New York State Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman, last week announced New York’s intent to sue the U.S. EPA if the agency accepts the Upper Hudson River dredging of polychlorinated biphenyls as complete.
Additionally, with this plan of legal action, New York is also prepared to withdraw from the 2002 Record of Decision which guided the cleanup and removal of millions of tons of PCB-contaminated sediment from the Upper Hudson River.
The EPA’s decision is expected to be announced later this month.
“ The Hudson is one of New York’s crown jewels, vital to our environment, our economy, and our communities ,” said Attorney General Schneiderman.
“ The law is clear: EPA cannot possibly support a finding that GE’s actions have been sufficient to protect New Yorkers’ public health and the environment. If the EPA declares mission accomplished, we will sue to ensure New York sees the full, timely cleanup and restoration of the Hudson River that was promised.”
With this proposal and in cooperation with the state Attorney General, New York will file a lawsuit if the EPA ignores compelling scientific data and finds that the Hudson River cleanup of PCBs is complete.
General Electric filed a request for a Certificate of Completion on December 23, 2016, and EPA has 365 days to respond to the request pursuant to the Consent decree between GE and the EPA.