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EPA's ACTING REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR INSPECTS CLEANUP PROJECTS IN PITTSFIELD

Release Date: 03/01/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - After decades of unacceptable progress, the cleanup of PCB contamination in Berkshire County and the Housatonic River is well underway, with another milestone coming tonight when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discusses for the first time cleanup alternatives for a 1½-mile stretch of the Housatonic River.

"Enormous progress is being made in beginning the real work of erasing the legacy of PCB contamination in Berkshire County and the Housatonic River," said Mindy S. Lubber, acting regional administrator at EPA's New England office, after inspecting several of the cleanup projects today in and along the river. "It's impressive to see first-hand how much good work is being accomplished in the top half-mile of the river, at the GE property, at Allendale School and numerous other locations around Pittsfield and Berkshire County. It's even more remarkable when you consider where this cleanup was two years ago - at a virtual standstill."

Among the projects Lubber inspected today are the ongoing cleanup of the half-mile section of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield, cleanup and demolition at GE's 250-acre property in Pittsfield, the already-completed cleanup at the Allendale School and various downstream river locations where cleanup investigations are underway.

Lubber also is attending the monthly Citizens Coordinating Council meeting today in Pittsfield that will include a presentation on the various engineering options and costs for remediating a 1½-mile section of the Housatonic River between Lyman Street and the confluence of the river's East and West Branches. That work will begin after cleanup of the upper ½-mile section is completed by spring 2001.

"The PCB levels we've found in the lower 1½ miles of the river are unacceptable and various removal options are being considered for dealing with those contaminants," Lubber said. "Tonight's meeting will be the first of many opportunities for residents to hear about those options and provide valuable input on what removal plan makes the most sense."

The CCC meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Berkshire Athenaeum Library at 1 Wendell St. in Pittsfield.

Listed below are updates on various cleanup projects completed or underway:

• Cleanup of First Half-Mile of the Housatonic: Cleanup work in the first half-mile of the river began last October, just days after the Consent Decree was lodged in federal court for public comment. Slated for completion by May 2001, the cleanup is designed to remove PCB-contaminated sediments, prevent downstream transport of PCBs, improve the river as a habitat for fish and wildlife and allow for safe recreational use of the river. To date, GE has removed more than 1,500 cubic yards of river sediments, 400 cubic yards of contaminated bank soils and treated 10 million gallons of river water.
• Source Control Work at GE Plant Site: At EPA's direction, GE continues to move forward with work to investigate and eliminate all potential sources of contamination to the river from its Pittsfield property and other filled oxbow properties that abut the river. Extensive subsurface investigations and evaluations have been conducted along the section of river that abuts the GE property and the former oxbows. This new and improved source control program included the installation of more than 80 additional soils borings/monitoring wells, the construction and enhancement of several oil recovery systems and the installation of containment barriers to prevent any oil from entering the Housatonic. The Consent Decree includes provisions requiring GE to also address any new discoveries of oil that could potentially impact the river. In 1999 alone, this program resulted in 40,000 gallons of oil being removed and 50 million gallons of groundwater being treated. EPA will require GE to continue extracting and containing oil until we are satisfied that oil will not enter the river.
• Cleanup of Next 1½ Miles of River: At today's Citizens Coordinating Council meeting, EPA will present a draft report about cleanup alternatives for the next 1½ miles of the Housatonic between Lyman Street and the confluence of the river's East and West Branches. Actual work will begin after the first ½-mile is cleaned up. The report, known as an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA), focuses on various engineering options for removing contaminants and the costs. EPA prepared the report after collecting and analyzing hundreds of water, sediment and banksoil samples in and along the river. Following extensive public input and review from EPA Headquarters and other government agencies, EPA will propose a preferred removal action this summer. The proposal will be subject to a formal 30-day public comment period before a final decision is made.
• Allendale School Cleanup: This unprecedented cleanup last summer resulted in the removal of 41,000 cubic yards of contaminated soils from the school's backyard and a restoration that has made the playground an attraction to both children and adults. Most importantly, all of the contaminated soil work was done through the summer school vacation and not one day of school was lost as a result.
• Residential Property Cleanups: In the past two years, more than 100 residential properties in Pittsfield have been cleaned up under MA-DEP supervision. GE is scheduled to clean up an additional 29 properties during the upcoming construction season. A GE-financed fund of more than $1 million will soon be available to property owners for sampling of additional properties. The fund, which is being administered by four community members that make up the Berkshire Environmental Trust, will be used in situations where GE would not otherwise be required to sample.
• Redevelopment Work at GE Property: GE has begun demolishing many of the property's most unsightly features, including several tanks along Silver Lake Boulevard, large smokestacks used by the old powerhouse and a utility bridge that extended over East Street. Large scale demolition is slated to take place through next year, after which time new modern business facilities will be built, much of it at GE's expense. The City of Pittsfield and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority have already attracted some prospective tenants, including EV Worldwide, an electrical vehicle manufacturer that is expected to use the site and provide upwards of 1,000 jobs over the next five years.
• Housatonic River Investigations and Risk Studies: EPA continues to make progress on a massive effort to investigate the river below the confluence of the East and West Branches. This work will continue over the next year. The result will be a better understanding of potential health and ecological risks posed by PCB contamination, the ability to predict the river's recovery given certain cleanup scenarios and, ultimately, a decision on how to best clean up the rest of the river.
• Public Participation: Early in the settlement negotiations with GE, EPA insisted on forming a Citizens Coordinating Council so that the public would have a forum for assisting the agency in future cleanup decisions. The 36-member group that was formed in the fall of 1998 has been very valuable in providing a diverse range of community opinions, some of which resulted in substantive changes between the "agreement in principle" and the final agreement proposed last fall. EPA expects the CCC will continue to play a valuable role in helping to critique EPA and GE cleanup proposals over the next several years. EPA has worked long and hard to make sure the community's interests were well represented, as evidenced by the prompt cleanup of Allendale School and the jump-start of the half-mile river cleanup.