EPA vows to continue Hudson River dredging even without GE

Environmental Issues - March 16, 2010

The Times Union reports that dredging of PCBs from the Hudson River will continue as planned in 2011, regardless of whether General Electric decides against continuing to pay for and run the clean-up, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA will take over the work if it has to, a position that the agency has held since reaching the landmark clean-up deal with GE in 2002, said EPA spokeswoman Kristen Skopeck on Monday.

The possibility that GE may not continue the cleanup has been discussed after EPA and GE last week issued reports on the first year of dredging at For Edward that reach widely different conclusions.

GE said the dredging stirred up too much PCBs downriver and cannot be finished safely by 2015 as planned without leaving more PCBs behind in the river.

However, the EPA said there are many more PCBs in the river than initial studies predicted, more dredging is needed and that changes in dredging procedures can keep escaping PCBs at safe levels.

Under the 2002 cleanup agreement signed by GE and EPA, the company can decline to continue dredging - now projected to resume its second phase in 2011 - if the company feels the project is not practical or effective.

"Regardless of the decision GE makes about moving forward, EPA is committed to seeing this project is completed," said EPA project administrator Dave King.

"EPA fully reserved all of its enforcement authorities, including its right to direct the company to perform the dredging and/or sue in district court to require GE to perform Phase 2, or to reimburse EPA for its costs if the (EPA) conducts Phase 2 using government funds. EPA's priority is to clean up the Hudson River for future generations in a way that protects the people who live along the river, and we plan to do just that."

GE spokesman Mark Behan said he agreed with King that "there is room for improvement in the design and the standards for the project. Both EPA and GE are pursuing the same goal: a better, more effective dredging project. We hope ongoing technical dialogue with EPA will help us get to the answer."

Times Union said it is unclear what level of financial obligation for dredging that EPA could potentially assume, although it appears to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. GE, which is paying for the work, has refused to disclose its budget, although EPA has estimated the project's six-year price tag at about US$460 million.