Support RvKs Effort to Make Sure GE Finishes the Job
Between 1947 and 1977, GE dumped an estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson River from two plants in Hudson Falls and Fort Edwards. Riverkeeper launched the campaign to force the clean-up in the early 1970s. The clean-up finally commenced last spring and Riverkeeper now leads the coalition effort to make sure GE finishes the job. We are at a critical juncture in this historic case and hope that we can count on your continued generosity and support.
Although the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a decision in 2002 calling for the dredging of the PCBs, it wasn’t until 2006 that an implementing agreement was finally reached. In 2006, GE and EPA signed a Consent Decree which allows GE to conduct the dredging in two phases, and only obligates the company to Phase 1. During Phase 1, recently completed, GE removed only about 10% of the PCBs targeted. Unfortunately, pursuant to the Consent Decree, GE now has the option to refuse to perform Phase 2 – during which the remaining 90% of targeted PCBs would be removed! Riverkeeper is now participating in a one year period of review and study, between the two Phases, during which data and analyses will be used by parties to support or oppose the continuation of dredging, or to argue for modifications or truncation of the clean-up.
Given the decades-long struggle in which GE vigorously attempted to avoid dredging altogether, we are concerned that the company may now argue that the dredging is ineffective, “impracticable,” or damaging to the river ecosystem. In GE’s just-released “Draft Phase 1 Evaluation Report Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site,” the company criticizes many aspects of the dredging and states that certain standards set for the project are in “inexorable conflict.” Riverkeeper is trying to raise the funding necessary to hire an engineer to help us conduct an independent analysis of Phase 1 and equip the EPA with the arguments it needs to force GE to complete Phase 2.
Our concerns about GE’s intentions are heightened due to a federal lawsuit GE brought against the EPA in 2000 seeking to declare the Superfund law unconstitutional. Although GE lost in the lower court, GE is appealing the case, which seeks to eliminate EPA’s authority to order parties such as GE to perform clean-ups! Working with our environmental allies, Riverkeeper recently filed an amicus brief with the court, supporting the Department of Justice’s assertion that the court must preserve the EPA’s statutory authority. In our brief, we also explained why this case is so important to the Hudson, as well as to more than 100 other contaminated sites to which this lawless company is linked.
Despite its inspiring recovery from two centuries of industrial abuse, the Hudson River remains the largest federal Superfund site in the nation due to GE’s PCB disaster. New York State advises avoiding or dramatically limiting consumption of many Hudson fish species as a result of the health risks associated with PCBs. Yet, despite these challenges, the Hudson is also the region’s defining natural resource and a continued source of pride for Hudson Valley residents.
We need your help now, more than ever, to support our efforts to ensure that one of the biggest polluters in the country completes its mandatory clean-up of the river that belongs to all of us. We’re grateful for your past and ongoing support of Riverkeeper and its campaign to rid the river of PCBs. With your help, we will have the resources we need to continue our important work on this case. We look forward to keeping you posted on future developments and welcome hearing your views.
Sincerely,
Alex Matthiessen
Hudson Riverkeeper and President
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Chief Prosecuting Attorney
