Hudson Still High in PCBs But No More Cleanup, Says EPA: VIDEO

The cleanup of PCBs that made much of the Hudson River a Superfund site and caused a fishing ban since 1977 is proceeding apace, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA released a draft of its second five-year review of the the Hudson River Superfund site Thursday that recommends staying the course laid out more than a decade ago. That conclusion drew immediate fire from environmental groups and public officials, who have called for an expanded cleanup.

One reason advocates for the river are so angry is that the EPA said in its summary, "This statutory FYR has been prepared because hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants remain at the Site above levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure."

Despite that, the EPA reaffirmed the remediation program so far: "the analyses presented in this report demonstrate that the models used to support decision making were well-designed...and remedy implementation is proceeding as planned," the EPA said. And the researchers said they thought the work that has been done is enough. "EPA expects that continued natural attenuation following the completion of dredging will achieve the long-term remediation goal for the protection of human health with regard to fish consumption."

Paul Gallay, president of Riverkeeper, the seminal Hudson River protector, said:

The evidence clearly shows the Hudson River remedy is not protective of human health and the environment, and the EPA’s decision flies in the face of that evidence. Rather than rubber stamping an inadequate cleanup, EPA should have mandated additional remediation. In the lower Hudson where no dredging has occurred, even EPA has acknowledged that goals will not be met. EPA should require action to meet the goals, not move the goalposts.

To recap:

From 1947 to 1977, General Electric discharged an estimated 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) into the Hudson River from its capacitor manufacturing plants at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward. Considered a carcinogen, PCBs were banned in 1977.

Fishing in the upper Hudson River, and most commercial fishing in the lower Hudson, has been banned since 1976 as a result of the PCB contamination. In 1995, New York State officials reopened the Upper Hudson River to sport fishing on a catch-and-release basis only. The mid- and lower regions of the Hudson River are subject to a sportfish consumption advisory issued in 1975 by the state Department of Health.

Watch the EPA documentary 'Returning A River To Health'

The first five-year review for the massive Superfund site, 40 miles of the river between Fort Edward and Troy including several areas where dredged PCB-laden sediments had been dumped, was completed in 2012. Then in 2014 GE agreed to conduct a comprehensive study of the contamination in the shoreline areas of the upper Hudson River and to reimburse the EPA for past floodplain-related cleanup costs.

Environmental groups want the EPA to expand the range of the cleanup. GE has argued that the dredging project, which was completed in 2015, accomplished the Superfund cleanup goals and no further work is needed.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representatives Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey, Sean Patrick Maloney and Paul Tonko sent a letter in May to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt asking to have the agency’s assessment expanded over the PCB cleanup work performed by GE.

Gillibrand released this statement about the 5-Year Review:

“Clean water should not be debatable for families in New York. This decision is awful news for the Capital Region, the Hudson Valley, and all of the families who live near the Hudson River. I am disappointed that the EPA couldn’t muster up the courage to do the job they set out to do and clean up the Hudson. This decision is now entering a 30-day comment period before it is made final, and I encourage all New Yorkers to raise their voices and demand that the EPA finish the job of removing the remaining PCBs.”

In the 2-Year Review released Wednesday, the EPA said that total PCB and Tri+ PCB mass removed were greater than planned, because the depth of contamination had been underestimated when the remediation plan was originally designed. The agency also said that 72 percent of the overall PCB mass from the Upper Hudson River was removed by the dredging, more than the 65 percent reduction originally called for. It's too early to tell about the impact on fish, sediment and water; the data from 2016 are not sufficient to identify post-dredging trends. Additional monitoring is needed and will, in fact, continue, the EPA said.

The purpose of the review was "to ensure that the cleanup is working as intended and will be protective of public health and the environment, the EPA said.

NYS DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos responded:

“Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed New York by determining that its PCB cleanup of the Upper Hudson River is protective of human health and the environment. We strongly dispute their conclusions and maintain that the significant amount of contamination left in the river threatens both public health and the environment. DEC will continue to fight for the Hudson River and New Yorkers and hold the polluter accountable for its actions. Once again, we are calling on EPA to finish the job and refer back to their original Record of Decision that committed the agency’s full responsibility to clean up this toxic legacy and restore the Hudson River.”

Due to the high level of public interest, the EPA is providing a 60-day public comment period for
its second five-year review. The report is available on the EPA’s website devoted to the Hudson River cleanup.

PHOTO: Hudson River PCBs Superfund site/ EPA

Editor’s Note: This story was first published earlier in the week but here it is again in case you missed it.