The mid and lower Hudson now part of the cleanup focus
NEW YORK – The regional office of the US Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday that it will evaluate, along with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, some 1,800 sediment samples taken in 2017 from the Upper Hudson River.
The EPA will also continue efforts to complete the study of the Upper Hudson River and conduct supplemental studies of the Lower Hudson River.
“While EPA, its partners, and the public continue to give serious attention to post-dredging recovery of the Upper Hudson, it’s imperative that we also expand the scope of the agency’s efforts to ensure the Hudson River is fully remediated,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez.
Riverkeeper Legal Program Director Richard Webster said he hopes the
joint effort “leads to a thorough, diligent and collaborative analysis
of the DEC’s data regarding Hudson River PCBs. After EPA closely
examines this data, the agency will discover that the science further
supports the position that Riverkeeper and many others have already taken:
the cleanup is not protective of human health and the environment.”
Therefore, he said, “more clean-up is needed.”
Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro called the announcement “a potential breakthrough in state-federal relations in addressing this issue and bodes well for the future.” Molinaro said this is “promising in ensuring restoration of a safe and healthy river – the foundation of the region’s prosperity.”
