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Letter to Feds Cites River's Recovery, Potential for Economic Upheaval
Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, in a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Carol A. Browner, today urged the federal government not to order the mass dredging of the Upper Hudson River, an unnecessary and unproven process that he said would threaten jobs and wildlife, and disrupt local communities.
Senator Bruno's letter cites the river's remarkable recovery over the past two and one-half decades, as well as ongoing and less invasive remediation efforts, continuing deep divisions among experts -- including the EPA's and other environmentalists' own earlier studies that rejected dredging, and strong local opposition, including 70 communities that have publicly expressed their opposition.
Calling dredging a "destructive process," Senator Bruno strongly warned that dredging could reverse significant progress already made to improve the health of the river, and he worried that an EPA dredging directive could threaten thousands of local jobs and deeply impact the region's economy.
"The river is cleaner and healthier than it has been in generations," Senator Bruno's letter said. "With so many risks to dredging and so much public opposition and a better alternative already in place and working, the best answer for the Upper Hudson is to allow the current clean-up program to proceed without dredging."
The EPA already rejected dredging as an option in 1984. But the agency said it will make a new decision next month.
Copies of Senator Bruno's letter were sent to each of the river area communities that have made public their opposition. Text of Senator Bruno's letter follows:
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November 15, 2000
Carol M. Browner
Administrator
United States Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20460
Dear Administrator Browner:
I am writing to inform you of my opposition to dredging to remove PCBs in the Upper Hudson River and to request that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concentrate its efforts in supporting the current clean up program. Many communities and civic groups in my Senate District and along the Upper Hudson River area are on record in opposition to dredging because of the negative impacts it would have on the Hudson River, the economy and living conditions in the entire region.
As the EPA recognized in 1984, dredging is neither appropriate nor the best way to proceed. It is a destructive process that kills aquatic life and removes sensitive wildlife habitat and wetlands. It has been criticized by the major national environmental groups when it has been proposed in other waterways. There is a safe and effective alternative to dredging -- the ongoing clean-up of PCBs on shore in the Upper Hudson River. This program is underway with oversight and approval from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the EPA.
The current clean up program requires no controversial riverside landfill or treatment plant, no disruption to river recreation, and no inconvenience for local communities. Unlike dredging, this clean-up program has already helped reduce PCB levels in fish and it has not damaged the Hudson River.
If Hudson River conditions were deteriorating, a dredging project might be justifiable, however, the opposite is true. PCB levels are declining. The river is cleaner and healthier than it has been in generations. With so many risks to dredging and so much public opposition (more than 70 Hudson River communities and civic groups are opposed) and a better alternative already in place and working, the best answer for the Upper Hudson is to allow the current clean-up program to continue without dredging.
Sincerely,
/s/
Senator Joseph L. Bruno
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