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For Release: Tuesday, March 16, 2004

DEC Issues PCB Cleanup Remedy for GE Hudson Falls Plant

Remedial Measures Will Address PCB Contamination Entering Hudson River

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty today announced DEC has completed its Record of Decision (ROD) for the General Electric Hudson Falls State Superfund site in the Village of Hudson Falls, Washington County.

"Restoration of the Hudson River to its full potential as an environmental, economic and cultural resource is one of Governor Pataki's highest priorities," Commissioner Crotty said. "The cleanup of the PCB contamination at the GE Hudson Falls site and eliminating a continuing source of PCBs to the Hudson River represent significant progress in our restoration efforts."

Remedial Investigations and Feasibility Studies (RI/FS) conducted by GE under the State Superfund program showed soils containing high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the vicinity of the former manufacturing buildings at the site; PCB-contaminated groundwater and PCB oil in the overburden soils; contaminated groundwater containing PCB oil in the bedrock beneath the site; seeps of PCB oil in the bottom of the Hudson River adjacent to the site; contaminated PCB sediments within the former Allen Mill and raceway structures adjacent to the Hudson River; elevated levels of PCBs in water column samples immediately downstream of the site as compared to upstream; and detrimental impacts on fish and other biota in the river immediately downstream of the site.

The ROD outlines a comprehensive remedy for the entire site. The studies of the overburden soils and the bedrock groundwater allowed DEC to select cleanup strategies to address the entire site that are protective of public health and the environment.

DEC's ROD calls for the treatment and/or disposal of the PCB-contaminated soils, installation of tunnel and drain groundwater and PCB oil control systems, and completion of any ongoing interim remedial measures as the selected remedy for the site. Elements of DEC's cleanup strategy described in the ROD include:

1. appropriate decommissioning and demolition of the former manufacturing buildings at the site;
2. active remediation of contaminated soils at the site by treatment and/or off-site disposal. The cleanup level would be consistent with DEC's guidance for the determination of soil cleanup levels. The selection of the appropriate treatment technology will occur in the remedial design phase of the cleanup. Applicable treatment technologies would be evaluated, and demonstration projects will be utilized to determine which technologies are most effective at cleaning up contaminated soils at the site. Soils that are not amenable to treatment due to technology limitations, or that can not be feasibly treated to the site cleanup levels, would be considered for off-site disposal at a properly permitted facility;
3. installation of a engineered soil cover over the entire site;
4. enhancement of the existing groundwater and PCB oil management system through the installation and operation of a tunnel and drain system constructed along the western portion of the site, adjacent to and beneath the Hudson River, to capture, treat and prevent the migration of PCB contaminated groundwater and PCB oil from the site to the Hudson River and other off-site areas;
5. expansion of the wastewater treatment plant at the site to manage the additional wastewater generated at the site. Discharges from the plant would meet the substantive requirements of a State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit;
6. a Declaration of Limited Use and Restrictions would be implemented, which restricts the site to industrial and commercial uses only, and prohibits the extraction of groundwater for uses other than cleanup purposes; and
7. institution of a long-term monitoring program.

Numerous interim remedial measures have already been undertaken by GE at the Hudson Falls site, including the removal and off-site disposal of PCB-contaminated sediment found within the mill and raceway structures adjacent to the site, and adjacent to the former 002 outfall location; collection of PCB-oil seeps within the mill and raceway structures, and on the bottom of the Hudson River adjacent to the site; construction and operation of a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant at the site; and installation and operation of an overburden and bedrock groundwater and PCB oil recovery system.

The ROD document will be available on the DEC website or at the following document repositories:

04-25

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