GE Sees $500M Charge in Hudson River Cleanup

General Electric (NYSE:GE) on Thursday placed a $500 million price tag on the second phase of its Hudson River PCB dredging project.

The announcement comes after the Environmental Protection Agency ordered GE to remove more sediment from the river that was stained with PCB.

After “intensive and constructive discussions" with the EPA, GE said in a statement it has advised the agency it will perform the second and “final phase” of the project.

GE plans to take an after-tax charge of about $500 million in the fourth quarter related to the project. However, the company said it expects positive items, including a favorable tax settlement, to offset the charge.

“GE has consistently said it wanted to complete the dredging and now looks forward to doing so under terms that achieve the scientific objectives of dredging in a practical and cost-effective way. We are proud of having met each and every one of our many commitments on this project, and we will continue to do so,” GE said.

Separately, GE confirmed numerous reports and leaked memos about the delayed closing of its NBC Universal sale. GE said it expects the deal to sell a majority stake in the media business to Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) will close in January 2011, not by the end of the year as had previously been expected.