ALBANY - A report raising questions about the effectiveness of large-scale dredging projects is not expected to affect cleanup plans for the Hudson River, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The report released Tuesday by the National Research Council found that sediment dredging can have short-term adverse effects such as increasing the concentration of contaminants in the water.

Dredging has the potential to permanently remove contaminants from the environment, the report said. But after reviewing 26 dredging projects around the country, the scientists and engineers on the committee said “inadequate” monitoring at most Superfund sites makes it hard to judge whether dredging alone can reduce long-term risks to people and wildlife.

Results of the report have been awaited in New York, where the EPA ordered the dredging of a 40-mile stretch of the Hudson River north of Albany that could cost more than $700 million. The often-delayed dredging project is now scheduled to begin in spring of 2009.

The report did not directly address whether dredging the Hudson would be effective. But the EPA's approach in the Hudson River so far is consistent with what the report recommends, said committee member Danny Reible of the Hazardous Substance Research Center/ South and Southwest.

EPA spokesman David Kluesner said the Hudson dredging was intently studied for years by the agency and by independent outside experts. He said the agency is confident in its stringent performance standards for the Hudson dredging.

“I think this is one of the most thoroughly studied and documented environmental dredging projects around the country,” Kluesner said. “... I feel very confident that we'll start dredging in 2009.”

GE discharged wastewater containing polychlorinated biphenyls into the river until 1977. Under the company's deal with the federal government, GE will remove 2.65 million cubic yards of toxic sediment from the river. Work began this spring on a sediment dewatering site in Fort Edward.

There was no immediate comment from GE.

In a prepared statement Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat who represents part of the Hudson Valley, and Sen. Hillary Clinton acknowledged “there is no perfect way of dealing with the PCB contamination.”

But, they said, “The only way to ensure that large quantities of PCBs are permanently removed from the river is to dredge the chemicals out of the water. We reiterate our call on GE and the EPA to move the cleanup forward as quickly as possible.”