A consortium of environmental groups known as Friends of a Clean Hudson is challenging the federal Environmental Protection Agency to acknowledge the cleanup of the Hudson River so far has not protected human health and the environment as the agency conducts its Superfund Site Review.
The consortium led by Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater announced in a press release Friday, Nov. 8 that it submitted comments on Thursday, Nov. 7 to the EPA’s draft third five-year review calling on the agency to find cleanup is “not protective of human health and the environment.”
The consortium noted that the EPA’s draft review, released in July 2024, again claimed that “more data is needed to determine if the cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson is meeting the expectations of the original cleanup plan.
The Friends of a Clean Hudson stated that available EPA data found “neither fish nor sediment are recovering at the rates needed to protect human health and the environment.”
The coalition said nationally recognized scientists analyzed that concluded a six-year cleanup of the Upper Hudson “failed to achieve the anticipated reduction of PCBs within the timeframes established to protect human health and the environment from the legacy of PCB contamination.”
“The data is clear: PCB concentrations are currently much higher than the EPA anticipated in the original cleanup plan,” the consortium said. “The EPA’s guidance for reviewing remedial actions indicates the agency must issue a “not protective” determination in its final third five-year review and take steps to re-evaluate the cleanup.”
The EPA is required to address problems with cleanup plans as they become apparent as part of the five-year review process, the consortium noted.
The consortium called on the agency to “acknowledge the failure of the plan to meet the original goals, to lay the groundwork for additional steps to address PCB contamination in the Hudson River. ”
“The continued delay by the EPA has placed the burden of protecting human health squarely on low-income families and overburdened communities who rely on the river’s tainted fish,” the consortium found. “The EPA’s position in its recent review contradicts the agency’s environmental justice policies intended to ensure cleanups at polluted sites like the Hudson River address decades-old environmental injustices in overburdened communities.”
The Friends of a Clean Hudson encouraged the public to submit public comments to the EPA’s third five-year review through action alerts, community candlelight vigils, and virtual and in-person public presentations.
The consortium said it is working with elected officials to circulate local resolutions and sign-on letters.
The coalition’s technical comments can be found at https://bit.ly/4hIpRsc.
The consortium said while it awaits the results from the EPA’s review it will continue to review EPA data, push for additional sampling in the Hudson, and seek improvements in fish consumption advisories.