NY lawmakers add to call for more upper-Hudson dredging

New York state legislators from both houses are asking General Electric to perform additional dredgi
In this May 7, 2015 file photo, crews perform dredging work along the upper Hudson River in Waterford, N.Y. Long after the last dredging barge leaves the upper Hudson River, scientists will track the slow fade in contamination levels. General Electric ...
In this May 7, 2015 file photo, crews perform dredging work along the upper Hudson River in Waterford, N.Y. Long after the last dredging barge leaves the upper Hudson River, scientists will track the slow fade in contamination levels. General Electric ...

ALBANY — New York state legislators from both houses are asking General Electric to perform additional dredging of the upper-Hudson River.

GE this year expects to finish dredging more than 2.6 million cubic yards of sediment contaminated with poly-chlorinated biphenyls as part of a Superfund project. Before 1977, GE discharged into the river more than 1 million pounds of PCBs, which were used as electrical coolants.

Advocates have been calling for GE to expand dredging beyond the project’s boundaries, saying it is needed to make sure the river is cleaned. State lawmakers released letters this week adding their voices. A state Assembly letter had 141 signatures, a Senate letter had 25.

GE notes that cleanup goals are being met and argues against expanding dredging before data is analyzed on the current work.

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