EPA not ready to sign off on PCB cleanup

ALBANY, N.Y. » The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not ready to bring to an end the $1.7 billion Superfund cleanup of contamination in the upper Hudson River.

EPA officials said Tuesday the agency needs to finish its review before declaring whether the job was completed properly.

The EPA told General Electric Co. it expects to finalize that review early this year.

Boston-based GE asked for a “certificate of completion” a year ago, and the agency was obliged to respond by Jan. 3.GE completed removal of 2.75 million cubic yards of po ly chlorinated bi phenyl-contaminated sediment from the river in 2015 to settle a federal case involving the dumping of PCBs into the river from its Fort Edward and Hudson Falls plants.

State and federal officials targeted the river as far south as Troy for cleanup. The EPA has said that,

based on existing data, it does not appear as though more dredging is needed, but state officials and other critics pushing for a broader cleanup say too much PCB- contaminated sediment remains in the river.

“The Hudson River is one of our most valuable natural assets, serving as a vital economic driver for communities across the state, and we must do everything we can to protect this cherished waterway,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “Based on extensive data, it is overwhelmingly clear that GE’s cleanup of PCB contamination is not complete. The EPA made the right decision by heeding our warnings and not issuing a certificate of comple- tion.”

Cuomo, in his State of the State address, renewed a threat he and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman made to sue the EPA if it decides the cleanup is complete without thoroughly considering all data. Schneiderman also renewed that threat in his own statement.

“The Hudson River is the backbone of New York’s economy and a crown jewel of our environment,” Schneiderman said. “As any Hudson Valley resident knows, the cleanup job is still not done. My office will continue to monitor the situation, and we stand ready to take legal action to ensure the cleanup is done fully and done right.”

GE dumped PCBs into the river from the two plants from the 1940s until 1977, when they were banned by the federal government as a suspected carcinogen.