New York state says General Electric’s cleanup of the upper Hudson River is incomplete. Governor Andrew Cuomo has released a study by the State Department of Environmental Conservation showing GE’s removal of PCB contamination in the river is not protective of public health and the environment.
New York is demanding that the federal Environmental Protection Agency not issue a Certificate of Completion to GE. Doing so would end the company’s responsibility for cleaning up the Superfund site.
DEC is also calling on EPA to direct GE to collect additional data to determine if more sediment remediation is needed.
"The health of the Hudson River estuary and the vitality of the communities along its banks are at stake and the EPA must not let GE off the hook for a job that is not done," Governor Cuomo said in a statement. "The latest sampling data confirms the overwhelming body of evidence that PCB levels remain unacceptably high in both the riverbed and in fish. If the EPA issues the Certificate of Completion for this cleanup, New York will take any action necessary to hold them accountable and demand they fulfill their obligation to restore our treasured river."
In addition, New York wants EPA to compel GE to fund a full investigation of the lower Hudson, where the state says PCB concentrations in fish have not recovered. If GE refuses, New York says EPA should fund the work.
"A remedy that fails to meet its goals is not protective," said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos in a statement. "EPA has a legal and moral obligation to complete the work they started and direct GE to meet the cleanup goals set when the dredging remedy was selected. Anything less is unacceptable, and New York is prepared to use all legal options to ensure EPA and GE finish the job and protect public health, the Hudson River environment, and the communities that depend on a clean and healthy river. Under no circumstances should EPA issue a Certificate of Completion to GE."
Area officials and environmentalists have called for a more extensive cleanup of the Hudson River.
