You would expect a polluter like General Electric to favor its interests over those of a damaged environment. But you should not expect similar behavior from the governor of New York, especially when the damage is to the Hudson River, contaminated by generations of toxic chemical dumping from G.E. factories north of Albany.

G.E. has spent the last six years and $1 billion dredging up much but not all of the toxic chemicals it put in the riverbed, and it is now is getting ready to dismantle its cleanup operation. Environmental advocates and scientists are making urgent pleas to the federal Environmental Protection Agency and to New York State to make sure G.E. does not leave before the river job is finished.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who should be leading this battle, is a nonparticipant. He has bowed out, kept his Department of Environmental Conservation on the sidelines, and tossed the ball to the feds.

“It’s an issue that the E.P.A. governs, the federal E.P.A.,” Mr. Cuomo said on Wednesday. “They’re the ones who are in charge, they have jurisdiction, and we’re waiting to see what they say in terms of any future plans.” Does he really want no say in counteracting the degradation of a precious state resource? So it appears.