EPA OKs Processing Facility Plan

After considering public input, the EPA has approved a plan that outlines the multi-step process General Electric (GE) will follow to dismantle and decontaminate the 110 acre PCB sediment processing facility that was built to support the dredging of the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site.

The plan, called the Processing Facility Demobilization and Restoration Plan, is required by the 2006 legal agreement between GE and the EPA for the dredging work.

The EPA will oversee GE’s performance of the work required by the plan.

With the sixth and final season of dredging now complete, the approval provides permission to GE to begin the demobilization and restoration process as outlined in the plan.

The demobilization process will continue into 2016. In general, the multi-step demobilization process includes:

  • Decontamination of equipment and infrastructure (e.g. unloading equipment, buildings, concrete surfaces etc.);
  • Sampling of equipment/materials;
  • Final placement of equipment/materials (e.g. sale, reuse, salvage/recycling, or off-site disposal);
  • Environmental sampling (soil, groundwater, sediment and surface water);
  • Property restoration.

Backfilling of previously dredged areas with clean material was completed earlier this week.