Hudson River Dredging Project Nears End

The Hudson River as seen from Bear Mountain.

A five-year project to dredge the Hudson River is nearing completion, according to National Public Radio. Its aim has been to remove two-thirds of the PCBs dumped in the river prior to the 1970s by General Electric.

Before the dredging work began, people living around it had been warned not to eat fish caught from it or swim in its waters. But with the work almost finished, locals are working to revitalize industrial waterfronts and looking forward to summers filled with recreation on the river.

Some locals are pushing for the EPA to continue dredging until all of the PCBs are removed from the Hudson River, but it doesn’t appear that will happen. Officials with the agency are confident that enough contaminants have been removed that the river can continue to rebound on its own.

Top image: The Hudson River as seen from Bear Mountain.