EPA to Host Open House for Vernal Pool Pilot Study and Public Input Opportunity at the GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Superfund Site

EPA to Host Open House for Vernal Pool Pilot Study and Public Input Opportunity at the GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Superfund Site

June 30, 2026

BOSTON (June 30, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold an open house on July 28, 2026, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to answer questions regarding General Electric Company's Vernal Pool Pilot Study and their recently submitted Vernal Pool Pilot Study Supplemental Information Package (pdf) (147 MB). To ensure the Vernal Pool Pilot Study work can begin this year, review of certain site preparation activities, such as mobilization and temporary road construction, must be expedited. This information is provided in Section 3 of the Vernal Pool Pilot Study Supplemental Information Package: Mobilization and Site Preparation Plan.

The Vernal Pool Pilot Study will determine the best method for remediating vernal pools throughout the Site. Methods included in the study include the removal of contaminated materials and the application of activated carbon amendments to sequester PCBs in the pools. Air monitoring for particulates (dust) and vapor phase PCBs will be conducted in all work areas.

During the Vernal Pool Pilot Study, 17 previously selected vernal pools will be remediated and/or studied. Five of the vernal pools will be remediated using traditional excavation and restoration, five pools will receive application of activated carbon amendments to sequester PCBs, and seven vernal pools will be studied as field control pools. The principal objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness and potential adverse impacts of removal-based and amendment-based remediation of the pools to inform selection of an appropriate remedial approach for the remaining vernal pools in Reach 5A as well as those in downstream reaches.

Continuous noise monitoring and air monitoring for particulates will be conducted during any work activities that may generate noise or dust, along with regular additional PCB specific air monitoring, as described in the approved Quality of Life Compliance Plan and the Ambient Air Monitoring Plan.

Community members are invited to stop by at any point during the two-hour open house, interact directly with EPA and General Electric staff, and ask questions. There will be no formal presentation. 

What:          GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Site Vernal Pool Pilot Study Open House
When:         July 28, 2026 from 5-7PM ET 
Where:        Berkshire Athenaeum, One Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield

EPA is requesting public input on Section 3 (pages 6-16) of this document be sent to [email protected] by Friday, July 10, 2026. Additionally, EPA is requesting public input on the entire document be sent to [email protected] by Friday, July 31, 2026.

The document can be reviewed at: https://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/01/702600 (pdf) (147 MB) .

Additional Site information available at: https://www.epa.gov/ge-housatonic.

Site Background 

Beginning in the early 1900s, GE operated a large-scale industrial facility including the manufacturing and servicing of power transformers, defense and aerospace (ordnance) and plastics, and used numerous industrial chemicals at its Pittsfield facility. From 1932 through 1977, GE manufactured and serviced electrical transformers containing PCBs. Years of PCB and industrial chemical use, and improper disposal, led to extensive contamination around Pittsfield, Massachusetts as well as down the Housatonic River. 

The Housatonic River is approximately 150 miles from its headwaters on the East Branch in Hinsdale, Massachusetts and flows through Connecticut into Long Island Sound. 

Cleanup of PCBs and other hazardous substances in Pittsfield and the Housatonic River has progressed under an October 2000 Consent Decree entered into by EPA, Massachusetts, Connecticut, the City of Pittsfield, the GE Company, and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority. Cleanup was required for 20 contaminated areas outside the river, five groundwater management areas, and three river segments-the Upper ½-Mile Reach, the 1 ½ Mile Reach, and Rest of River. 

The remediation of the 20 non-river cleanup areas and the first two miles of the Housatonic River are complete. GE is conducting all required post-cleanup site control activities, including inspection, monitoring, and maintenance activities. 

Long-term monitoring is ongoing at three groundwater management areas (GMAs). At two of these areas, non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) recovery is ongoing and is anticipated to continue into the foreseeable future. GE is evaluating the treatment of groundwater at two GMAs. 

The Rest of River cleanup is estimated to take 13 years of active remediation.