Housatonic River Remediation: Key Meetings Scheduled for December

Residents concerned about the ongoing remediation of the Housatonic River will have two significant opportunities to engage with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and General Electric Company (GE) in early December. These meetings aim to address the impacts of decades of pollution from the GE plant in Pittsfield, which led to the deposition of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the river.

The first event is a meeting of the Housatonic Citizens Coordinating Committee (CCC) scheduled for December 2, 2023, from 18:30 to 20:00 at the Berkshire Athenaeum auditorium in Pittsfield. This meeting will also be accessible online. Formed in 1998, the CCC serves to gather input from stakeholders and disseminate vital information regarding the Housatonic River cleanup efforts.

The agenda for the CCC meeting includes discussions on the Technical Assistance Grant (TAG), which supports community participation in Superfund activities, as well as updates on the hydraulic dredging plan and a pilot study of vernal pools. Additionally, the meeting will cover recent data on PCB concentrations found in waterway fish and organisms. CCC member Joshua Bloom has requested the participation of state health officials, particularly in light of a controversial report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) that found no correlation between river toxins and increased cancer rates among local residents.

A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations, allowing residents to voice their concerns directly to the committee. The Consensus Building Institute (CBI) will moderate the meeting, and efforts have been made to include GE representatives; however, previous meetings have seen a lack of attendance from the company.

On the following day, December 3, 2023, an open house hosted by the EPA will take place from 17:00 to 20:00 at the Lee Middle and High School cafeteria. This event will focus on the plans for the Upland Disposal Facility (UDF) intended to manage the less toxic materials dredged from the river. The EPA has streamlined its public engagement by reducing the number of CCC meetings per year but has committed to hosting more frequent sessions on specific topics.

During the open house, residents will have the chance to engage directly with EPA and GE staff at various information stations. Topics will include site preparation for the UDF, water treatment methods, hydraulic dredging processes, and efforts to minimize truck traffic associated with the remediation work.

The overall remediation project is expected to take approximately 13 years to complete, reflecting the complexity and scale of the environmental restoration effort.

For further details on the remediation program and to find additional resources, residents can visit the EPA’s official website.