EPA v. General Electric Company (Hudson River PCBs)

Case summary

'During an approximate 30-year period ending in 1977, manufacturing processes at two GE facilities, one in Fort Edward, New York, and the other in Hudson Falls, New York, used polychlorinated piphenyls ( PCBs ) in the manufacture of electrical capacitors. PCBs from both facilities were discharged into the Hudson River. The Hudson River PCBs Site (Site) was placed on the National Priorities List in 1984. In September of 1984, EPA issued a Record of Decision (the 1984 ROD ) for the Site which included, among other things, an interim no action decision with regard to PCBs in the sediments of the Upper Hudson River. In 1989, EPA decided to reassess the interim no-action decision in the 1984 ROD with respect to PCB-contaminated Hudson River sediments. Beginning in 1990, EPA conducted a Reassessment Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study which included, inter alia, analyses of the fate, transport, and human health and environmental risks associated with PCB contamination at the Site. On February 1, 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision ( ROD ) in which EPA selected a remedial action for the Site. The remedy selected in the ROD includes, inter alia, the targeted dredging and off-site disposal of approximately 2.65 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the Upper Hudson River. On February 4, 2002, EPA sent a Special Notice Letter to GE asking the company to notify the Agency as to whether it would perform or fund the remedy selected by EPA in the ROD, and to reimburse approximately $37 million in EPA Site-related past costs. GE submitted its response to EPA's Special Notice Letter on April 8, 2002, and the first phase of negotiations with the company have focused on an administrative consent order that would allow the sediment sampling program to begin during the summer of 2002 and be completed in 2003. The July 23, 3003 Administrative Consent Order is the result of this first phase of negotiations. Future discussions with GE will address the company's funding and performance of other aspects of the Remedial Design and the cleanup plan selected by EPA in the ROD. EPA's claim for reimbursement of the remainder of its past costs will also be discussed

Defendants (1)

• General Electric CompanyNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• HUDSON RIVER PCBS

  NO STREET APPLICABLE, GLENS FALLS, NY, 12801

  Registry ID: 110009302879

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 122A — Agreement to Perform Work Under 104B
• CERCLA 107A — Cost Recovery

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• General Electric Companyentered 2002-07-23

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2002-07-23Enforcement Action Closed
• 2002-07-23Final Order Issued
• 2002-10-18Enforcement Action Data Entered