G.E. Supports 'Natural Recovery' Of Housatonic River

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has extended the public comment period for a proposal to clean up PCBs from the Housatonic River. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports the agency is taking comments  until the end of January .                

General Electric used PCBs at a manufacturing plant in Pittsfield Massachusetts until Congress banned the chemical in 1978, because of its toxicity. G.E. and the EPA have removed PCBs from the first two miles of the Housatonic River south of the Pittsfield plant. The company has released a study of ten different approaches to removing PCBs from the rest of the river—an area that is largely undeveloped. In a web-based video advertisement General Electric explains it’s in favor of what it calls “monitored natural recovery” which includes limiting the amount of PCBs that come downstream.

“With the flow of PCBs reduced, Monitored Natural Recovery would rely on nature to slowly bury any PCBs remaining in the river. Habitat would be left intact. And the animals that live here would remain undisturbed. Other plans being considered would have a much greater impact on this ecosytem.”

G.E.’s video says removing PCBs from the river would turn it into a construction site. But Dennis Regan of the Housatonic Valley Association says the river would rebound after a clean up.

“We would rather have it cleaned up then leave it there. Although we won’t be able to use the area for quite a while but the fact is that the PCBs are toxic waste and we would like GE to remove them.”

The public has until the end of January to submit comments. The EPA expects to respond to G.E.’s study by  the end of February. Then the EPA hopes to put together its own proposal by next summer.

For WNPR, I’m Nancy Cohen.