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WASHINGTON, DC 20510

February 4, 2019

The Honorable Andrew Wheeler

Acting Administrator

United States Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20460

Dear Acting Administrator Wheeler,

As EPA completes its technical review of the results of post-dredging sediment samples and
?sh tissue data and prepares to release the ?nal second Five-Year Review Report for Hudson River
PCBs Superfund Site, we write to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to withhold issuing a
certi?cate of completion of the remedial action to General Electric (GE) for the Hudson River PCB
cleanup. We are concerned that the goals of the 2002 Record of Decision (ROD) have not been
fully met and the cleanup is not suf?ciently protective of human health and the environment. While
we recognize that a considerable amount of dredging and clean?up of toxic PCB sediment has
occurred as part of the consent order (GE has removed approximately 2.75 million cubic yards of
contaminated sediment), we believe that the issuance of a certi?cate of completion under those
conditions is premature and could result in continued harm to the health of the Hudson River and
its ecosystems. Instead, we urge the EPA to engage with GE and New York State to continue the
PCB clean?up process.

In December, the State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
released a study based on comprehensive sampling and analysis to assess the extent of PCB
contamination remaining in the Hudson River following the end of dredging activities. The DEC
report found that PCB contaminated sediments remain in the upper Hudson River. Additionally,
?sh PCB concentrations are not recovering at the rate anticipated by the EPA. The average
concentrations in the upper Hudson have not consistently improved from prior to when the cleanup
began and conditions in the lower Hudson have not improved as a result of the remedial work.

These outcomes are not acceptable, and additional work must be done to continue to
monitor the effectiveness of the remedy in the upper Hudson and fully investigate contamination in
the lower Hudson. Until we have better clarity that the remedy is working as intended and meeting
the goals of the ROD, GE should not be released from its obligations as the responsible party and
the certi?cate of completion should not be issued. We believe that more must be done to fully clean
up the Hudson River, and we urge you to work with GE and New York State to achieve that goal.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and please do not hesitate to follow?up with our
of?ces to discuss in further detail.

Sincerely,

Chasm mm

Charles E. Schumer Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator United States Senator