General Electric Hudson Falls Plant Site

General Electric Company's operations at its Capacitor Products Division (GE Hudson Falls) plant site have resulted in the disposal of a number of hazardous wastes, including a variety of chlorinated volatile organic compounds ("VOCs"), semi-volatile organic compounds ("SVOCs"), and polychlorinated biphenyls ("PCBs"), at the site, some of which were released or have migrated from the site to its surrounding environs, including the Hudson River. These disposal activities gave rise to significant threats to the public health and the environment:

  • significant environmental damage associated with the impacts of contaminants (PCBs, SVOCs, and VOCs) on the aquifers beneath the site, which had been usable in the past for human water consumption but are now unusable without treatment due to the presence of PCBs, SVOCs, and VOCs above applicable standards.
  • significant environmental damage associated with the impacts of contaminants (PCBs) released to the Hudson River from the soils, sediments, and bedrock at the site. These releases of PCBs from the site cause violations of the applicable surface water standards in the Hudson River in the vicinity of the site.
  • the releases of hazardous waste from the site have significantly increased the risk to public health due to the consumption of contaminated fish from the Hudson River.
  • the releases of PCBs from the site materially contribute to the need for the existing recommendation that human consumption of fish from the Hudson River, which includes the vicinity of the site, be limited.

In order to restore the GE Hudson Falls inactive hazardous waste disposal site to predisposal conditions to the extent feasible and authorized by law, but at a minimum to eliminate or mitigate all significant threats to the public health and the environment that the hazardous waste disposed at the site has caused, the NYSDEC, in consultation with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), has selected various remedies for Operable Units 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D at the site.

The selected remedies are intended to attain the following remediation goals selected for this site:

  • Mitigate the impacts of contaminated groundwater on human health and the environment
  • Mitigate the impacts of the contaminated soils at the site, and
  • Mitigate the impacts of the contaminants at the site on the Hudson River

This Record of Decision (ROD) identifies the selected remedy, summarizes the other alternatives considered, and discusses the rationale for this selection. The NYSDEC selected the final remedy for the site only after careful consideration of all comments submitted during the public comment period.

To better understand the site and the selected remedy, the public is encouraged to review the project documents which are available at the following repositories:

NYSDEC Central Office
625 Broadway, 12th Floor
Albany, New York
(518) 402-9774
Hours: M-F 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

NYSDEC Region 5 Office
Route 86
Ray Brook, New York

Washington County Office Building
383 Upper Broadway
Fort Edward, New York

Adriance Public Library
93 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, New York


Contact for this Page

Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233

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