Delgado Statement on EPA Decision to Issue Certificate of Completion for Ge Remedial Action on Hudson River
Statement
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement earlier today that it will issue a Certificate of Completion for the remedial actions taken by General Electric (GE) in response to their contamination of the Hudson River is woefully misguided and a complete misapprehension of the facts on the ground. The EPA's decision will make it harder for the EPA to require GE to continue dredging in order to clean up the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which GE discharged into the Hudson over a 30 year period. The cleanup requirements initially set by the EPA have been proven to be insufficient as more extensive contamination was recently discovered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. EPA's issuance of a Certificate of Completion is a failure in it's responsibilities to protect the environment and communities along the Hudson River.
"Today, the EPA demonstrated that it will continue to side with polluters rather than protect the environment and health of New Yorkers. I am deeply frustrated at this issuance of a Certificate of Completion for General Electric, and that the EPA has not taken the available New York State Department of Environmental Conservation contamination data into consideration when making this decision. The Hudson River is a national treasure, a vital resource for nearby communities, and a driver of our local economy. I support the efforts of New York State to challenge this determination and will continue to fight to ensure that GE is held accountable for a complete clean up of the river."
GE dredged and removed approximately 2.75 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the Hudson River from 2009-2015. During this time, a greater mass of PCBs were found in the river sediment than were originally projected. EPA has been reviewing GE's request for a Certificate of Completion since 2017, and today announced that GE has met the requirements set in a 2006 Consent Decree, rather than demand that GE continue dredging contaminated sediment.
Source