WHAT: Two weeks after pledging to cooperate with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to clean up PCBs it dumped in the Hudson River, General Electric Co. is proceeding with its lawsuit against the federal Superfund program. For more than 20 years, Superfund has enabled the EPA to clean up hundreds of health-threatening toxic waste sites – and it made the pending Hudson River PCB remediation possible.

WHO: In response to this attack on one of the nation’s key environmental laws, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York Rivers United, Riverkeeper, and Scenic Hudson, Inc. filed a friend of the court brief opposing GE’s lawsuit. The brief cites the major public health benefits produced by Superfund and notes that challenges similar to GE’s have been dismissed by numerous prior rulings in various federal courts.

WHEN/ WHERE: Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 10:30 a.m. GE vs. Christine Whitman in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia 333 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC

A Statement from Friends of a Clean Hudson GE should drop this baseless lawsuit. It is not in keeping with its recent pledge to be a constructive partner in the Hudson River PCB cleanup. The environmental community wants to work with GE, and other interested parties, to ensure that the cleanup happens and that it is safe and effective. Abandoning this legal action is an opportunity for GE to set an example of good corporate citizenship. Failure to do so would call into question the sincerity of its Hudson River PCB statement.

Friends of a Clean Hudson is a coalition of national, state and regional organizations fighting for the restoration of the Hudson River through the aggressive removal of PCB-contaminated sediments. Coalition members include: the Appalachian Mountain Club, Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation, Coast Alliance, Environmental Advocates, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York Public Interest Research Group, New York Rivers United, Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, Inc., and the Sierra Club.

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