End Draws Near for Long, Bitter GE-Hudson Superfund Battle

"After nearly a decade of wrangling, one of the Superfund program's largest and most politically volatile cleanups could soon be entering a new era of cooperation.

In practical terms, the future of the 40-mile stretch of the Hudson River tainted by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), likely carcinogens that are now banned in the United States, will remain uncertain until Jan. 14, 2011 -- when General Electric Co. must decide on participating in a second phase of dredging chemicals from the iconic New York waterway. But environmentalists who have long pushed for the strongest possible Hudson cleanup standards are optimistic that GE and U.S. EPA will be on the same page come spring."

Elana Schor reports for Greenwire December 22, 2010.