Editing Pittsfield, Massachusetts (section)

====Consent decree and cleanup====
[[File:GE Pittsfield MA-Housatonic R Halfmile Cleanup Site-Cell B.jpg|thumb|Cleanup activity at one of the GE Pittsfield plant Superfund sites on the [[Housatonic River]].]]
Starting in 1991, legal proceedings by the [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) established the General Electric/Housatonic River Site. Initial cleanup work began in 1996 when EPA issued a unilateral order to GE that required the removal of highly contaminated sediments and bank soils. EPA added the site to its [[Superfund]] list in September 1997.

The year 1999 was a milestone for Pittsfield, when negotiations between EPA, the state, General Electric and the city resulted in a [[settlement agreement]], valued at over $250 million, to clean up Pittsfield and the Housatonic River. The settlement was memorialized in a consent decree entered in federal court the following year, making it a binding legal agreement.<ref name=epa9420>{{cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/ne/ge/cleanup/9420.pdf |title=Consent Decree |date=October 27, 2000 |publisher=EPA |access-date=February 6, 2009}}</ref> Between 2005 and 2018 GE completed remediation and restoration of the 10 manufacturing plant areas within the city, and continues to conduct inspection, monitoring and maintenance activities.<ref>{{cite web |title=GE Plant Area of the GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Site  |url=https://www.epa.gov/ge-housatonic/ge-plant-area-ge-pittsfieldhousatonic-river-site |date=2021-07-12 |publisher=EPA}}</ref>

Cleanup of the polluted downstream river areas has not been completed as of 2023. Following a public comment period, EPA issued a permit in December 2020 for the final cleanup phase. In 2021 two of the citizen groups that were parties to the settlement filed an appeal of the permit, criticizing the design of a planned landfill to be located in Berkshire County. In February 2022 the US Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) denied the permit appeal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Parnass |first=Larry |title=U.S. environmental court backs PCB cleanup plan for the Housatonic River, rejecting claim of EPA error and allowing Lee landfill |url=https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/environmental-court-ruling-appeal-epa-housatonic-river-pcbs/article_c354991a-892b-11ec-8d9f-6b34dc9a0671.html |date=2022-02-08 |work=The Berkshire Eagle}}</ref> Following the EAB ruling, EPA continued to design the new PCB disposal facility and conducted public meetings in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Nancy Eve |title=Citizens concerned about public health, environmental risks at proposed PCB dump in Lee |url=https://www.capeandislands.org/2022-12-15/citizens-concerned-about-public-health-environmental-risks-at-proposed-pcb-dump-in-lee |date=2022-12-15 |work=New England Public Media}}</ref> Two citizen groups appealed the EAB decision to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit|First Circuit Court of Appeals]], and in July 2023 the court rejected the plaintiffs' challenge.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Nancy Eve |title=Federal appeals court rejects environmentalists' challenge to EPA's Housatonic cleanup plan |url=https://www.nepm.org/regional-news/2023-07-28/federal-appeals-court-rejects-environmentalists-challenge-to-epas-housatonic-cleanup-plan |date=2023-07-28 |work=New England Public Media}}</ref>