New York state intends to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for issuing a certificate to General Electric Co. affirming the company completed its $1.7-billion cleanup of about 40 miles of the upper Hudson River, contaminated with PCBs from two former factories. State Attorney General Letitia James said April 11 that a December state study showed elevated PCB levels in river sediment and concentrations in fish, which were not recovering at the rate EPA anticipated.
EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez says the issue “boils down to a disconnect over interpretation” of the 2006 federal cleanup consent decree with GE. The EPA certificate confirms dredging and other work were properly performed in removing 2.4 million cu yd of contaminated sediment from 2011 to 2015.