The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead agency for cleanup of the Hudson River PCB Superfund site. EPA and General Electric (GE) estimate that between 1947 and 1975, from 500,000 to 1.1 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were discharged from the Fort Edward and Hudson Falls facilities into the upper Hudson River. An estimated 500,000 to 700,000 pounds of PCBs remain in the river sediments.

In 1991, a subterranean source of PCBs near Baker's Falls, New York, was identified by GE, EPA, and New York State. This previously unidentified source was traced to GE's Hudson Falls Plant (Baker's Falls).

Studies of the site conducted in 1993 found pockets of extremely contaminated groundwater that oozed an oily substance. These "seeps" contained PCB oil in varying concentrations, ranging from hundreds of parts per million to 90 percent pure PCBs near an old discharge pipe. The studies also identified tons of heavily contaminated sediment in the raceways of the plant's old mill building. In June 1994, GE found more seeps of highly concentrated PCB oil in the river bottom below and next to the mill raceway. The GE Hudson Falls site is a significant source of PCBs that continues to affect the Hudson River.

In 1984, EPA issued a record of decision (ROD) for a portion of the Hudson River Superfund site. The ROD called for (1) in-place capping, containment, and monitoring of remnant deposit sediments; (2) a treatability study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Waterford Treatment Plant in removing PCBs from Hudson River water; and (3) an interim no action decision concerning river sediments. In December 1989, EPA announced that the no-action decision would be reassessed.

EPA issued a ROD in February 2002, which addressed the risks to people and ecological receptors associated with PCBs in the sediments of the 40-miles of the Upper Hudson River. The ROD indicated that PCB contamination in the Hudson River floodplains would be investigated concurrent with the remedial design process. In October 2005, EPA took a significant step toward cleaning up PCBs in the Hudson River by reaching an agreement with GE, requiring it to begin the dredging called for in EPA’s 2002 ROD. The agreement was published in the October 13, 2005, Federal Register. The public comment period closed on December 14, 2005. The Notice of Lodging and Consent Decree are available on our Case Document page. The Consent Decree formalized a peer review process to evaluate whether the Engineering Performance Standards (Residuals, Resuspension, Productivity) could be met individually and simultaneously. The purpose of the peer review does not include a re-evaluation of the selected remedy.

Prior to 2002, EPA and GE developed models for the Upper Hudson that predicted temporal changes in surface sediment concentrations under different remedial alternatives. Following EPA’s ROD in 2002, over 9000 core samples were collected from the Upper Hudson during remedial design. The comparison of predicted and observed surface sediment PCB concentrations suggests that both models underestimated future PCB concentrations under natural recovery scenarios, with measured concentrations from 2002-2007 exceeding the upper bound of model predictions for 2003. In addition, PCB concentrations following the selected remedial alternative estimated from the recent data are approximately five times higher than EPA model estimates for River Sections 2 and 3. (Figure 5)

NOAA, NYS Department of State (NYSDEC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) identified 57 especially sensitive or unique habitats (ESUH) in the Upper Hudson River between Fort Edwards and Troy (Figure 1). This effort was conducted as part of the consultation process identified in EPA's 2002 ROD for the Hudson River PCB site. NOAA, NYSDEC and the USFWS have been working with EPA in an effort to replace and reconstruct especially sensitive or unique habitats as the Phase 1 and Phase 2 remedies are designed. In addition, NOAA estimated pre-and post-remedial sediment PCB concentrations in each ESUH area. Estimated post-remediation surface and top 2 inches sediment PCBs in River Section 1 ESUH areas are generally less than 10 ppm and some are approaching 1 ppm (surface sediments and the top 2 cm slice) (Figure 5). In contrast, post-remediation PCB concentrations in surface sediments are expected to exceed 10 ppm in most ESUH areas in River Section 2 (Figure 6) and in the upper two reaches of River Section 3 (Figure 7). These differences in anticipated post-remediation PCB concentrations are a consequence of a lower cleanup trigger in River Section 1 than River Sections 2 and 3 but similar sediment PCB concentrations, at least for River Sections 1 and 2. Few ESUH areas are likely to have post- remediation concentrations less than 1 ppm PCB based on top slice or surface PCBs. These findings will be used by the Trustees in the evaluation of residual injury to natural resources and to identify appropriate on-site and/or off-site natural resource restoration.

Phase 1 environmental clamshell dredging of PCB-contaminated sediment was conducted between May 15 and Oct 27, 2009. Approximately 20 tons of PCBs and 273,600 cy sediment were dredged from ten Certification Units (CUs) in the Thompson Island Pool. In addition, backfill and caps were installed, as appropriate to address residual PCBs per the Residual Standard or to sequester inventory below designed depths of contamination that could not be removed before the approaching end of the remediation season. Design of the Phase 2 remedy is in progress and could be modified based on the recommendations of the Phase 1 Engineering Performance Standards peer review panel.

Remedial investigation of the Upper Hudson River floodplains has also begun. Some properties were sampled by EPA and GE in 2008 and 2009. Short-term response actions (signage, isolation cover) designed to protect human health have or will be implemented on a number of properties.

GE Hudson River Plant Sites

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is the support agency for the two GE Hudson River plant sites. NYSDEC issued RODs for the Ft Edwards plant site in 2002 and the Hudson Falls plant site in March 2004. Remediation has been initiated at both plant sites.

For additional DEC information:
Hudson Falls Plant Site
Remedial Work at Hudson Falls and Ft. Edwards Plant Sites