July 27, 2005
Friends of a Clean Hudson

Environmental Groups Hit Hudson Cleanup Delay

500 Pounds of Toxic PCBs Distributed to Hudson Valley Ecosystem Annually

Call on EPA to Reverse Decision

(Green Island, NY) – Standing on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River, a leading coalition of New York State environmental and public health groups today called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use its authority to get the Hudson River PCB cleanup back on track. The groups went to River Park in Green Island because of its proximity to the federal dam, which marks the southern end of the projected PCB cleanup.

“Every year, 500 pounds of toxic PCBs wash over this dam,” explained Jeff Jones, communications director for Environmental Advocates of New York. “That’s 500 pounds of chemical poisons that will wash down the Hudson River and will spread throughout the ecosystem. Every year this cleanup is delayed means more contamination and more exposure for our children and our families.”

August 1, 2005 will mark the fourth anniversary of the EPA’s decision to order a cleanup of the river. In February 2002 the agency issued its Record of Decision (ROD), a plan to remove 100,000 pounds of toxic PCBs from the Hudson River between Fort Edward and the federal dam at Troy. At the time, the EPA anticipated it would take three years to negotiate and design a legitimate cleanup plan with General Electric, the company that is responsible for dumping over 1.6 million pounds of PCBs into the river over a nearly 40-year period. Since then, the EPA has twice announced delays in the cleanup schedule.

“With apparent disregard for public health and the environment, the agency last month announced its second delay, putting off the start of the Hudson River cleanup until spring 2007,” said Chris Ballantyne of the Sierra Club. “The delay is causing the public to lose faith in the agency’s ability to uphold its timetable and fulfill its responsibility to protect public health.”

In 1999, an EPA risk assessment revealed that both cancer and non-cancer health risks are significantly increased from exposure to PCBs caused by eating Hudson River fish. “The people most at risk are the region’s poor, African-Americans, Hispanics and other minorities who are the most likely to eat contaminated fish from the river,” said Aaron Mair of the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation. “Any further delay is unconscionable and a direct threat to the health and well-being of our children and families.”

“The drawn-out dispute between GE and EPA is undermining our confidence in the agency’s ability to keep to the timeline,” said Alix Gerosa of Scenic Hudson. “The most recent delay is particularly disconcerting in light of the fact that GE still has not agreed to pay for or implement the EPA’s plan to remove the PCBs from the Hudson River.”

“As an act of good faith, and to restore our confidence, we are calling on the EPA to reverse its decision to delay,” said Manna Jo Greene, environmental director of Clearwater. “At the least, we need to hear from EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson that he will guarantee the people living along the Hudson River that there will be no more cleanup delays.” Johnson is the newly appointed head of the federal agency. Friends of a Clean Hudson (FOCH) released a letter to Johnson at today’s press conference and called for a meeting between the administrator and the coalition.

“We are standing today with people from Ft. Edward, where most of the cleanup will take place, to New York Harbor, where people continue to feed PCB contaminated fish to their families,” said Robert Goldstein, senior attorney with Riverkeeper. “As environmentalists we are concerned about the impact of both the contamination and the cleanup on everyone who calls the Hudson Region home.”

“It’s time for the EPA to show some strength,” said NYPIRG’s Laura Haight. “Otherwise these PCBs will keep spreading and will continue to contaminate the river’s ecosystem and the chain of life it supports.”



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. The coalition comprises: the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation, Environmental Advocates of New York, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York Public Interest Research Group, New York Rivers United, Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, the Sierra Club and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.