EPA Touts More Stringent Hudson River Dredging Plan As Cleanup Model

摘要

EPA officials are touting their just-released plan for finishing cleanup of New York's Hudson River — which requires the General Electric (GE) Company to dredge more contaminated sediment than the agency allowed during the initial phase of the project — as one of the most stringent dredging plans the agency has authored and one that could serve as a model for similar projects around the country. The agency announced Dec. 17 the plan for the second and final phase of the Hudson cleanup, under which GE is allowed to cap — rather than dredge completely — up to 21 percent of the 40 mile stretch of river sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls. During the first phase of the cleanup, which GE conducted in 2009, EPA allowed the company to cap 37 percent of the contaminated area addressed during that phase. In general, EPA is requiring GE to dredge all areas that can be at least twice. After that, EPA has set various standards to determine whether additional dredging is required or whether the area can be capped. Relevant documents are available on lnsideEPA.com. See page 2 for details.