The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its draft third five-year review of General Electric’s removal of harmful PCB’s from the Hudson River. The long-awaited report does not make a determination, saying more data is needed.
GE wrapped up dredging on a 40-mile section of the upper Hudson between Fort Edward and Troy in 2015.
EPA says while there has been an overall decline in PCB concentrations in fish and water samples, more study and data collection is needed before it can determine if the cleanup is meeting the needs of the original plan.
EPA Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia spoke with reporters Wednesday.
“The conclusion for the need for more study and data collection does not mean that EPA will wait another five years to decide, and this is a really important point, because we recognize that while the five-year review report is coming out now, that soon we'll have more data that we can assess and evaluate and review,” said Garcia.
The agency says the eighth year of fish sampling will be completed this fall, with results available in 2025. EPA says data from sediment sampling is not sufficient enough, and additional sampling will be completed in 2026.
“EPA has proposed to enhance the monitoring and analysis to look more closely at water, fish and sediment in specific areas in the river. And, you'll see in this report, some of those special studies are already underway and listed. In collaboration with the state, New York State DEC, we will be collecting more data as part of the special studies to give us more robust and specific information,” said Garcia.
The EPA says its five-year review included input from state, federal, and community stakeholders. Garcia acknowledged concerns related to the effectiveness of fish advisories.
“One thing that came up throughout this process with the Community Advisory Group, other meetings that we've been having, is a huge concern around the health issue and environmental justice issue in concerns around fish consumption, especially subsistence fishing. And so, we just want to make it clear that fish consumption advisories and fishing restrictions are a part of the cleanup plan that EPA selected for the upper Hudson River in 2002 and that remains and will continue to be necessary to protect people's public health,” said Garcia.
Garcia says EPA will continue to coordinate with the New York State Department of Health on fish advisories and outreach efforts.
While EPA is not making a determination of protectiveness now, the agency says it will not wait for the next five-year review to do so. An addendum is expected in one to three years.
EPA Hudson River Field Office Director Gary Klawinski spoke about the ongoing fish sampling efforts.
“We’re in the time period of getting close to knowing that we can assign a reliable trend to the fish so that why we are where we are,” said Klawinski.
Not included in the review are EPA’s ongoing investigations on the upper Hudson River floodplain and the lower Hudson.
Fish and water sampling on the lower Hudson began last year. Klawinski says EPA is continuing to collect data, with additional resources already available.
“We've historically collected some fish data and water data in the lower river. So that is, there's reports for the historical data. New York State DEC collects fish data in the lower Hudson, so they have a long record before we started collecting, also. So, there's data there for sure. And then we supplemented it with a large fish collection and crab collection last year. And this year, we're focusing a lot on sediment, and you'll be seeing reports coming out on all of that as we progress along,” said Klawinski.
The EPA is collecting public comment on the draft third five-year review through October 8th. A public meeting on the report is scheduled for August 21st.
Garcia encourages the public to review the report on the EPA’s Hudson River cleanup website.
“EPA has made all this data and analysis available. We encourage independent review. We encourage questions on what the information is. We want to hear from all interested parties. And again, we really appreciate the passion by the public, everyone around the Hudson River as we continue this road to recovery,” said Garcia.
GE said in a statement:
“The Hudson River dredging project removed the vast majority of PCBs from the Upper Hudson, led to broad declines in PCB levels, and is on track to deliver further improvements.”
