Changes suggested to Hudson River PCB dredging, raising questions about continued cleanup

Changes proposed in dredging of Hudson River PCBs

ALBANY, N.Y. — After reviewing the initial dredging of the Hudson River that released PCBs back into the water and took longer than expected, an independent panel called for substantial changes in the Superfund project before crews embark on the major phase of cleanup.

A draft report released Monday by the seven-member panel of experts said some new approaches are needed in the cleanup of a contaminated 40-mile stretch of river north of Albany, as well as changes to project standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing the work by Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co., said it will consider the peer panel’s recommendations. The agency expects to make a decision on how to continue with the next phase of dredging this fall, after the panel releases its final report by Sept. 10.

“The peers have made it pretty clear … I would even say explicit, that this project can be completed successfully with some of these changes,” said Walter Mugdan, the EPA’s regional Superfund director.

GE plants in Fort Edward and neighboring Hudson Falls discharged wastewater containing PCBs before the lubricant and coolant was banned in 1977. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are considered probable carcinogens. The EPA called for the river cleanup in 2002 under federal Superfund law.

Last year, the independent panel studied results of PCB dredging along a six-mile stretch of river north of Albany to see what changes are needed before barges and dredges return for the second phase of work. The “Phase 2″ dredging would represent about 90 percent of the cleanup and could take five years. The EPA wants to restart work next year.

Dredge crews hired by GE last year found greater concentrations of PCBs than expected and only 10 of 18 areas targeted for dredging in the Fort Edward area were completed. PCBs also were kicked up into the water at a level higher than desired.

The panel’s draft report called for “substantive changes” to standards that govern the project, including the pace of work, levels of PCBs that dredgers stir up and resuspend into the river, and how much contamination is left behind.

The panel called for covering dredged areas quickly to minimize PCB resuspension and for collecting better mapping information to guide how deep to dredge into sediment. It also called for more flexibility in doing the work, such as dropping the five-year Phase 2 timetable to make sure the dredging is being done well.

The EPA and GE this year presented different proposals to the panel on how to continue with the dredging. The EPA largely called for engineering changes. But GE, which says it has already spent about $561 million on the project, proposed setting a cap on the amount of PCBs that would be allowed to flow downstream during the next phase. The panel panned the proposals from both GE and EPA.

GE spokesman Mark Behan said the company agreed with the panel’s concern about resuspension, that additional data should be collected and analyzed, and that a computer model should be developed by EPA and GE to guide decisions about dredging.

“We look forward to working with EPA to determine how best to apply the recommendations of the peer reviewers to improve the dredging project,” Behan said.

The panel conducted its review as part of the Superfund process and is comprised of experts in environmental cleanups employed by private environmental consultants and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.