Who will pay for replacement drinking water when the protracted cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson River begins? That's what members of a citizens advisory group on the cleanup would like to know, according to the Times Union [1].

Many communities in the Capital District tap the Hudson River for drinking water.Waterford Supervisor Jack Lawler [2] believes that the EPA [3], rather than local municipalities, should. Lawler would like the EPA to reimburse the towns that buy outside water from Troy to replace their river-based supply once PCB removal starts next spring. About 30,000 people in Waterford, Halfmoon and the Mechanicville school district rely on the Hudson for drinking water.

The EPA is sharing with General Electric [4] the cost of building a distribution line to get Troy water to communities on the river's west side. But EPA will cover added water costs to the river communities prior to 2011 only if PCB levels exceed the EPA safety level of 500 parts per trillion.

At a meeting this week, the EPA's Community Advisory Group [5] agreed to discuss the matter further with the federal agency.