H2<kpc C DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 'WEY 2 4 199b Natural Resource Damage Program (406) 443-6103 MEMORANDUM >w ^=ss s i23 3 -o w (3B 52 TO: Libraries .0o0 bDso^Z->* P^ A z> fti-- Q 3SW FROM: Dick Pedersen, Manager o O^!'H> «uJ 5J!T mH 1 DATE: January 27, 1992 1 -A J1 r0-0 O) > X SUBJECT: Notice of Assessment Plan Part I =^^= -< ..J Attached are four (4) copies of Part I of the Assessment Plan for the Clark Fork River Basin NPL Sites, Montana. The Natural Resource Damage Program will be releasing this plan shortly by select mailings and issuance of a news release. Your library will be able to assist the general public by having this plan available for viewing and commenting. DJP/asw ^ATE DOCUMENTS COLLECTION APR 1 1992 MONTANA STATE LfSRARY 1515 E. 6th AVE. HELENA, MONTANA 59620 * - '9, I I ^i:J.>• .:: >1 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES STANSTEPHENS,GOVERNOR COGSWELLBUILDING ^ATE OF MONTANA' FAx#{406)444jj^-^^g OF ASSESSMENT PLAN HELENA,MONTANA59620 The State of Montana, acting on behalf of the people of Montana, as trustee of the natural resources in the state, hereby provides notice pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act "CERCLA" 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601-9675, the U.S. Department of the Int(erior ("D)O,I") Natural Resource Damage Assessments "NRDA" Regulations, 43 C.F.R. ( ) Part 11, and the Montana Comprehensive Environmental Cleanup and Responsibility Act "CECRA" Mont. Code Ann. §§ 75-10-701 to 75-10-724. { ) , 1. The Atlantic Richfield Company ("ARCO") has been identified by the State of Montana as the primary responsible party for facilities located at the Clark Fork River Basin National Priorities List ("NPL") sites, including the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area site, the Anaconda Smelter site, the Montana Pole site, and the Milltown Reservoir site. There have been multiple and at times continuous releases of hazardous substances, including but not limited to arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, creosote, lead, pentachlorophenol ("PCP"), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, selenium, silver, volatile organic compounds, and zinc, from these facilities. Potential injuries to natural resources, including surface water, fish, sediments, ground water, air, soil, vegetation and wildlife, have resulted from these releases. 2. On October 10, 1991, the State of Montana issued its Notice of Intent to Perform an Assessment ("Notice") and released its Preassessment Screen: Clark Fork River Basin NPL Sites, Montana ("Preassessment Screen"). The Notice and Preassessment Screen were provided to ARCO, other interested parties, and members of the public. In accordance with the DOI NRDA regulations, Montana invited ARCO to participate in the development of a natural resource damage assessment and in the performance of the assessment. If ARCO wished to participate in the assessment, it was requested to provide to the State of Montana a damage assessment plan pursuant to the DOI NRDA regulations. ARCO subsequently submitted written comments to the State of Montana regarding the Preassessment Screen and the State's decision to perform a natural resource damage assessment. ARCO did not submit an assessment plan, nor did it indicate any intention to do so in the future. The State reviewed and considered the comments provided by ARCO in its preparation of this Assessment Plan. 3. The State of Montana hereby releases its Assessment Plan, Part I, Clark Fork River Basin NPL Sites, Montana ("Part I of the Assessment Plan" This assessment plan identifies the ) . methodologies for conducting injury determination and quantification for the surface water, fisheries, sediments, and groundwater resources. Part I of the Assessment Plan is being made "ANEQUALOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYER" available for review and comment by ARCO, other natural resource r trustees, other affected federal or state agencies or Indian tribes, and any other interested members of the public for a period of 30 calendar days. Comments concerning the assessment plan should be made in writing and sent by March 2, 1992, to: Dick Pedersen Natural Resource Damage Program Manager Environmental Sciences Division Department of Health and Environmental Sciences Cogswell Building Helena, MT 59620 The State of Montana may modify Part I of the Assessment Plan following its review of submitted comments. Any modifications, which in the judgment of the State of Montana are significant, will be made available for subsequent review and comment. 4. The State of Montana intends to release Part II of the Assessment Plan in the spring of 1992. Part II of the Assessment Plan will identify the methodologies for conducting injury determination and quantification for the air, soil, vegetation, and wildlife resources. It will also contain a preliminary determination of recovery periods for the injured resources, as well as the methodologies for assessing economic damages. Part II of the Assessment Plan will be made available for another 30-day review and comment period. 5. At the conclusion of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, the State of Montana will prepare and make available a Report of the Assessment. The report will contain a summary of the comments received to Parts I and II of the Assessment Plan and the State's responses to those comments. ^ DATED this 27 day of ^J^vaQ^^A^ 1992. STATE OF MONTANA By. Dick Pedersen Natural Resource Damage Progreun Manager Environmental Sciences Division Department of Health and Environmental Sciences Cogswell Building Helena, MT 59620 L -2- ?t.l ^!