An official website of the United States government.
Report on Remedial Injury Determination Released for Hudson River Superfund Site, New York
February 22, 2021 — NOAA and the Natural Resource Trustees for the Hudson River PCBs Superfund Site in New York have released a Remedial Injury Determination Report. The Trustees determined that dredging to remove polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the upper Hudson River between Fort Edwards and the Federal Dam at Troy caused injuries to natural resources such as wetlands, aquatic vegetation beds, freshwater mussels, and shoreline trees.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) provides that the public be compensated when the cleanup of hazardous substances in the environment, such as PCBs in river sediment, causes natural resource injuries. Injuries caused by cleanup are compensable, as these injuries result from a release of hazardous substances.
The full report is available for the public online: Determination of Injury to Natural Resources from Remedial Activities on the Hudson River: Riverine Fringing Wetlands, Aquatic Vegetation Beds, Shoreline Trees, and Native Freshwater Mussels. A fact sheet is also available.
A final quantification of the injury, including interim losses, will be provided in a subsequent report. All public Case Documents for the Hudson River Natural Resource Damage Assessment are accessible on NOAA’s DIVER Website.
For further information, contact Lisa.Rosman@noaa.gov.