Dragging on Dredging

Sweeney is joining the Fort Edward Town Supervisor in stalling the dredging project yet again. He's claiming that the town should get compensation for being the "guinea pig for the largest dredging project in the history of our nation."

How about the compensation of getting the cancer causing toxins in the river cleaned up and taken away? Don't we deserve that after living with the 1.3 million pounds of cancer causing PCBs that GE dumped in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls? When is he going to call for that?

The town government of Fort Edward recently threw a wrench into the timetable by challenging the EPA's authority to build the plant and suggesting the town may seize the property through eminent domain.

Dredging advocates fear the town's move could push the project even further back.

"It's reached a level of absurdity, year after year, and I question even a 2008 starting date," said Rich Schiafo of the group Scenic Hudson.

Rep. John Sweeney, a Republican whose district includes Fort Edward, said the community deserves some sort of benefit package to compensate them for becoming a "guinea pig for the largest dredging project in the history of our nation." ... (source)

Sweeney's stance is just another aspect of his donor, GE's, efforts to stall the work. Of course Sweeney pretends not to know that the dredging will have a positive economic impact on the district when it is started.

The project if it ever starts, it can create over 3,500 jobs in the immediate area, with up to 8,900 additional jobs in the 12 county region. Over $200 million in new wages in the area. And a $9 million positive impact on residential property values. (source)

Although Sweeney and newspapers often dodge the reality, PCBs are very bad:

They are serious poisons which have been shown to cause damage to the reproductive, neurological and immune systems of wildlife and humans and are known to cause cancer. Specifically, because PCBs in the body mimic estrogen, women of child-bearing age and their infants are particularly susceptible to a variety of development and reproductive disorders. A National Academy of Sciences committee has stated that "PCBs pose the largest potential carcinogenic risk of any environmental contaminant for which measurements exist. (read more facts here)

Related: Background from the Hudson River's Fisherman's Association.

See our related posts.