BOSTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved, with several conditions, the General Electric Company's Revised On-Site and Off-Site Transportation and Disposal Plan. GE's revised plan maximizes the use of rail and hydraulic pumping for the transport of sediments and soils in and along the Housatonic River that are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls.

 

Approximately 75 percent to 80 percent of the material to be removed from the river will be transported hydraulically without the need for any trucks. Approximately 17 percent of the material can be transported by rail (combined with trucking). As little as approximately 5 percent of the material may be transported solely by truck to the Upland Disposal Facility, depending on the final transportation plans for Reach 5A and the successful implementation of the rail option.

 

The overall local round-trip truck trips are reduced by approximately 65 percent compared to GE's original plan that was submitted in October 2023. This will reduce local truck trips from an estimated 71,000 trips to approximately 24,600 trips.

 

EPA approved three locations for rail spurs for the loading/off-loading of material: Utility Drive in Pittsfield, Woods Pond/Berkshire Scenic Railroad in Lenox, and Rising Pond in Great Barrington. GE will submit to EPA for approval a pre-design investigation work plan that will propose sufficient data collection to allow for the design of the Utility Drive and the Woods Pond rail spurs. This work plan will be submitted no later than May 15.

 

This expedited schedule is necessary to ensure the rail spurs are operational when the Reach 5A (Pittsfield reach) remediation gets underway in 2027 or 2028. The design/construction of the rail spur at Rising Pond is not needed for approximately 10 years from now.

 

Although EPA concurred with the proposed use of rail, GE will develop a backup plan for the transportation of material via trucks. This is necessary because of potential capacity limitations, potential coordination issues with the sole operator of the railroad, staffing issues, equipment limitations, conflicts with freight shipments, accidents, and other issues that may prevent the use of rail needed to maintain the remediation schedule.

 

Material from Reach 5A (Pittsfield Reach) and from Rising Pond going to the UDF can be transported by rail to the Woods Pond/Berkshire Scenic Railroad in Lenox for off-loading and subsequent truck transport to the UDF. The three rail spurs can also be used to transport the 100,000 cubic yards of material that are required by the Final 2020 Cleanup Permit to be sent to off-site disposal facilities.