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Project Design

Background

On February 1, 2002, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site. The ROD called for targeted environmental dredging of an estimated 2.65 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments from the Upper Hdson River between Hudson Falls, New York and the Federal Dam at Troy. Before dredging can begin, comprehensive engineering plans and specifications for the project must be developed to ensure that it is implemented in a safe and effective manner.

The design includes a two-year sediment sampling program that was initiated in October 2002 to confirm the precise areas of the Upper Hudson River between Fort Edward and the Troy Dam that require dredging. Other design tasks include:

  • Determining dredging sequencing and timing;
  • Identifying the location of dredging operations;
  • Identifying the location of the Phase 1 dredging area(s);
  • Developing dredging cut lines;
  • Identifying backfill sources;
  • Evaluating new treatment options or beneficial uses for dredged sediment;
  • Evaluating and selecting dredge technology;
  • Determining how water will be treated prior to its return to the river;
  • Determining where dewatered sediments will be disposed of;
  • Determining what dredged areas will be restored; and
  • Determining what habitat replacement and backfill materials will be used

EPA anticipates that the design work will be phased so that dredging can begin in spring 2007.

Phase 1 Habitat Assessment Report [November 2005]

The Habitat Assessment Report for Candidate Phase 1 Areas (Phase 1 Habitat Assessment Report) documents the habitat assessment results for candidate Phase 1 dredging areas that were assessed in 2003 and 2004. Habitat assessment information will be used to develop the basis of design for habitat replacement and reconstruction in Phase 1 areas. The Phase 1 Habitat Assessment Report provides the foundation for implementing the habitat replacement and reconstruction program for the Phase 1 dredging areas. Habitat assessments followed the scope of work outlined in the Habitat Delineation and Assessment Work Plan.

Habitat Assessment Report for Candidate Phase 1 Areas [PDF 697 KB, 75 pp] (November 23, 2005)
Habitat Assessment Report Final Phase Appendices [PDF 19 MB, 175 pp] (November 23, 2005)

The following Habitat Assessment Report figures are available on request: kluesner.dave@epa.gov

Figure 1 Upper Hudson River
Figure 2 Sampling Station Locations for Habitat Assessments in the Phase 1 Areas
Figure 3 Sampling Station Locations for Habitat Assessments in the Phase 1 Areas
Figure 4 Sampling Station Locations for Habitat Assessments in the Phase 1 Areas
Figure 5 Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Percent Fines at Phase 1 Areas and Assessment Stations

GE Submits Intermediate Design for First Phase of Hudson River Dredging (August 2005)

EPA has reached another milestone in the cleanup of the Hudson River PCBs site with the receipt of the Intermediate Design Report from the General Electric Company (GE) for Phase 1 of the cleanup. This document contains key information about the cleanup of the river, including the type of dredging equipment that will be used, hours of operation, and the layout of the dewatering and transfer facility in Fort Edward. EPA has initiated a thorough review of the document and is soliciting comments from the public. The period for public input will run from August 26 through September 26. A public forum will be held at the Fort Edward Firehouse at 7:00 pm, September 8, 2005. Hard copies of the Intermediate Design Report are available at information repositories in Glens Falls, Fort Edward (EPA Hudson River Field Office), Ballston Spa, Albany, Poughkeepsie, New York City (EPA Region 2 offices), and Edgewater, New Jersey. (Link to document)
Phase 1 Intermediate Design Report Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site

Treatability Studies Report

The Treatability Studies Report (TS Report) provides documentation of treatability studies and provides the resulting data except ongoing studies of settling and filter press simulation.

The treatability studies also validated, on a small scale, performance specifications of processes developed during the remedial design. As described in the TS Work Plan, the objectives of the treatability studies were to provide the data needed to:

Phase 1 Dredge Areas Identified

The design of the cleanup of the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site has reached a key milestone. EPA has approved the Phase 1 Dredge Area Delineation Report (DAD Report), prepared by General Electric Company (GE), which identifies the areas that will be dredged during the first year. The DAD Report will be used by GE to prepare a Phase 1 Intermediate Design Report. The dredge areas may be adjusted during design. Any such changes will be included in the intermediate and final design reports. Phase 1 DAD Report documents are available at the information repositories located in Glens Falls, Ft. Edward (Hudson River Field Office), Ballston Spa, Albany, Poughkeepsie, New York City (EPA Region 2 offices) and in Edgewater, New Jersey. Copies are also available in print and on CD-ROM by calling the Hudson River Field Office at (518) 747-4389 or toll free at (866) 729-3376.
Download the Report | Fact Sheet (February 2005)

