Environment DEC
From the July 2003 issue
State Settles with GE Waterford Facility
DEC Commissioner Erin M. Crotty has announced the signing of an Order on Consent with General Electric (GE) that addresses environmental violations at the company's facility in the Town of Waterford, Saratoga County. "The Hudson River has been recognized as one of our nation's most important historic, cultural, economic and environmental resources," Commissioner Crotty said. "The measures required by this consent order will significantly enhance the well-being of this majestic waterway."
Environmental Violations
The order addresses violations at the Waterford facility that occurred from 2000 to 2002. As a result of disclosures by GE and DEC investigations, it is alleged that the company violated its State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) and hazardous waste management permits by spilling, releasing and discharging various pollutants into state waters.
DEC also alleged that GE violated New York's air contamination and pollution control rules by an unpermitted release of hydrogen chloride in 2001 and violated Environmental Conservation Law by discharging toluene to the facility's treatment lagoons.
Terms of the Order
GE will pay a penalty of $300,000 to the state, and an additional $550,000 into a fund that DEC will use for environmental benefit projects (EBPs) at the Mohawk Tire Site. The state ordered the tire facility to cease operations in June 1999. In March 2002, about 500,000 tires at the Waterford site burned, and GE helped local fire companies extinguish the fire.
GE must upgrade its Waterford facility to prevent future spills and releases. Upgrades, already underway, will cost approximately $15 million and include: construction of cooling towers; replacement of the wastewater lagoons with a system designed to treat oily wastewater, and construction of an independent monitoring station for DEC use.
GE also will hire a consultant to conduct a third-party environmental audit of the facility. The audit will include a comprehensive review of areas of the facility that discharge into the wastewater lagoons. In compliance with a DEC-approved schedule, GE will remediate violations found by the audit.
