Proposal for Massive New Barge Anchorages Threatens Hudson River

A proposal to build ten 600-foot long commercial anchorages for barges and tankers in the Hudson River from Kingston to Yonkers poses major concerns for the river’s ecology and local communities. Early this year, the Maritime Association of the Port of NY and NJ, and American Waterways Operators requested that the US Coast Guard permit the establishment of these anchorages with a total of 43 berths for barges and tankers transporting crude oil and other cargoes.

The Coast Guard is asking for public comments on this proposal by September 7. The Coast Guard will use these comments to plan how to proceed on the proposal, including holding public hearings on the proposal next spring.

The anchorages would provide safe harbor for barges and tankers traveling the river, but they also could facilitate and even encourage increased transport of crude oil from North Dakota down the Hudson from the Albany area. Spills are difficult to impossible to clean up, and water, air, noise and light pollution could return the Hudson River to an industrial region in some areas, overturning years of work to make the river and its surrounding communities viable economically and ecologically.

These anchorages could facilitate more shipping of Bakken crude oil from North Dakota and potentially from Canadian tar sands, which are impossible to clean up. Although demand for crude oil has dropped recently due to cheaper natural gas supplies, the recent US federal government decision to allow overseas export of crude oil after many years of embargo could open the spigot to greatly increased shipping of oil down the Hudson.

Some trains now leave the Albany area carrying Bakken crude to refineries down the Hudson River and beyond. Some of these trains download the oil earlier at ports south of Albany, which then continues down the river in barges and tankers. The new anchorages would provide for increased oil transport. And if shippers obtain approval to transport heavy “tar sands” from Alberta, Canada, to Albany and other ports along the river, the impact of a spill would be catastrophic, as the heavy oil drops to the bottom of water bodies and is not recoverable.

Riverkeeper, other environmental organizations and communities along the river continue to protest strongly against the proposal. They are doing research, identifying major concerns and sending comments to the Coast Guard, including a call for public hearings on the proposal. The Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and its groups along the Hudson are escalating our efforts on this.

Ned Sullivan, President of Scenic Hudson, warns that: “As it stands, this plan would be disastrous — allowing as many as 43 berths at the 10 locations, turning our bucolic river into an industrial storage facility.”

Yonkers Mayor Spano says that “To reindustrialize the waterfronts of these communities would do long-term damage to . . . decades of reinvestment taking place along our shores. For us to go backward is just unconscionable.”

It is vital that all who care about the threats of this anchorage proposal to the Hudson River and its communities send your comments by September 7 to the Coast Guard so they will grasp the level of opposition. To do so, go to http://www.regulations/gov/comment?D=USCG-2016-0132-001

 

There will be more opportunities to get involved. Please watch for Atlantic Chapter and group emails and other outreach on this major threat to the Hudson River and join with efforts to stop it.