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Region 1: EPA New England

Curt Spalding Addresses Berkshire County Residents on Housatonic River Efforts

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Letter to the Editor
Berkshire Eagle

October 7, 2010

To the Editor,

Since my appointment last year as regional administrator of EPA's New England region, one of my top priorities has been to visit areas where EPA has a major responsibility in the community, to learn about issues important to citizens and to help solve environmental problems.

Last week I had the great experience of visiting Pittsfield, to see first-hand the work that has been done over the past 12 years to clean up the Housatonic River. I attended a community meeting and met many of the local leaders and citizens involved in EPA's and the Commonwealth's ongoing work to ensure that GE does what is required to remediate the decades of pollution accumulated in the environment from PCBs at their Pittsfield facility.

On my visit, I heard loud and clear concerns about the dangers posed by PCBs in the River and floodplain, the fears that invasive cleanup work would itself harm the River, and the desire that the decision-making process include the voices of the people of the Berkshires.

There is obviously a great deal of interest in EPA's upcoming decision about the scope and type of work that will be required of GE in the "Rest of River" portion of the Housatonic, as the river winds south from Pittsfield. And clearly, there is a lot at stake – including protecting the character of the river, and making the right decisions for current and future generations to safely enjoy the river environment.

EPA has not yet made a decision on our proposal for clean up of the Housatonic River. GE will submit its report to us on October 12th, which will cover 10 sediment and nine floodplain alternatives. We expect these alternatives to span a wide range of ways to deal with the large amount of PCBs in the Housatonic River and its floodplain – alternatives that will likely range from removing no PCBs to removing all of the PCBs with an intensive excavation program.

In the proposal GE sends to us next week, they may include their own recommendation as to what alternative it believes is best to clean up the river. However, the process does not stop there.

Once GE submits its clean up report to us, EPA will begin our own rigorous scientific analysis to determine what work is needed to both protect human health and the ecological health in the River's environment. We will solicit comments from the public – first on GE's analysis, and later, once EPA has thoroughly reviewed the information from GE and the public, on EPA's proposed clean up.

It's been estimated that a million-and-a-half pounds of PCBs were lost at the GE facility in Pittsfield to the soil and to the river. These toxins have spread down the Housatonic approximately 130 miles into Connecticut. PCBs remain in the environment a very long time, on the order of hundreds of years. Because PCBs don't affect plant growth, nor are they visible to the eye, the river and floodplain appear to be untainted.

Make no mistake: the Housatonic is a severely degraded river. Concentrations of PCBs in the fish and wildlife in the river and floodplain are among the highest ever measured in the country, and they pose an ongoing threat to the health of people and wildlife living near and using the river. It's our generation's job to address this issue and make the right choices so that future generations will be able to safely enjoy life near the river.

GE is a large company that has accomplished many important things during their history, and we look forward to ensuring that they continue to do what is required to make the river healthy again.

I am committed to making decisions based on sound science, and based on the best available information. I am also committed to an open, inclusive and transparent process that allows the communities of the Berkshires to weigh in with their concerns and priorities. I will ensure that whatever plan EPA ultimately decides is best to bring the Housatonic back to health, it will be implemented by GE in a manner that is sensitive to the unique character of the river and to the community.

Curt Spalding
Regional Administrator
U.S. EPA, New England Regional Office

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