The sediments of the Upper Hudson River contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) originating from wastewater discharges from two General Electric Company (GE) capacitor manufacturing plants located in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, New York.  In 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Record of Decision specifying dredging as the preferred remedy for the sediments of the Upper Hudson River.  The dredging will be conducted in two phases and the Final Design for the first phase, which included habitat restoration, was completed in early 2006.

The final design includes provisions for habitat replacement and reconstruction, which incorporate potential changes in river conditions that will result from dredging, backfilling, and possibly capping.

Anchor QEA personnel drafted the Habitat Delineation and Assessment Work Plan that served as the basis for subsequent habitat related activities on the project.  Anchor QEA personnel led the habitat delineation effort, which consisted of photo interpretation and field delineation of four major habitat types (i.e., aquatic vegetation beds, wetlands, river bottom, and riparian habitats) within the 40-mile project area.  Following the delineation, specific locations were selected for detailed assessments to record key physical and biological site characteristics for use in design.  Anchor QEA managed the data collection, analysis, and reporting components of the habitat assessment program.

Data collected during the habitat assessment were used to develop habitat-specific conceptual models to facilitate the development of conceptual and final habitat construction designs.  Anchor QEA developed a design decision matrix to determine which habitats would be constructed in specific areas based on the amount of dredging and backfilling (and potentially capping) that was planned.

Anchor QEA’s experience in habitat delineation and assessment, data collection, data management, analysis, and reporting provided GE with an accurate and efficient strategy for collecting habit-specific data to develop replacement and reconstruction designs.