Rule2026-04320
Deletion From the National Priorities List
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 4, 2026
Effective
March 4, 2026
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the deletion of one site, Corozal Well, from the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, created under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). In accordance with 40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be deleted from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. The EPA and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, through the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER), have determined that all appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed and no further response is appropriate. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions under Superfund.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 4, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10516-10518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04320]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2025-1247; FRL-12905-02-OLEM]
Deletion From the National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces the
deletion of one site, Corozal Well, from the
[[Page 10517]]
Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL, created under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
(CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, is an appendix of the National Oil and
Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP). In accordance
with 40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be deleted from the NPL where no
further response is appropriate. The EPA and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, through the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental
Resources (PRDNER), have determined that all appropriate response
actions under CERCLA have been completed and no further response is
appropriate. However, this deletion does not preclude future actions
under Superfund.
DATES: The document is effective March 4, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Docket: EPA has established a docket for this action under the
Docket ID No. included in table 1 in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document. All documents in the docket are listed on the
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. The Final Close-Out Report (FCOR,
for a full site deletion) or the Partial Deletion Justification (PDJ,
for a partial site deletion) is the primary document which summarizes
site information to support the deletion. It is typically written for a
broad, non-technical audience and this document is included in the
deletion docket for each of the sites in this rulemaking. Although
listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, i.e.,
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form. Docket materials are
available through <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or at the corresponding
Regional Records Centers. Locations, addresses, and phone numbers-of
the Regional Records Center follows.
<bullet> Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI), U.S. EPA, 290 Broadway, New
York, NY 10007-1866; telephone number: (212) 637-4308.
<bullet> EPA Headquarters Docket Center Reading Room (deletion
dockets for all States), William Jefferson Clinton (WJC) West Building,
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004; telephone
number: (202) 566-1744.
EPA staff listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section may assist the public in answering inquiries about deleted
sites, accessing deletion support documentation, and determining
whether there are additional physical deletion dockets available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
<bullet> Grace Stern and Robert Keating, U.S. EPA Region 2 (NJ, NY,
PR, VI), email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fc8f88998e92d29b8e9d9f99bc998c9dd29b938a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f78483928599d99085969492b7928796d9909881">[email protected]</span></a>, telephone number: (212)
637-4341; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c17191d0815121b520e131e190e083c190c1d521b130a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="543f3135203d3a337a263b36312620143124357a333b22">[email protected]</span></a>, telephone number:
(212) 637-4325.
<bullet> Ashley Miller, Matt Spencer, and Jennifer Edwards, U.S.
EPA Headquarters, email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b4d9ddd8d8d1c69ad5c7dcd8d1cdf4d1c4d59ad3dbc2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="98f5f1f4f4fdeab6f9ebf0f4fde1d8fde8f9b6fff7ee">[email protected]</span></a>, telephone
number: (202) 566-1084; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#99eae9fcf7fafcebb7f4f8ededf1fceed9fce9f8b7fef6ef"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="225152474c4147500c4f4356564a4755624752430c454d54">[email protected]</span></a>,
telephone number: (202) 566-1851; email address:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d0b5b4a7b1a2b4a3febab5bebeb9b6b5a290b5a0b1feb7bfa6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6603021107140215480c0308080f0003142603160748010910">[email protected]</span></a>, telephone number: (202) 566-1051.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NPL, created under section 105 of
CERCLA, as amended, is an appendix of the NCP. The NCP establishes the
criteria that EPA uses to delete sites from the NPL. In accordance with
40 CFR 300.425(e), sites may be deleted from the NPL where no further
response is appropriate. Partial deletion of sites is in accordance
with 40 CFR 300.425(e) and are consistent with the Notice of Policy
Change: Partial Deletion of Sites Listed on the National Priorities
List, 60 FR 55466 (November 1, 1995). The sites to be deleted are
listed in table 1, including docket information containing reference
documents with the rationale and data principally relied upon by the
EPA to determine that the Superfund response is complete. The NCP
permits activities to occur at a deleted site, or that media or parcel
of a partially deleted site, including operation and maintenance of the
remedy, monitoring, and five-year reviews. These activities for the
site are entered in table 1 in this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section,
if applicable, under Footnote such that; 1= site has continued
operation and maintenance of the remedy, 2= site receives continued
monitoring, and 3= site five-year reviews are conducted. As described
in 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3) of the NCP, a site or portion of a site deleted
from the NPL remains eligible for Fund-financed remedial action if
future conditions warrant such actions.
