EPA: More time needed to assess GE’s Hudson River cleanup
by The Associated Press
The agency said more monitoring of the river and the fish is needed to judge the cleanup's effectiveness
PHOTO: General Electric Co. (GE) dredging PCBs on Hudson River/Peretz Partensky
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Environmental Protection Agency says more time is needed to assess General Electric’s $1.7 billion Hudson River cleanup, and it’s not calling for more dredging at this time.
The federal agency said on Thursday it issued a certificate to Boston-based GE that it completed its remedial action under the Superfund cleanup. But the agency said more monitoring of the river and the fish is needed to judge the cleanup’s effectiveness.
Many New York officials and environmentalists had urged the EPA to withhold the certificate, saying river PCB levels remain too high.
GE completed removal of 2.75 million cubic yards (2.1 million cubic meters) of PCB-contaminated river sediment north of Albany in 2015.
The EPA says GE could potentially be compelled to conduct additional dredging if future river conditions warrant.
