Public may comment on GE-Housatonic River fund plans

KENT — The Housatonic River Natural Resource Trustees held a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the Kent Town Hall to accept public comments on proposed amendments to the Housatonic River Basin Final Natural Resources Restoration Plan.The trustees presented a draft preferred alternative amendment to the original plan to restore natural resources that were injured as a result of the release of hazardous materials into the Housatonic River from the General Electric facility in Pittsfield, Mass.A copy of the proposed amendments can be found at www.ct.gov./deep/naturalresources.Approximately 13 people, including four government representatives, attended the public meeting, plus three media representatives.The trustees present at the meeting were Rick Jacobson, who chaired the meeting, from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; Molly Sperduto from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Ken Finkelstein of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Jacobson told the audience, “We [the trustees] are about restoring the natural resources along the Houstaonic.”The original settlement that GE paid was $15 million. Approximately 50 percent went to Connecticut; a little less than 50 percent went to Massachusetts; the remaining small amount was to be used by both states.The original fund was established in 1999. Connecticut’s initial $7.5 million fund sat in an interest-bearing fund for a number of years, where it grew to $9 million.Sperduto told the audience, “This meeting is an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed amendment and to suggest new ideas.”According to handouts at the meeting, the public can submit comments on the draft amendment — which details seven different projects — until March 11, in writing, to Robin Adamcewicz, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Eastern District HQ, 209 Hebron Road, Marlborough, CT 06447 or by email at robin.adamcewicz@ct.gov.The proposed amendment to the original plan includes seven aquatic resource restoration projects.The original restoration plan, released in 2009, awarded funding for 27 projects.Organizations such as the Housatonic Valley Association and Trout Unlimited are working with the trustees to implement the various projects. Jacobson announced that HVA is working on identifying a suitable location for installation of a handicap accessible recreational fishing platform along the river.At the meeting, Cornwall Bridge resident Judy Herkimer expressed numerous concerns including that the NRD funding for this cleanup is one of the smallest negotiated settlements ever in the history of the Superfund program for one of the largest PCB-contaminated sites in the country.In her comments at the meeting, and from an email sent to this reporter after the meeting, Herkimer believes insufficient money was awarded for the cleanup of the Housatonic River. She is a member of the Housatonic Environmental Action League.