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RCED-92-129R 1 (1992-03-10)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacjza0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAal*& UntdStates GAO General Accounng Office Washngton, D.C. 20548 Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division B-247584 March 10, 1992 146053 The Honorable Gerald B. Solomon House of Representatives Dear Mr. Solomon: This letter responds to your request of September 11, 1991, about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision- making process on the cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Hudson River. It summarizes the information that we presented to your staff in a briefing on January 9, 1992, and includes additional information requested by your staff on (1) EPA's plans to evaluate the effect of permitted releases of PCBs on the lower portion of the Hudson River and (2) the federal permits required for dredging PCBs from the Hudson River and selecting a hazardous waste disposal site to contain the PCBs. Your letter expressed concern that EPA's study of PCB contamination in the Hudson River was flawed because it relied on old data and ignored the hazards that dredging the river could cause. These concerns led to your assessment that EPA's study was biased in favor of one cleanup option--dredging PCB-contaminated soil from the Hudson River. We found that in December 1989 EPA decided to reassess its 1984 decision not to address PCB-contaminated sediments in the Hudson River. The agency's decision was based on a number of factors: (1) the:1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act'*s preference for permanent remedies at sites, (2) EPA's policy to review at least every 5 years those Superfund sites that contain potentially hazardous contaminants, (3) technological advances in removing and treating PCB-contaminated sediments, and (4) a request from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to reassess EPA's earlier no-action decision. Before selecting a remedy for a Superfund site, EPA does a two-phase remedial investigation and feasibility study. However, because of the size and complexity of the GAO/RCED-92-129R, Hudson River Superfund Site O5' Mi4 / jqk *2>

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