCLA is appropriate. The Site is instead, in a pilot project, deferred to the State of Kansas and will be addressed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Deletion under this approach does not indicate that the cleanup has been completed, but rather that no further Superfund involvement is necessary, and that the Agency expects the response at the Site will be completed under an Agreement between the City of Wichita and KDHE. EPA will consider the effectiveness and efficiency of the Site cleanup as well as the likelihood that a similarly favorable outcome could be reproduced elsewhere in deciding whether such a policy will be considered for other sites.