Rockland County Asks EPA to Protect Hudson River

COUNTY PRESS RELEASE –  Rockland County Executive Ed Day is one of four leaders from the Hudson Valley asking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to protect the Hudson River from contamination.

County Executive Day is requesting that the EPA review evidence that there is a continuing need to remove PCB-contaminated sediment in the Upper Hudson River. He noted that the Hudson River is a “keystone of the Hudson Valley’s $5.2 billion tourism economy responsible for more than 60,000 jobs” in Rockland, Westchester, Orange and Dutchess counties.

Future economic development along the river depends on remediation of soil contaminated with PCBs, noted Day, who signed the letter along with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro.

“Dredging undertaken to date has failed to factor in decisive evidence that two to three times more contaminated sediment exist in the river than assumed at the time the EPA cleanup plan was established in 2002,” the letter reads. “Without a determination that additional remediation is necessary…implementing job-creating riverfront revitalization projects likely will be postponed until well in the 22^nd century – or New York taxpayers will be forced to foot the bill to clean up a mess they didn’t create.”

Many environmental groups, including Scenic Hudson and the Riverkeeper, are also requesting continued PCB cleanup in the river.