Siemens NHPA fact sheet July 2013 - US Environmental Protection ...

U.S Environmental Protection Agency
Pacific Southwest/Region 9
Waste Waste Management Management Division Division
Facilities Management Office Office June July 2013 2013
Serving Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and 148 Tribes
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
800-EPA-WEST • www.epa.gov/region9
NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT (NHPA) DETERMINATION
Introduction
US EPA has made a Determination of No Historic Properties Affected by a Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) permit decision for the Siemens Industry, Inc. facility in Parker, Arizona. This
means that whether EPA approves or denies the permit application for the facility, there would be no impact
on historic properties. This fact sheet summarizes this determination and its relationship to the hazardous
waste permit being sought by Siemens and the Colorado River Indian Tribes (“CRIT”).
Background
Siemens Industry, Inc., formerly U. S. Filter and Westates, operates a spent carbon storage and treatment
facility on the CRIT reservation, near Parker, Arizona. Siemens treats spent carbon in a regeneration furnace
to purify it and make it a reusable product that is sold back to the company’s customers.
EPA is responsible under RCRA to permit facilities that manage regulated wastes on tribal lands. The Siemens
facility has been operating under RCRA “interim status” pending EPA’s review of the facility’s
RCRA permit application. It is important to note that both the interim status and permit regulations require
that the facility be operated safely, so as to protect both human health and the environment.
EPA is in the process of reviewing the facility’s application for a RCRA permit at the Parker, Arizona location.
As part of that review, EPA has conducted a number of detailed studies, some in conjunction with
other governmental agencies. One of these is a National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) review, which
requires that EPA review potential impacts of the permit decision on historic properties. Please see EPA’s
general fact sheet for discussion of other studies done as part of this permit process.
The public will have the opportunity to see and comment on EPA’s proposed permit decision before a final
permit decision is made. Since less than 15% of the spent carbon coming into the facility is considered
RCRA hazardous waste, Siemens could still continue to operate and regenerate the 85% non-RCRA carbon
even if US EPA denies the facility’s RCRA permit.
Overview of the NHPA Process
US EPA has conducted a NHPA Sec. 106 review of the proposed RCRA hazardous waste permit for the
Siemens facility and made a final determination that no historic properties will be affected. A report documenting
the steps taken in making this finding has been sent to the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Arizona
State Historic Preservation Office, Siemens Industry, Inc., and the Town of Parker, which are consulting
parties under the NHPA process.
As part of the NHPA review, EPA first designated an Area of Potential Effects (or “APE”), which signifies
the area in which historic properties may be directly or indirectly affected. EPA designated the APE to be a
one-mile-radius around the facility in a January 2007 public notice.

Search for Historic Properties
EPA has taken a number of steps to identify historic properties within the APE. First, with assistance from the CRIT
Museum Director and Attorney General’s Office, EPA reviewed past records regarding the facility area. Neither a walkover
of the site nor a records search of Museum’s files revealed any historic sites in the area.
EPA also reached out to the public via public notices regarding the NHPA process and public comment periods in 2006
and 2007. None of the comments received identified any specific historic properties within the APE. A search of the
National Register of Historic Places database likewise found no such sites within the APE.
Two sites were identified as potential historic properties under NHPA. One was Parker Cemetery, which lies within the
APE and is a location where Navajo Code Talkers are interred. In addition, addressing public concerns about the proximity
of the facility to Black Peak, a sacred mountain approximately 3 miles away, EPA considered all areas within the
APE from where Black Peak may be viewed or from where prayers might be directed to Black Peak to be areas of traditional
religious and cultural importance.
Conclusion
EPA identified potential effects of facility operations on historic properties, including visual and auditory impacts, and
impacts stemming from the presence of chemicals in the facility’s emissions and at the facility generally. However, the
facility could continue operating whether or not a permit is issued. Since the permit decision will not significantly affect
facility operations, EPA has determined that a permit decision relating to Siemens’ management of RCRA hazardous
waste will have no effect on historic properties.
Contacts
You can find more information on Siemens at US EPA Region 9’s website: http://www.epa.gov/region9/waste/siemens/
For further information on technical issues please contact:
“Mike” Mahfouz Zabaneh, P.E.
Environmental Engineer/Project Manager
(415) 972-3348 or Zabaneh.Mahfouz@epa.gov
FAX: (415) 947-3533
US EPA Region 9
Mail Code WST-4
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
For public participation & community involvement issues, please contact:
Dana Barton
Chief, Community Involvement Section
75 Hawthorne St., SFD-6-3
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 972-3087 or barton.dana@epa.gov