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In the deep hinterlands of western Massachusetts lives a river with a deep cultural, economic and environmental legacy. Enter stage left the mighty and graceful and still somewhat polluted Housatonic River - Thanks to GE. According to Save The Housatonic - and organization made up a variety of environmental activist groups in Berkshire County MA - you know Great Barrington, Pittsfield, Lenox, Lee and other lesser known hilltowns - the big issue is still cleaning up the PCB's, that good stuff General Electric brought to life - emphasis mine - ... Seeking a stronger local voice in the cleanup of the Housatonic River, Save The Housatonic recently unveiled plans to seek a special designation for the heavily polluted river. They will nominate the Housatonic River as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, or ACEC. If successful, the designation would add conservation standards to a 12.9 mile stretch of river and roughly 1,300 surrounding acres, likely requiring special permission from the state for any dredging or landfill within those boundaries.Area of Critical Environmental Concern, or ACEC. We want to give (the state) a tool to negotiate for the best possible cleanup," said Eleanor Tillinghast of Green Berkshires, one of four groups that constitute Save the Housatonic. "And we want to use this tool to encourage people to evaluate cleanup options and how they might affect the river and surrounding lands and neighborhoods. Under the terms of the Consent Decree, GE was charged with developing a Corrective Measures Study (CMS) to investigate the need for, and possible alternative ways of, cleaning the Rest of the River - that section of the river from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the Housatonic down through Berkshire County, Massachusetts into Connecticut to the Long Island Sound. GE is proposing a 10-year construction and restoration project involving the excavation and disposal of over 225,000 cubic yards of sediment and soil, at an estimated combined cost of $184 million for the Housatonic River. Many concerned citizens are worried about what this might mean for the River. While we strongly support the clean-up of PCB contamination from the river sediments to make the river safe for wildlife and humans, we have strong reservations about the GE proposal. Some would like GE to clean more of the River; some would like GE to use new and innovative technologies to break down the PCBs rather than dredge the River and landfill contaminated sediment and soil; and some are very concerned that they may live near a PCB-dump like the one adjacent to the Allendale School in Pittsfield. Everyone wants the process to end with a clean and beautiful Housatonic. According to Massachussetts Audubon - one of the groups that are part of Save The Housatonic ... The GE Proposal contains insufficient information to evaluate the feasibility and cost of restoration of remediated areas. Given the sensitivity of the habitat along the Housatonic River and its floodplain, GE must be held to accordingly high standards for this clean up, which should begin with avoidance and minimization of adverse impacts to critical habitats. Where there is no alternative but to destroy habitats, restoration of affected areas to fully functional habitats must be required by EPA.
Download the map of the proposed Housatonic Area of Critical Environmental Concern - here.
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