Target Area Identification (TAI) Report for Phase 1 Dredging

On January 20, 2005, EPA approved the Phase 1 Target Area Identification Report (TAI Report), September 13, 2004 which was prepared by General Electric Company (GE) as part of the design of the Hudson River PCBs dredging project. The approved TAI Report compares the general areas of the Upper Hudson River that are candidates for dredging in Phase 1, and it identifies the specific areas proposed by GE for inclusion in Phase 1. The dredging areas proposed by GE consist of the east side of Griffin Island near hot spot 14 and the northern most dredge areas in the Northern Thompson Island Pool (Northern TIP), continuing downstream in the Northern TIP as necessary to make up the Phase 1 productivity target volume of 265,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment. The general dredging areas identified in the Phase 1 TAI Report will be further refined in the dredge area delineation process, and will be developed into precise dredge prisms in the intermediate and final design documents.

Phase 1 of the project will serve as a test of the ability of the dredging operations to achieve the engineering performance standards as well as the quality of life performance standards for the project. Phase 1 also will evaluate whether the equipment and methods specified by the design are adequate and appropriate to meet the goals of the project.

EPA Issues Decision on General Electric's Dispute over Hudson River Areas Delineated and Targeted for Dredging
July 2004

On July 22 EPA Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny issued a final decision on technical issues that were disputed by the General Electric Company (GE) in its May 21, 2004 letter to EPA. GE raised numerous issues related to EPA's comments on GE's draft Phase 1 Dredge Area Delineation Report and draft Phase 1 Target Area Identification Report for the Hudson River PCBs dredging project.

Preliminary Design Report
April 2004

On April 20, 2004, EPA has approved and released the Preliminary Design Report for the Hudson River PCBs Site, which was prepared by General Electric Company (GE). It presents the first stage of the design for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund site cleanup. The Preliminary Design Report for the Hudson River PCBs Site includes a preliminary description of options for Phase 1 and Phase 2 dredging operations, including sediment removal and disposal. It evaluates the full spectrum of existing dredging technologies, including dredging equipment, resuspension control measures, material handling and processing, dewatering and water treatment processes, transport to disposal locations, composition of backfill and capping materials, and habitat replacement. The preliminary design also reflects commitments made in the ROD including no transport of processed sediment by truck and the disposal of dredged material outside the Hudson River Valley.

Dredging Start Date Adjustment
March 2003

In the February 2002 ROD, EPA projected that a three-year period would be needed to design the cleanup project, with environmental dredging to begin in the summer of 2005. The schedule has been adjusted to accommodate the time required for negotiations with General Electric (GE) and the need for additional community involvement. The adjusted schedule anticipates that dredging will begin in late spring 2006, the next dredging season. The design phase of the Hudson River cleanup includes: the collection and analysis of approximately 30,000 sediment samples required to precisely identify the areas to be dredged; the siting, design and construction of sediment processing/transfer facility(ies); development of performance standards; independent peer review of engineering performance standards; and the design of the dredging program. Of course, the project design also includes a community involvement process that will provide ample and meaningful opportunities for public input and participation.

The projected schedule has been influenced by the EPA policy under Superfund that calls for potentially responsible parties to perform needed cleanups at Superfund sites whenever possible, rather than EPA using federal funds for cleanup actions. The initial schedule for the Hudson River project design assumed that EPA would be implementing the cleanup using federal funds through the Superfund program. EPA has already reached an agreement with GE, the potentially responsible party, to perform sediment sampling work. The negotiations leading to that agreement required EPA and GE to resolve a number of complicated technical issues and resulted in the sediment sampling work starting later in 2002 than EPA originally anticipated. More information regarding the dredging start date adjustment can be found in the Free PDF reader available Hudson River Project Design Fact Sheet (2002-2006).

Revised Community Health & Safety Plan
June 2003

Free PDF reader available The Revised Community Health & Safety Plan, (Revised CHASP), which replaces the Sediment Sampling CHASP approved by EPA in September 2002, presents the health and safety plan for the local community for sediment sampling and characterization activities plus field activities specified in the design work plans incorporated under the Design AOC.

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