EPA FREES GE FROM CLEANUP OF POLLUTED GROUND WATER SOURCE.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: YANCEY ROY Staff writer

MOREAU In a decision that stunned residents, the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will not force General Electric to clean up a heavily polluted ground water supply because it would take too long.

The EPA, using computer models, said it would take about 200 years to restore the water supply to safe drinking standards. Under EPA regulations, an environmental cleanup is considered impractical if it requires more than 100 years to complete.

The decision surprised people involved in the cleanup fight for more than a decade.

``We feel they have left us high and dry,'' Councilwoman …