EPA releases US$613M plan for GE to clean up river in Massachusetts
by The Associated Press
General Electric will need to remove toxic chemicals from stretch of Housatonic River after it lost legal challenge; appeal possible
PITTSFIELD, Mass.—The federal Environmental Protection Agency has released its final decision on an estimated $613 million plan for General Electric to remove toxic chemicals from a stretch of the Housatonic River in western Massachusetts.
The Berkshire Eagle reports the plan comes days after a hearing officer rejected GE’s arguments against the proposal.
The 13-year plan includes the removal of contaminated soil and sediment and riverbed capping on 11 miles of river south of Pittsfield. A 125-mile stretch through Massachusetts and Connecticut will be monitored for natural recovery.
The cleanup is needed because GE released probable cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, into the river from its Pittsfield transformer plant from 1932 until 1977.
The company says it’s reviewing the plan. An appeal is possible. GE has previously said the cleanup is too costly.
