Dredging the Hudson - Updates - politics delay the clean-up of the river - Brief Article

E: The Environmental Magazine, Jan-Feb, 2002 by Starre Vartan

After 11 years of scientific studies and concerted legal effort, the fight to clean up the Hudson River continues. In late 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered General Electric (GE) to spend $500 million to clean up the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)it had dumped in the Hudson River in the 1940s (see "Troubled Waters," cover story, May/June 2001).

GE then claimed that dredging the river, which is supposed to remove the toxins from the river bottom, would do more harm than good. But Alex Matthiessen, executive director of Riverkeeper, says, "That's ridiculous. The benefits of PCB removal far outweigh the minor and temporary effects on plant life during the dredging process." Last August, despite GE's protests, EPA Administrator Christine Whitman proceeded with the plan to force the cleanup. However, just days after the September 11 attacks, Whitman and GE conducted closed meetings, causing the environmental community to worry that the legal actions will be delayed. "Delay means loss of public and political support," says Matthiessen. CONTACT: Riverkeeper, (845)424-4149, www.riverkeeper.org.