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Posted July 2, 2001
River DanceBy Jonathan Walters
To dredge or not to dredge, that is the question. Or at least, that’s been the question up in the mid-Hudson River Valley, where one of General Electric’s more generous legacies to the region has been a river bottom full of PCBs, a bio-accumulating chemical known for its tendency to render fish unsafe for consumption, human or other.
With Republican Governor George Pataki’s formal request last week to a former Republican governor, U.S. EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, to order dredging to begin, and with GE fighting the plan with all the lobbyists and lawyers it can throw at the issue, it’s another discouraging case of high-visibility power politics getting in the way of common sense.
The fundamental debate is a familiar one, echoing similar debates nationwide, wherever environmentalists and big business square off in all-or-nothing fights, each demanding total capitulation on the part of the other. Environmentalists argue that to rid the river of PCBs, all tainted sediment has to be dug out of the river and disposed of on land. GE says dredging will only serve to unlock PCBs now tied up in river sediment, sending them spewing downstream.
The result: dueling “scientific” reports about the impacts of dredging coming out of each camp, each in direct contradiction to the other, ending up in a debate that has confused the public and led to gridlock at the river’s edge. So a modest proposal for New York and any other region where the environment-vs.-big-business wars have led to stalemate: Experiment.
In the case of the Hudson, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation should choose a select section of river and do an experiment monitored by an independent third party: Dredge in one place and see what happens. Depending on the results of the experiment, dredging could then either be expanded or halted.
What a concept. But it will never happen because both sides are too invested in saving either face or money, or both. It’s too bad, because such a closely monitored experiment could tell us a lot about the art and science of river cleanup. And such an experiment wouldn’t just help New York as it tries to decided how to remediate miles of tainted river bed — it would have implications for river cleanups nationwide.
Jonathan Walters, who lives near Albany, New York, is a staff correspondent for Governing.
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Readers’ Responses:
Thank you for your informative article and views on the proposed handling and disposition of polluted spoil material in the Hudson River. I agree that PCBs are a very nasty lot, and that they need to be dealt with in the interest of the public's health, safety and welfare. I disagree with the opinion that an "experiment" should be conducted.
The idea of experimenting in the Hudson River equates to a gamble of considerable risks and consequences. This is not necessary as these experiments have already been tried in other areas. The idea of successfully capping polluted sediments in a riverine system subject to strong currents and flood events seems highly unlikely. And what about the adverse impacts to the free use of the waterway (would the capped area be restricted to boat traffic, etc.?), the natural flow of water or tidal currents, shoaling or erosion control, creation of stagnant pockets likely to collect debris (contributing to the degradation of the Hudson's water quality) and commercial and recreational navigation? What about long-term impacts to wildlife, marine life, and other natural resources? What about the affect on uplands surrounding the site?
The article suggests dredging a sample area to determine the downstream effects on water and sediment quality. With hydraulic dredging technology and advanced sediment and water quality controls, the material can be removed safely and without further pollution of downstream areas. The polluted sediment needs to be dealt with in the most prudent and expeditious manner possible. Today's technology can be advanced by pursuing tomorrow's solutions.
As a governmental environmental regulator, I have been regulating the disposition of polluted sediments in Sarasota County, Florida, for over 15 years. Logical and sound management practice suggests that the capping of polluted sediments in a dynamic habitat such as a river bottom is, at best, a short-term solution to a problem with long-term consequences. It is no better than the ostrich sticking his head in the sand until the immediate threat has passed, hoping that the problem will go away. This is the exact thinking that got the river in its current condition. Capping can work in certain water bodies and with certain pollutants. In this case, based on PCBs and the characteristics of the Hudson River, I suggest that the polluted spoil material needs to be removed from the river, hauled to a treatment facility, treated, and disposed of properly. Of course, this long-term solution is much more costly (in the near term) than the simple concept of capping the material and leaving it in place for future generations to deal with, hence the efforts by GE to pursue capping of the material.
I applaud the New York state government's willingness to take a strong stand on this issue, and deal with the problem in the most environmentally sound manner possible. General Electric should be held financially responsible for the cost of the cleanup to every extent possible.
George Tatge
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