Table 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Site name City/county, state Type Docket No. Footnote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corozal Well.................... Corozal, PR........ Full............... EPA-HQ-OLEM-2025-1
247.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 = Site has continued operation and maintenance of the remedy.
2 = Site receives continued monitoring.
3 = Site five-year reviews are conducted.
Information concerning the site to be deleted from the NPL, and the
proposed rule for the deletion of the site, are included in table 2.
Table 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full site
deletion (full)
or media/
Site name Date, proposed FR citation Public comment Responsiveness parcels/
rule summary description for
partial
deletion
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corozal Well................ 09/11/2025 90 FR 43988.... Yes............ Yes............ Full.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the site proposed for deletion, the closing date for comments
in the proposed rule was October 14, 2025. The EPA received six
submissions for the Corozal Well site, each with multiple comments. The
EPA prepared a Responsiveness Summary to address public comment for the
Corozal Well site full deletion. The EPA placed the
[[Page 10518]]
public submissions with comments and Responsiveness Summary for the
Corozal Well site in the docket specified in table 1, on <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, and in the appropriate Regional Records Center
listed in the ADDRESSES section.
Commenters for the Corozal Well site expressed concerns that the
site proposed for deletion may still contain contamination. Groundwater
sampling data and additional statistical analysis indicate that site
contaminants of concern have all been below their remediation goals. In
addition, maximum contaminant levels at all site wells are consistently
decreasing or on stable trends. Accordingly, sampling establishes that
the site does not contain contamination exceeding the maximum
contaminant levels. All appropriate response actions under CERCLA have
been completed. The remedy implemented at the site has achieved all
remedial action objectives, the cleanup levels identified in the
decision documents, and is consistent with agency policy and guidance.
The EPA clarified it has determined that the implemented actions at the
Corozal Well site are protective of human health and the environment.
EPA has achieved cleanup levels and remedial action objectives for
groundwater, and the remedy allows for unrestricted use of the
groundwater. Groundwater sampling data and additional statistical
analysis indicate that site contaminants of concern have all been below
their remediation goals and maximum contaminant levels at all site
wells with consistently decreasing or stable trends.
Other commenters expressed concern about groundwater contamination
and potential source areas recontaminating the groundwater. EPA
conducted source area investigations by first conducting a broad
screening of soil gas around the site. The data collected in the
remedial investigation did not indicate the presence of a contamination
source in the soil that would continue to impact groundwater. The data
quality program complied with throughout the remedial action was
sufficiently rigorous to enable EPA and PRDNER to determine that
remedial actions were completed as designed.
Commenters also expressed concern about the lack of water quality
data for the Santana Well prior to 2010 and wanted to know who would be
responsible for regulating the well into the future if the site is
deleted. Agencies in Puerto Rico will be responsible for any continued
monitoring and maintenance of the well. PRDNER regulates installation
of wells and issues well franchises, and the Puerto Rico Department of
Health (PRDOH) regulates the operation of a water system. The Santana
Well System has been regulated by the PRDOH since 2007 before the site
was included on the NPL to ensure that water distributed to the public
met drinking water standards; that will continue to occur after the
site is deleted from the NPL. Public comments were carefully considered
in the EPA's final decision to delete the Corozal Well site from the
NPL. The EPA is proceeding with the full deletion action as originally
proposed. The EPA concluded the deletion criteria for the site were
met. EPA's decision and supporting documentation is provided in the
specified docket.
The EPA maintains the NPL as the list of sites that appear to
present a significant risk to public health, welfare, or the
environment. Deletion from the NPL does not preclude further remedial
action. Whenever there is a significant release from a site deleted
from the NPL, the deleted site may be restored to the NPL without
application of the hazard ranking system. Deletion of a site from the
NPL does not affect responsible party liability in the unlikely event
that future conditions warrant further actions.
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.
Mark Barolo,
Office Director, Office of Superfund and Emergency Management.
For reasons set out in the preamble, the EPA amends 40 CFR part 300
as follows:
PART 300--NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POLLUTION
CONTINGENCY PLAN
0
1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; E.O.
13626, 77 FR 56749, 3 CFR, 2013 Comp., p. 306; E.O. 12777, 56 FR
54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 2923, 3 CFR,
1987 Comp., p. 193.
0
2. In appendix B to part 300, table 1 is amended by removing the entry
``PR'', ``Corozal Well'', ``Corozal''.
[FR Doc. 2026-04320 Filed 3-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 4, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.