GE remains committed to a common sense solution for the Housatonic Rest of River that protects human health and the environment, and complies with the federal court-approved Pittsfield/Housatonic agreement as well as EPA precedent.
That is why GE proposed a massive project four years ago that would:
- Remove hundreds of thousands of yards of sediment and soil from the Housatonic River and floodplain while also preserving its sensitive ecosystem
- Included much more dredging in Woods Pond than EPA can require because we heard that is what the public wants
- And included out of state removal of sediment and soil even though EPA can’t require that either
Instead EPA has rejected every effort by GE to achieve a consensus, terminated its discussions with us, and proposed a remedy almost three times larger than the one put forward by the Patrick Administration in 2011.
EPA’s proposal violates the court-approved agreement and EPA precedent. It ignores the very scientific studies that EPA and the Patrick Administration demanded. Renowned experts have determined that EPA’s proposal will cause irreparable damage to the Rest of River ecosystem and cause unnecessary disruption in the communities through which the River runs.
That is also why we are surprised that the Patrick Administration is now supporting EPA’s proposal since they previously rejected much smaller remedies, concluding that they would not “achieve the remediation goals without causing irreparable harm to this unique, diverse and vital ecosystem.”
The Patrick Administration got it right the first time. There is no good reason for its reversal now.
GE is committed to a common sense solution for the Housatonic Rest of River but that is not what EPA proposed. Had EPA adopted GE’s proposed approach, work would already be underway to restore the Housatonic River that would protect human health and its unique ecosystem.
