Hudson River PCBs
Serving New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Seven Tribal Nations.
Stay Informed
Community Update: Phase 1 Completed
Hudson River Community Advisory Group
General Electric’s website for the Dredging Project 
Hudson River PCB Superfund Site Project Roadmap
NYS Dept of Health Fact Sheet: Advice About Swimming in the Hudson River During Dredging
Hudson River Listserv
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Advice on Contaminants in Fish: 2009-2010 Chemicals in Sportfish & Game
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) issues advisories on eating sportfish because some chemicals are commonly found in New York State fish (mercury and PCBs for example) at levels that may be harmful to health. DOH recommends that infants, children under the age of 15 and women of childbearing age not eat any fish from the specific waterbodies listed in the advisory.
Read Our Blog
With the completion of Phase 1 we have temporarily suspended our blog about the Hudson River PCBs dredging project. New blog posts will be added if project conditions warrant. Read past blog entries.
Contact Us
EPA's Hudson River Community Involvement Coordinator is:
Kristen Skopeck
skopeck.kristen@epa.gov
Hudson River Field Office
421 Lower Main Street
Hudson Falls, NY 12839
(518) 747-4389
(866) 615-6490 Toll-Free
HRFO@roadrunner.com
Related Links
- The Hudson River (NY) an American Heritage Designated River
- Natural Resource Damage Assessment - Trustee agencies are preparing a claim for lost resources relating to the Hudson River PCB Superfund site.
- Rogers Island - Information regarding the assessment and cleanup of PCB (and lead) contamination on Rogers Island in Washington County
- National Academy of Sciences Study - The NAS is conducting a study on the impacts of remediation at sites that have PCB-contaminated sediment
- Other PCB Sediment Sites - Links to other sites with PCB-contaminated sediments.
- Just the Facts - Cleaning Up Hudson River PCBs
- Fact Sheet
- Actions Already Taken on the Hudson
First phase of Hudson River dredging project complete
The dredging work of the first phase of the Hudson River cleanup concluded in late October, after five-and-a-half months of dredging in a six-mile stretch of the Upper Hudson River near Fort Edward in New York State.
General Electric Co. (GE) conducted the dredging, with EPA oversight, and the company targeted 265,000 cubic yards (cy) of PCB-contaminated sediment. During Phase 1, dredging occurred 24 hours a day, six days a week, with the seventh day reserved for maintenance and make-up time for unplanned project interruptions. Dredging was conducted 133 days between May 15 and October 26, 2009. Backfilling and capping in some areas will continue through November 2009, until the Champlain Canal closes for the season.
Phase 1, the first year of dredging, was designed to address approximately 10 percent of the material to be dredged over the six-year project timeframe. At the end of Phase 1, an estimated 293,000 cy of PCB-contaminated sediment had been removed from the river. Although the volume of dredged sediment exceeded established goals for Phase 1, not all of the dredge areas originally targeted for Phase 1 were completed, (10 out of 18 areas were completed) due to sediment contamination in some areas that was deeper than expected. The presence of woody debris and PCB oil in the sediment also made the Phase 1 work challenging. Phase 2 will begin with the dredge areas that could not be completed during Phase 1.
Rail transport of the dewatered sediment from GE’s processing facility to a PCB-approved landfill in Andrews, Texas will continue through fall and winter 2009. Habitat reconstruction work will be conducted in the completed Phase 1 areas in spring 2010. Phase 2 will start full production only after an evaluation of Phase 1 is made and reviewed by the public and an independent panel of experts. Phase 2 is expected to begin in 2011 and will address the remaining contamination over five years.
More information on the progress made in Phase 1 can be obatined in this factsheet.
EPA Announces Start of Hudson River Dredging
The long awaited and historic dredging of the Upper Hudson River to remove PCB-contaminated sediment has begun near Roger's Island in Fort Edward, NY. The first phase of the six-year dredging project is being conducted under an agreement with the General Electric Company.
"The start of Hudson River dredging is a symbol of victory for the environment and for its river communities," said George Pavlou, Acting EPA Regional Administrator.
Press Release | Hudson River Dredging Data
Project Background
The Hudson River PCBs Site encompasses a nearly 200-mile stretch of the Hudson River in eastern New York State from Hudson Falls, New York to the Battery in New York City and includes communities in fourteen New York counties and two counties in New Jersey. The site is divided into the Upper Hudson River, which runs from Hudson Falls to the Federal Dam at Troy (a distance of approximately 40 miles), and the Lower Hudson River, which runs from the Federal Dam at Troy to the southern tip of Manhattan at the Battery in New York City. For purposes of this project, EPA further divided the Upper Hudson River area into three main sections known as River Section 1, River Section 2, and River Section 3.
