BOSTON - The next meeting of the Connecticut Subcommittee of EPA's Citizens Coordinating Council for the General Electric/Housatonic River location will be on Wed. April 27 from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, Conneticut Members of the public are welcome to attend. See the location information and agenda details below.
Representatives from the US EPA, the Connecticut D.O.E. and Environmental Protection, the Housatonic River Initiative, and the Connecticut Sub Council, Housatonic River Natural Resource Trustees will update the CCC and the public on various aspects of the cleanup plan including an update on the Status of EPA's suggested cleanup project for Rest of River, and the status of Restoration Plans and Fish & Duck consumption advisories in Connecticut.
Pursuant to a 2000 Consent Decree signed by the United States, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and the General Electric Company, GE is required to address PCB contamination from its Pittsfield, Massachusetts facility. To date, nearly all of the 28 separate PCB response actions have been completed. Currently, E.P.A. is overseeing GE's work on the Unkamet Brook cleanup in Pittsfield, and E.P.A. is proposing a cleanup for the Rest of River area, as outlined below.
In June 2014, E.P.A. issued a Suggested Cleanup Project (also referred to as a Outline Modification to GE's Reissued RCRA Permit) for the remaining areas, known as Rest of River, to be cleaned up at the GE Pittsfield/Housatonic Site. In October 2015, EPA, as required by the Consent Decree, issued an Intended Final Decision (intended final remedy) to GE. Both the Suggested Cleanup Project and the Intended Final Decision estimate that the cleanup will require 14 years of active remediation.
On Oct. 29, 2015, GE issued a "Notice of Dispute" to EPA, invoking a dispute resolution process under the Consent Decree. The parties then attempted to mediate the dispute but did not reach an arrangement on the final cleanup.
From January through March 2016, E.P.A. and GE have exchanged legal position papers as part of the dispute resolution process. The statements of position are currently under review by an E.P.A. decision maker.
The meeting space is fully accessible. Should you have special needs or questions about the meeting, please contact Kelsey O'Neil at (617) 918-1003.
Additional information on the Housatonic "Rest of River" cleanup can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/ge-housatonic
E.P.A. Housatonic River Citizens Coordinating Council
Connecticut Subcommittee
Housatonic Valley Regional High School
Room 133
246 Warren Turnpike Road
Falls Village, Connecticut 06031
April 27, 2016, 5:30 PM to 7:45 PM
Agenda
5:30 Introductions and Agenda Review
5:40 TAG Grant Recipient Update
• Update, Tim Gray, HRI, TAG Recipient
6:00 Rest of River Update, US E.P.A.
• Update on status including decision process, summary of changes in Connecticut Suggested actions from the 2014 Suggested Project and the 2015 Intended Final Decision
• Discussions
6:20 Status of Restoration Plans Under the Natural Resource Damages (NRD) Plan
• Presentation, Molly Sperduto, U.S.F.W.S.
• Discussions
6:45 Fish Consumption Advisories in Connecticut
• Presentation, Susan Peterson and Mike Humphries, Connecticut DEEP; Sharee Rusnak, Connecticut DPH
• Discussion
7:10 Duck Consumption Advisories in Connecticut, Rick Jacobson, Connecticut DEEP
• Discussion
7:20 General Updates and Issues from Connecticut Subcommittee Members
7:30 Public Review Period
7:45 Adjourn
