Hold GE Accountable for Hudson River Cleanup!
- by: Scenic Hudson
- recipient: Department of Justice
From now until December 14th, we have an historic opportunity to right a 30-year environmental wrong -- and your official public comment today is critical.
For 30 years, General Electric dumped more than 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Hudson River from their Hudson Falls and Fort Edward plants. More PCBs were used at these two facilities than at any other location nationwide, and the Hudson River remains the largest PCB Superfund site in the United States.
PCBs are so dangerous to human health and the environment that their manufacturing was banned in 1977. They are suspected of causing cancer, and have been shown to have effects on neurological, hormonal, and reproductive systems of animals and humans at very low levels. PCBs do not degrade in the environment; they persist for decades and they spread far from where they were originally dumped.
Since 2000, GE has pursued a lawsuit challenging federal Superfund requirements. GE has spent millions of dollars to avoid responsibility for the environmental disaster it created in the Hudson River decades ago. But recently, GE and the Environmental Protection Agency came to an agreement regarding cleanup of the Hudson River. While this agreement is certainly progress, it has serious shortcomings, including a disturbing provision that only requires GE to pay for the first 10% of the cleanup, allowing GE to opt-out of the remaining 90% of the cleanup with no penalties!
We need public input to ensure that GE agrees to and pays for a full cleanup of the Hudson River PCBs, and that GE is held accountable and not allowed to prolong and delay the cleanup process. Click here for more information about the cleanup negotiations and public comment period, and then sign this petition to submit your comment today!
For 30 years, General Electric dumped more than 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Hudson River from their Hudson Falls and Fort Edward plants. More PCBs were used at these two facilities than at any other location nationwide, and the Hudson River remains the largest PCB Superfund site in the United States.
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Signs posted along the Hudson river warn of the dangers of eating fish because of PCBs. |
Since 2000, GE has pursued a lawsuit challenging federal Superfund requirements. GE has spent millions of dollars to avoid responsibility for the environmental disaster it created in the Hudson River decades ago. But recently, GE and the Environmental Protection Agency came to an agreement regarding cleanup of the Hudson River. While this agreement is certainly progress, it has serious shortcomings, including a disturbing provision that only requires GE to pay for the first 10% of the cleanup, allowing GE to opt-out of the remaining 90% of the cleanup with no penalties!
We need public input to ensure that GE agrees to and pays for a full cleanup of the Hudson River PCBs, and that GE is held accountable and not allowed to prolong and delay the cleanup process. Click here for more information about the cleanup negotiations and public comment period, and then sign this petition to submit your comment today!
To the Department of Justice:
I live in [your CITY], [your STATE] and I am writing in reference to United States v. General Electric Company, Civil Action No. 05-cv-1270, D.J. Ref. 90-11-2-529. I have concerns about this Consent Decree between the federal government and General Electric. I support a full, complete and comprehensive agreement consistent with the EPA's 2002 Record of Decision that would result in the complete cleanup and removal of dangerous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the Hudson River.
[Your personal comments here]
The Consent Decree has several shortcomings that alarm me, including:
- The agreement only covers the first phase -10 percent - of the full, necessary cleanup of the Hudson River.
- The agreement allows General Electric to decide whether or not they will conduct Phase II, which is 90% of the necessary cleanup, rather than requiring General Electric to conduct Phase II.
- Under this agreement, General Electric may opt out of Phase II without penalties, which is inconsistent with other Superfund agreements.
- The agreement allows General Electric to submit its own engineering performance standards report, in addition to EPAs. This may be inconsistent with the engineering performance standards peer review process set up in the ROD and EPA's own peer review guidance.
- General Electric and the government have not finalized the design of this cleanup. The government may be agreeing to conduct a cleanup design that ultimately is inconsistent with the cleanup decision.
- Currently there are no monies going into the Superfund and the EPA will be hard pressed to come up with the financial resources to conduct this cleanup in General Electric 's absence.
I urge the EPA and Department of Justice ensures that General Electric is held accountable to conduct and pay for a complete cleanup based on the 2002 Record of Decision adopted by the EPA. There has been no change in the science since 2002 when the Bush Administration endorsed a General Electric cleanup as the required and most appropriate action.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
Sign PetitionSign PetitionI live in [your CITY], [your STATE] and I am writing in reference to United States v. General Electric Company, Civil Action No. 05-cv-1270, D.J. Ref. 90-11-2-529. I have concerns about this Consent Decree between the federal government and General Electric. I support a full, complete and comprehensive agreement consistent with the EPA's 2002 Record of Decision that would result in the complete cleanup and removal of dangerous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the Hudson River.
[Your personal comments here]
The Consent Decree has several shortcomings that alarm me, including:
- The agreement only covers the first phase -10 percent - of the full, necessary cleanup of the Hudson River.
- The agreement allows General Electric to decide whether or not they will conduct Phase II, which is 90% of the necessary cleanup, rather than requiring General Electric to conduct Phase II.
- Under this agreement, General Electric may opt out of Phase II without penalties, which is inconsistent with other Superfund agreements.
- The agreement allows General Electric to submit its own engineering performance standards report, in addition to EPAs. This may be inconsistent with the engineering performance standards peer review process set up in the ROD and EPA's own peer review guidance.
- General Electric and the government have not finalized the design of this cleanup. The government may be agreeing to conduct a cleanup design that ultimately is inconsistent with the cleanup decision.
- Currently there are no monies going into the Superfund and the EPA will be hard pressed to come up with the financial resources to conduct this cleanup in General Electric 's absence.
I urge the EPA and Department of Justice ensures that General Electric is held accountable to conduct and pay for a complete cleanup based on the 2002 Record of Decision adopted by the EPA. There has been no change in the science since 2002 when the Bush Administration endorsed a General Electric cleanup as the required and most appropriate action.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
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