From approximately 1947 to 1977, the General Electric Company (GE) discharged as much as 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from its capacitor manufacturing plants at the Hudson Falls and Fort Edward facilities into the Hudson River.
The primary health risk associated with the site is the accumulation of PCBs in the human body through eating contaminated fish. Since 1976, high levels of PCBs in fish have led New York State to close various recreational and commercial fisheries and to issue advisories restricting the consumption of fish caught in the Hudson River. PCBs are considered probable human carcinogens and are linked to other adverse health effects such as low birth weight, thyroid disease, and learning, memory, and immune system disorders. PCBs in the river sediment also affect fish and wildlife.
EPA’s February 2002 Record of Decision (ROD) for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site addresses the risks to people and ecological receptors associated with PCBs in the in-place sediments of the Upper Hudson River.
EPA is the lead agency for cleanup of the Hudson River PCBs Superfund
site. The New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is the support agency for this project. The United States Department of
Interior (Fish and Wildlife Service) and the United States Department of Commerce (National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are federal trustees of natural resources.
Other News
Phase 1 Remedial Action Community Health and Safety Plan
February 5, 2009 - The revised Phase 1 Remedial Action Community Health and Safety Plan (Phase 1 CHASP) for the Hudson River dredging project will ensure that the work associated with the cleanup is performed in a manner that protects the public and the environment. It also will ensure, in the case of an accident, a prompt and effective response. A 30-day public comment period on the Phase 1 CHASP will run from Feb. 5 to March 9. Hard copies of the Phase 1 CHASP are available at information repositories in Glens Falls, Fort Edward (EPA Hudson River Field Office), Ballston Spa, Albany, Poughkeepsie, New York City (EPA Region 2 offices, and in Edgewater, New Jersey.
EPA & General Electric Update Hudson Dredging Agreement
January 26, 2009 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that the federal government has reached an agreement with the General Electric Company (GE) to modify a November 2, 2006 consent decree requiring the company to dredge portions of the Hudson River. The modification of the 2006 consent decree requires GE to pay a portion of the costs of protecting the Waterford, Halfmoon, and Stillwater, New York water supplies during dredging, and to improve its program for monitoring water quality and further protect the Waterford and Halfmoon water supplies.
Press Release | Attachment to Consent Decree Modification No. 1 [PDF 196K, 37 pp] | Consent Decree Modification No.1 [PDF 5 MB, 12 pp] | Consent Decree Fact Sheet [PDF 80K, 2 pp]
EPA Begins Construction of Water Line for Upper Hudson Communities
October 8, 2008 - EPA announced today that a subcontract has been awarded to W.M. Schultz Construction, Inc, to build a four-and-a-half mile long water line from Troy, New York to the towns of Waterford and Halfmoon. The water line will be used, if needed, as an alternate water source during the Hudson River dredging project.
EPA and GE Sign Agreement on Upper Hudson Floodplain Sampling
September 11, 2008 -- EPA and GE have reached agreement on carrying out the Upper Hudson floodplain sampling program. The agreement, effective today and embodied in an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), provides for soil sampling at approximately 350 properties within the Upper Hudson floodplain. It is the first phase of a floodplains remedial investigation initially described in a letter to residents from EPA dated August 4, 2008. The agreement also requires GE to map human use and ecological use areas in those floodplain areas to identify areas where removal of contaminated soils may be needed. GE will pay for costs incurred by EPA in overseeing the work performed under this agreement.
Floodplain Agreement [PDF 1.5 MB, 30 pp] | Field Sampling Plan [PDF 194K, 50 pp] | Appendix A [PDF 9K, 1 pp] | Tables [PDF 21K, 5 pp]
Figures are Available Upon Request by Contacting Kris Skopeck at skopeck.kristen@epa.gov
Letter August 4, 2008 [PDF 167K,1 pp]
Final Floodplains Factsheet [PDF 36K, 3 pp]
EPA Orders Access To Construct Alternate Water Line for Hudson Dredging Project
September, 5 2008 - To ensure that contingencies are in place to protect drinking water supplies during Hudson River dredging, EPA today issued orders to the town of Halfmoon, New York and the Water Commissioners of the town of Waterford to gain access needed to construct a water line that will carry drinking water from Troy to Halfmoon and to the town of Waterford, New York. When constructed, the new water line will provide the towns with an alternate water source that would be available in the unlikely event that dredging causes violations of the health-based drinking water standard in the river.
Order Issued to The Town of Halfmoon [PDF 475K, 11 pp] | Order Issued to The Water Commissioners of the Town of Waterford [PDF 586K, 13 pp] | Press Release