YONKERS – Environmental groups and 19 municipalities from Yonkers to Peekskill, Thursday, renewed their call for the Coast Guard to reject a proposal to allow 43 barge anchorages on the Hudson from Yonkers to Kingston.
The Maritime Association of the Port of New York/New Jersey Tug and Barge Committee proposed the anchorages.
Communities and organizations up and down the river oppose the plan saying it would destroy the improved ecology of the river and the rebirth of the river communities that have, in recent years, developed their waterfronts.
Riverkeeper environmental group President Paul Gallay said if approved, his organization would take action.
“Riverkeeper is going to do everything it needs to do to block this, but we don’t think this proposal is going to make it that far,” Gallay said. ”We think that this proposal is going to fail of its own weight.”
Opposition to the anchorage plan goes beyond the Mid-Hudson Valley. The director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, Jeff Tittel, said the Coast Guard “needs to reject the proposal to increase oil by barge on the Hudson River to protect public safety and our waterways.” He said whether crude oil is transported by train, pipeline or barge, “it is a disaster waiting to happen for our communities and environment.”
The Coast Guard is accepting public comments until December 6.
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