\ll DOCUMENTS COLLECTION APR 1 1992 MONTANA STATE LIBRARY 1515 E. 6th AVE. HELENA, MONTANA 59620 ASSESSMENT PLAN: PARTI CLARK FORK RIVER BASIN NPL SITES, MONTANA STATE OF MONTANA NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE PROGRAM JANUARY 1992 c Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from IVIontana State Library http://www.archive.org/details/assessmentplanpa19921mont ES-1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The State ofMontana ("the State") has commenced an action against the Atlantic Richfield Company ("ARCO") in the United States District Court for the District of Montana (Civil Action No. CV83-317-HLN-CCL) pursuant tothe Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA"), 42 U.S.C §§ 9601-9675, and the Montana Comprehensive Environmental Cleanup and Responsibility Act ("CECRA"), Mont. Code Ann. §§ 75-10-701 to 75-10-724. In this action, Montana seeks to recover damages for injuries to natural resources resulting from releases of hazardous and/or deleterious ARCO substances from facilities for which is the primary responsible party. The State of Montana has begun to assess the natural resource damages in accordance with the regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) as set forth in 43 CFR Part 11. The purpose of this Assessment Plan is to ensure that the assessment is performed in a planned and systematic manner. The Assessment Plan identifies those scientific and economic methodologies that are expected to be performed in the assessment. Part I of the Assessment Plan addresses activities associated with injury determination and quantification phases for four potentially injured natural resources: surface water resources, fisheries resources, sediment resources, and groundwater resources. Part II of the Assessment Plan, which will be completed and made available in the spring of 1992, will contain methodologies for conducting injury determination and quantification for soil resources, vegetation resources, wildlife resources, and air resources, a preliminary determination ofrecovery periods for potentially injured resources, aswell as methodologies for assessing economic damages. Part of the Assessment Plan describes coordination of the assessment with investigations I conducted pursuantto the Remedial Investigation/FeasibilityStudy (RI/FS) process currently underway at the four NPL sites in the Clark Fork Basin, procedures and schedules for sharing data, samples, and results of analyses with other natural resource trustees and with ARCO, the primary responsible party, and the State's decision to proceed with a type B natural resource damage assessment. The Plan also contains a list of the hazardous substances released and sources of those releases, and the results of the confirmation of exposure to natural resources in the Clark Fork River Basin. Finally, the Plan presents resource-by-resource research plans for injury determination and quantification for surface water, fisheries, sediments, and groundwater, as well as the Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for the natural resource damage assessment. Part I of the Assessment Plan is being made available for review and comment by ARCO, other natural resource trustees, other affected Federal or State agencies or Indian Tribes, ES-2 and any other interested members of the public for a period of 30 days. Comments may be submitted in writing to: Mr. Dick Pedersen Natural Resource Damage Program Manager Department of Health and Environmental Sciences Cogswell Building Capital Station MT Helena, 59620. The State may modify this Assessment Plan following its review of submitted comments. Any modifications which in the judgement of the State are significant will be made available for subsequent review and comment At the conclusion of the assessment, the State will prepare and make available a Report ofthe Assessment. The report will contain a summary of the comments received on the Assessment Plan and the State's response to those comments. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS 111 INTRODUCTION 1.0 1 CASE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF ASSESSMENT PLAN 1.1 CONTENT 1 ORGANIZATION OF ASSESSMENT PLAN 1.2 5 COORDINATION WITH 2.0 RI/FS 7 PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULES FOR SHARING DATA WITH 3.0 NATURAL RESOURCE TRUSTEES AND WITH ARCO, THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBLE PARTY 9 PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULES FOR SHARING DATA 3.1 AND RESULTS OF ANALYSES 9 3.2 PROCEDURES AND SCHEDULES FOR SPLIT SAMPLES 9 4.0 DECISION TO PERFORM TYPE B ASSESSMENT 10 HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASED 5.0 11 SOURCES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES 5.1 11 CONFIRMATION OF EXPOSURE 6.0 13 SURFACE WATER RESOURCES 6.1 13 6.2 BIOLOGIC RESOURCES: FISHERIES 15 GEOLOGIC RESOURCES: SOILS/SEDIMENTS 6.3 16 GROUNDWATER RESOURCES 6.4 20 BIOLOGIC RESOURCES: VEGETATION 6.5 22 6.6 AIR 23 RESEARCH PLANS 7.0 25 7.1 SOURCE IDENTIFICATION 25 PATHWAY DETERMINATION 7.2 26 SURFACE WATER RESOURCES 7.3 28 7.3.1 Definition of Injury 28 7.3.2 Description of Surface Water Resources to be Assessed 28 7.3.3 Objectives of Research Plan 29 7.3.4 Research Plan 29 7.4 BIOLOGIC RESOURCES: HSHERIES 31 r 7.4.1 Definition of Injury 31 7.4.2 Description of Fishery Resources to be Assessed 32 7.4.3 Objectives of Research Plans 33 7.4.4 Research Plans 34 7.4.4.1 Injury Determination 34 7.4.4.2 Injury Quantification 41 GEOLOGIC RESOURCES: SEDIMENTS 7.5 43 7.5.1 Definition of Injury 43 7.5.2 Description of Sediment Resources to be Assessed 43 7.5.3 Objectives 43 7.5.4 Research Plan 44 GROUNDWATER RESOURCES 7.6 46 7.6.1 Definition of Injury 46 7.6.2 Description of Groundwater Resources to be Assessed 46 7.6.3 Objectives of Research Plan 47 7.6.4 Research Plan 47 8.0 LITERATURE CITED 49 APPENDIX A: Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP)