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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.

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.

In February 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site that calls for targeted environmental dredging of approximately 2.65 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment from a 40-mile section of the Upper Hudson River.

The cleanup of the Hudson River will occur in two phases. Phase 1 of the project was conducted by GE with oversight by EPA from May to November 2009. During this phase, approximately 283,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment was removed from a six-mile stretch of the Upper Hudson River near Fort Edward, New York. After an extensive evaluation by an independent panel of scientists and input from a broad range of stakeholders, EPA developed plans for the second part of the cleanup. Phase 2 will be conducted at full production to remove the remainder of the contaminated river sediment targeted for dredging.

It is estimated that the second phase of the cleanup will take five to seven years to complete.

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.

Latest News

EPA Marks the Startup of the Final Phase of Hudson River PCB Dredging; 500 Jobs Created By This Cleanup Project - 06/10/11

EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck was joined in Fort Edward, New York by Representative Maurice Hinchey, Representative Paul Tonko and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens to mark the start of the second and final phase of the Hudson River cleanup that began on June 6, 2011. During this phase of dredging, General Electric will remove about 2.4 million cubic yards of sediment from a forty-mile section of the Upper Hudson River between Fort Edward and Troy, NY that is contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are potentially cancer-causing in people and build up in the fat of fish and animals, increasing in concentration as they move up the food chain. The primary risk to humans is due to the accumulation of PCBs in the body from eating contaminated fish. Read more...

Second Phase of Historic Hudson River Cleanup Underway - 06/06/11

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the dredging of sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has resumed in the Upper Hudson River, marking the start of the second and final phase of the Hudson River cleanup. Read more...

Statement of Judith Enck, EPA Regional Administrator, on GE Hudson River Decision - 12/23/2010

EPA commends GE on its decision to conduct the second and final phase of the Hudson River cleanup. The decision sets us on a clear path to a cleanup of PCB-contaminated sediment that is based on the best science and will remove huge quantities of this dangerous chemical from the river.

Over the next few months, we will work with GE on technical plans for the cleanup. We are scheduled to resume dredging this spring. This is an important milestone in the progress we have made over many years in cleaning up and restoring the Hudson River for future generations.

EPA Announces Requirements for Next Phase of Hudson River PCB Cleanup - 12/17/2010

EPA presented GE with requirements for the next phase of the cleanup of the Hudson River. The second phase of the cleanup – which is designed to address potentially cancer-causing chemicals released for decades from two GE plants into the Hudson – would require GE to remove far more contaminated sediment from the river before sealing or “capping” any remaining PCBs. The decision follows months of consultation with GE, the State of New York and a wide range of stakeholder groups as the Agency analyzed technical information and decided how best to proceed with the second phase of the project. GE had until January 14, 2011 to review EPA’s decision and notify the Agency whether they would proceed with this phase of the cleanup, scheduled to begin in May 2011.

Read more...

EPA's Phase 1 Evaluation Report - September, 2010

On March 8, 2010, EPA and General Electric Company (GE) released the final version of their respective Phase 1 Evaluation Reports for the Hudson River dredging project. These reports replace draft versions of the reports exchanged in mid-January, pursuant to the Consent Decree under which GE performed Phase 1 of the dredging. EPA's Phase 1 Evaluation Report is available at www.hudsondredgingdata.com and GE's Phase 1 Evaluation Report is available at www.hudsondredging.com.
After completing the first phase of dredging PCB-contaminated sediment in the upper Hudson River, EPA released a detailed technical assessment of the work to a panel of independent scientific experts for their review. The EPA report details the effectiveness of the first phase of dredging, as well as the challenges encountered during the first dredging season. It also lays out the Agency’s modifications to the engineering performance standards for dredging resuspension, residuals, and productivity proposed for the second phase of the project, set to begin in 2011.

The panel was asked to consider certain questions relating to the engineering performance standards and the monitoring program for Phase 2 of the project. EPA’s report includes the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s observations and recommendations as an appendix.

The peer review panel publicly discussed its views on the EPA and GE reports in May 2010, and the members' individual views were compiled into a report. The peer review reports are available at www.hudsondredgingdata.com.

During the independent peer review, EPA also sought public comments on the EPA and GE reports until April 26, 2010. In response to requests from the public, EPA provided additional time for the public to submit comments on the addendum to EPA’s report. Public comments on the addendum were accepted until May 17, 2010. These comments were provided to the panel members for consideration during their evaluation.

First Phase of Hudson River Dredging Project Complete - November, 2009

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 continued through November 2009, until the Champlain Canal closed 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 283,000 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 will continue through 2010. 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 obtained in this factsheet [PDF 225 KB, 2 pp].

 

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