Site history: Between 1932 and 1977 General Electric Company
(GE) used Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at its Pittsfield, Massachussetts
facility. PCBs were released into the Housatonic River from the GE facility and
related properties, which comprise the cleanup site.
Location: From the GE facility in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
into Connecticut along the Housatonic River watershed to Long Island Sound.
Trustees:
Case status: NOAA and Co-Trustees have released the
Housatonic River basin Draft Natural Resources Restoration Plan and
Environmental Assessment (DARP/EA) for public comment. The deadline for
comments from the public is May 1, 2009. Comments on the draft DARP/EA may be
submitted by mail to Rick Jacobson, CTDEP, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT
06106-5127.
Overview: The General Electric Housatonic River Site is located
in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, extending along the river from the GE facility in
Pittsfield into Connecticut. The cleanup site consists of waste sources at
the GE facility in Pittsfield and other areas in Pittsfield where PCB
wastes from the GE facility have been disposed, as well as sediment
and water contaminated by the migration of PCBs via the Housatonic River. The
presence of PCB contamination in river sediments, soils and groundwater has
been documented through a series of investigations, spanning two
decades, conducted by GE, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection (MA DEP), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In 1982, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
ordered the Housatonic River closed to all but catch and release fishing
from Dalton to the Connecticut border as a result of PCB contamination in river
sediments and fish tissues. PCBs may have reached anadromous fish and estuarine
species well downstream of the cleanup site. In addition, the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health investigated concerns expressed by local residents
regarding possible health effects resulting from exposure to PCB
contamination. The Connecticut Department of Health has fish consumption
advisories along the entire Housatonic River in CT due to body residue PCBs.
In 1997, General Electric, the City of Pittsfield, the United States Government,
the State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts entered into
negotiations with the goal of achieving a comprehensive settlement of all
outstanding environmental issues, including remedial action and natural
resource damages. A tentative agreement was reached in September 1998. That
agreement was translated into a Consent Decree, which was approved in October
2000.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Consent Decree, General Electric has paid
over $15 million in natural resource damages. This sum has been divided between
Connecticut and Massachusetts so that roughly half of the $15 million will be
available for restoration projects in each state. These funds have been
deposited into interest-bearing accounts held in trust by the Department of the
Interior on behalf of all of the Trustees.
In order to implement natural resource restoration projects in Connecticut, a
draft restoration plan (DARP/EA) was developed by the Connecticut
SubCouncil (composed of representatives from the State of Connecticut, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA) for the Natural Resource Trustees. In this
draft plan, the Trustees present their evaluation of numerous
restoration projects, explaining the rationale behind their preferred
restoration alternatives intended to compensate the public for natural
resource injuries. This draft restoration plan is now available for public
comment. The Trustees will review and respond to
these comments before finalizing the DARP/EA.
