Barge Anchorages on the Hudson
The U.S. Coast Guard's solicitation of public comments closed on December 6th, 2016 on an industry proposal to establish a large number of new anchorages for commercial vessels in the Hudson River — 43 berths in 10 locations from Yonkers to Kingston, comprising more than 2,400 acres.
The shipping industry says this dramatic expansion is necessary for safety. But it’s really about expanding industrial use of the River – especially for crude oil transport. The anchorage request comes amid a number of efforts to significantly increase the use of the Hudson as an oil shipping hub.
This would have a range of far-reaching environmental impacts including the increased potential for oil spills, “scarring” of the river bottom from anchors and anchor chains, and noise and light pollution from certain barges. [courtesy Riverkeeper]
Proposed Pilgrim Pipeline
Two parallel oil pipelines are proposed to cross 25 municipalities throughout six New York counties. Check the Coalition Against Pilgrim Pipeline website for updates.