By Associated Press - Tuesday, May 27, 2014

LENOX, Mass. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will unveil the so-called “Rest of River” proposal to clean up PCBs on a 10-mile stretch of the Housatonic River south of Pittsfield next month.

Agency regional spokesman Jim Murphy tells The Berkshire Eagle (https://bit.ly/1wfS5ia ) the overall plan addresses the river’s sediment and flood plain contamination extending into Connecticut.

The EPA’s public hearing is scheduled for June 18 at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School.

General Electric released the polychlorinated biphenyls, a probable cancer-causing agent, into the river from its transformer plant in Pittsfield from 1932 until the U.S. government banned the substance in 1977.

The EPA has estimated the potential cost of the cleanup at $800 million. The two-mile Housatonic cleanup in Pittsfield cost the company about $100 million.

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Information from: The Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle, https://www.berkshireeagle.com

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