GE Hudson Falls Project Advances

GE has begun the next phase of its Hudson Falls plant site environmental remediation program. During this phase, tunnels equipped with collection devices are being built in the rock beneath the Hudson River. These tunnels, which are being built with oversight by the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health, are designed to capture the remaining small amount of PCBs entering the river through the rock in the vicinity of the Hudson Falls facility.

The first phase of the work involved excavating the 24-foot diameter vertical shaft - 200 feet below the ground surface in the vacant lot adjacent to the river. This work, which began in mid-September of 2007, has been completed. Horizontal shafts - 950 feet in length - are being constructed to extend from the vertical shaft, aligned in the shape of an "Y" in the bedrock 80 feet below the river. These horizontal shafts or tunnels will be about 10 feet in diameter and will be outfitted with equipment to drain PCBs out of the bedrock above, collect the PCBs and pump them to an on-site water treatment facility. This plant has recently been expanded to manage the increased amount of water pumped from the new tunnels. The excavation of the rock is being accomplished by a series of carefully controlled blasts. Crews are then removing the fragmented rock and progress deeper into the shaft.

GE has developed a program to keep the neighboring community informed about the blasting associated with construction of the tunnels. If you would like to be notified of upcoming blasts, please contact GE at 518-792-4087. For more information about the blasting program, click here.