skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

EPA Delays Decision on Hudson PCBs Cleanup

play audio
Play

Thursday, January 4, 2018   

NEW YORK – The Environmental Protection Agency has delayed a decision on whether General Electric has properly completed its cleanup of the Hudson River.

The EPA sent a letter to GE on Tuesday, saying the agency needs more time to complete its review.

GE had asked the EPA for a "certificate of completion" a year ago, after finishing the removal of millions of cubic yards of sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which have been shown to cause cancer.

The EPA has said the data shows no more dredging is needed.

But Paul Gallay, the Hudson Riverkeeper, calls the agency's delay an attempt to avoid public scrutiny.

"When you have two other federal agencies saying the cleanup's insufficient, EPA doesn't really have any place to hide,” he states. “The light's on them, whether they like it or not."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say more dredging is needed.

GE says it has removed all the PCBs that the EPA had targeted for removal.

But Gallay contends there was a large amount of contamination in the river beyond what was known when the original cleanup was planned.

"A lot of that contamination still remains, and it comes over the Troy Dam and into the lower Hudson, where it continues to contaminate our river every day," he explains.

Advisories against eating fish caught in the Hudson are still in place.

Gallay says the length of time those fish advisories remain in effect is a good indicator of the status of the cleanup.

"The original prediction was, within five years of the completion of the cleanup, you'd be able to eat white perch in the Albany area,” he states. “The prediction has now gone to 55 years."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday restated his promise to file legal action against the EPA if the agency chooses to certify the cleanup of the Hudson River as "complete" at this time.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021