Timeline of Contamination and Cleanup of the Housatonic Rest of River
1930-1977 The General Electric Company (GE) improperly discharges up to 600,000 ponds of PCBs into the Housatonic River from its electrical transformer manufacturing plant in Pittsfield, MA. GE purchases PCBs from the Monsanto Company. The PCBs migrate downstream and accumulate in river sediment, especially between confluence of the East and West branches in Pittsfield, Woods Pond in Lenox, and Rising Pond in Great Barrington.
1944-1977 Monsanto advises its sales teams that PCBs could cause liver damage. In 1970, Monsanto documents 608 PCB-related deaths since 1949. However, the company continues to produce and market PCBs, selling an estimated 1.4 billion pounds of PCBs to GE Pittsfield
1970 PCBs are discovered in the milk of cows grazing alongside the Housatonic river.
1971 The State of Massachusetts and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) begin an investigation of PCB contamination of the Housatonic River.
1972 In a written agreement, GE agrees to absolve Monsanto of liability for health and
environmental damages caused by PCBs as a condition for Monsanto’s continued sale of
PCBs to GE. The public is unaware of the existence of this agreement until 2023.
1977 PCBs are listed as a toxic substance on the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease.
1979 The EPA bans the production of PCBs.
1980 GE signs a consent order with EPA requiring GE to perform remedial investigation of PCB levels in the Housatonic River and hazardous waste disposal.
1982 Massachusetts bans the consumption of fish and ducks from the Housatonic River.
1988 The MA Department of Environmental Quality Engineering finds GE responsible for the
presence of PCBs in the Housatonic River, Woods Pond, and Mill Pond.
1994 EPA issues a permit to GE to clean up areas of Pittsfield under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
1998–2003 EPA confirms heavy PCB contamination of the Housatonic River through wide-scale sampling of sediment, floodplain soil, and biota in the Rest of River area stretching from south of Pittsfield to the Long Island Sound.
2000 GE signs a consent decree with EPA, the State of Connecticut, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreeing to remediate PCBs in the Housatonic River, areas outside the river, and groundwater management areas. In an unusual arrangement, GE will receive a RCRA permit for the remediation, which enables it to select the response action. But GE must conform to requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as Superfund) and the National Contingency Plan and be open to public comment. EPA reports that most of this cleanup is completed by 2021.
2000 The Housatonic Environmental Action League and the Schaghtichoke Indian Tribe file a civil action claiming that the consent decree issued to GE is inadequate and state and federal agencies are failing to protect the land.
2002–2006 EPA conducts additional investigations of Rest of River sites, including ecological and human health risk assessments as well as peer-reviewed modeling studies on the fate (persistence and life cycle) and transport (movement) of PCBs that aid in understanding and informing sampling, cleanup, and restoration decisions.
2013 Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, Sheffield, and Stockbridge sign an agreement to begin negotiations with GE on compensation for damages associated with the contamination and remediation of the Housatonic River.
2016 EPA issues a final permit modification requiring GE to excavate almost 1 million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment and soil from the river below Pittsfield, transport all removed materials to existing licensed out-of-state facilities, and cap portions of the river bottom to isolate remaining PCBs.
2016 GE appeals the permit with EPA’s Environmental Board of Appeals, arguing that the required remedy is too extensive.
2018 The Environmental Board of Appeals upholds most of the 2016 permit but remands provisions regarding transport of contaminated materials to allow for reconsideration of onsite disposal.
2020 EPA, GE, City of Pittsfield, select boards of Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Sheffield, and Stockbridge, and other parties conduct confidential negotiations and conclude a settlement agreement requiring EPA to propose a revised permit to GE subject to public comment. The agreement envisions combined offsite and onsite disposal of PCB-contaminated materials based on the degree of contamination. GE is to make payments amounting to $55 million to the towns. The signatories agree not to challenge the permit unless it is inconsistent with terms of the settlement.
2020 EPA issues a revised final permit requiring GE to perform the cleanup. The permit allows less heavily contaminated materials to be dumped an onsite facility known as the Upland Disposal Facility (UDF) while more heavily contaminated materials will be transported to a licensed offsite facility. The UDF will be located in a former gravel pit in Lee. Although the site is in an area designated by Massachusetts as “area of critical environmental concern,” the EPA waives relevant state regulation under CERCLA. EPA estimates the cleanup will take 2-3 years for design and 13 years for implementation. EPA is responsible for ensuring GE’s compliance with permit requirements.
2021 Several Lee citizens sue Lee Select Board members for violating MA Open Meeting Law, Town of Lee bylaws, and their discretion as public servants in signing the settlement agreement. The MA attorney general and, later, the MA Appeals Court reject these charges.
2021 The Housatonic River Initiative and the Housatonic Environmental Action League appeal to EAB regarding aspects of the proposed remediation. The EAB rejects the appeal. The plaintiffs’ appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is also denied.
2021 GE begins to submit numerous reports and work plans concerning the remediation for EPA review and approval. The documents total 27,000 pages as of June 2024. EPA makes individual documents available for public comment, typically for two to four months.
2023 Lee sues Monsanto in the US District Court for MA, Western Division. The town seeks damages for harm to the town and its residents resulting from the remediation of PCBs manufactured by Monsanto. This suit is later withdrawn.
2024 Lee sues Monsanto and GE in Berkshire County Superior Court for the intentional infliction of harm to humans and the environment in their handling of PCBs. Lee seeks compensatory and punitive damages and requests a jury trial.
GE files a motion to move Lee’s case to the federal court in Boston. Lee poses no objection.
Lee files a partial motion for summary judgment against Monsanto and GE, arguing that 1972
agreement between the two companies proves their liability. Lee files a memorandum clarifying
that its lawsuit challenges neither the revised final permit nor federal authority over GE’s
remediation of PCBs under the federal Superfund Law.
In July, Monsanto moves to have the lawsuit dismissed, citing Lee’s alleged noncompliance with federal court procedures and statute of limitations.