Editing Hudson River (section)

==Pollution==
{{main|Pollution of the Hudson River}}
[[File:Hudson River debris.jpg|thumb|Debris floating on the river near the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]], 1973]]
The Hudson River's sediments contain a significant array of [[Water pollution|pollutants]], accumulated over decades from industrial waste discharges, [[sewage treatment]] plants, and [[urban runoff]]. [[Water quality]] in the river has greatly improved since implementation of the 1972 [[Clean Water Act]] (CWA). A 2020 report on the health of the river states that "Water quality in the Hudson River Estuary has improved dramatically since 1972 and has remained largely stable in recent years." Ecological health trends, such as in tributaries and wetlands, are varied in condition. The concentrations of toxic pollutants in fish and crabs are lower compared to measurements taken in previous decades, but fishing restrictions and health warnings remain in effect.<ref name="State of Hudson 2020"/>{{rp|5}}

The most significant pollution of the Hudson River was contamination of the river by [[General Electric]] (GE) with [[polychlorinated biphenyl]]s (PCBs) between 1947 and 1977. These chemicals caused a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who ate fish from the river.<ref name="EPA-hudson cleanup"/><ref name=EPA2/> Other kinds of pollution, including [[mercury (element)|mercury]] contamination and discharges of partially treated [[sewage]], have also caused ecological problems in the river.<ref name="AutoD3-29"/><ref name="nysdec"/>

In response to the widespread contamination of the river, activists protested in various ways. A group of fishermen formed an organization in 1966 that would later become [[Riverkeeper]], the first member of the [[Waterkeeper Alliance]].<ref name="Waterkeeper"/> Musician [[Pete Seeger]] founded the [[Hudson River Sloop Clearwater]] and the [[Clearwater Festival]] to draw attention to the problem.<ref name="upi.com"/>

Environmental activism in New York and across the country, and increased attention from members of [[United States Congress|Congress]] led to passage of the CWA in 1972.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kraft |first=Michael E. |title=U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics: From the 1960s to the 1990s |date=2000 |journal=Journal of Policy History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=23 |doi=10.1353/jph.2000.0006|s2cid=154099488 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Hays |first=Samuel P. |title=The Environmental Movement |date=October 1981 |journal=Journal of Forest History |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=219–221 |doi=10.2307/4004614 |jstor=4004614 |s2cid=201270765 }}</ref> Extensive remediation actions on the river began in the 1970s with the issuance and enforcement of CWA wastewater discharge permits and consequent control or reduction of discharges from industrial facilities and municipal sewage treatment plants.<ref name="remediation"/>

In 1984, EPA declared a 200-mile (320&nbsp;km) stretch of the river, from Hudson Falls to New York City, as a [[Superfund]] site requiring cleanup, one of the largest such site designations in the country.<ref name="EPA-hudson cleanup"/> Sediment removal operations by GE, pursuant to the Superfund orders, have continued into the 21st century.<ref name="remediation"/>