The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a second public hearing on a controversial Berkshire County river cleanup plan tonight.
On the virtual meeting, locals can submit public comment on the cleanup plan for the county’s main waterway, the Housatonic River, which was polluted by General Electric in the 20th century.
Announced in February, the plan has inspired spirited protest from activists like Tim Gray of the Housatonic River Initiative.
“Everybody needs to remember that this permit allows for a toxic dump in the towns of Lee and Lenox, not giving any care for the people who live around where this dump is going to be built, and the end result is that it saves General Electric $200 million and leaves those neighborhoods holding the bag," said Gray. "And it really is terrible.”
Among the plan’s defenders are the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, which lauds the move as an improvement over the current sitatuion. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
