Jeff Jones, Environmental Advocates,
518-462-5526, x 233
Alex Matthiessen, Riverkeeper, 845-424-4149
Chris Ballantyne, 518-573-5505
Manna Jo Greene, Clearwater, 845-454-7673
Laura Haight, NYPIRG, 518-436-0876, x 258
Environmentalists React to News That the Hudson River PCB Cleanup Plan Will Be Altered
ALBANY, NY – Friends of a Clean Hudson, the coalition of environmental groups that has been leading the fight for a cleanup of Hudson River PCB contamination, today responded to a letter from US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman to the Coalition indicating that the final cleanup proposal will differ from the draft plan the Agency revealed in December for which she expressed support in July.
In her letter, Whitman reaffirms the public health necessity for removing PCB-contaminated sediment from the river. But she states that although the draft plan will be “similar in many respects” to the one released in December, it will include “performance standards” that will be used to evaluate the cleanup as it proceeds. Friends of a Clean Hudson is not opposed to using performance standards during the cleanup of the river. But these must be developed in an open, public process during the design phase of the remediation, as they traditionally are. The Coalition is concerned that the EPA is altering its plan at a time when New York Gov. George Pataki, a crucial supporter of the cleanup, is properly concerned elsewhere dealing with New York’s response to the attacks on the World Trade Center.
The Coalition also finds Administrator Whitman’s news of the changes a matter of concern in light of the recent disclosure that EPA officials in Washington continue to meet with representatives of the General Electric Company – the polluter in this case, and therefore, the party responsible for paying for a cleanup – even after the public comment period closed in April.
Friends of a Clean Hudson will be meeting with Administrator Whitman’s Chief of Staff in Washington on October 2 to obtain clarification on these issues.
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