The EPA says that what General Electric thought was enough isn’t when it comes to digging out PCBs from the Hudson River.

NBC New York’s Brian Thompson reports today that:

After months of study, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has a better idea for cleaning up the Hudson River from New York City 200 miles north to Hudson Falls.

That entire length of the river has been classified a Superfund Site following decades of pollution with PCBs from two transformer plants operated by General Electric (the parent company of NBC New York) before the chemical was labeled a possible carcinogen, and before there were regulations for its disposal.

GE began dredging off a small stretch of the river at its most polluted point last summer in a Phase One test of the procedure after working for years with the EPA on the best way to effect the clean up.

Now, the EPA says Phase 2 dredging must go deeper in order to reduce the amount of PCB-laced silt that gets stirred up and floats downstream.

“We’ve said from the start that a clean Hudson is non-negotiable, and the path we have laid out today relies on the best science to ensure this dangerous pollution is addressed in an effective way,” said EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck in a statement.

Here’s a copy of the EPA’s news release on the next phase of the Hudson River cleanup.

Related:
GE Cleanup of New York’s Hudson River Must Release Fewer Toxins (Bloomberg)
GE Faces Tougher Requirements in Hudson River Cleanup (Wall Street Journal)

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