WHITE PLAINS – The Westchester County Board of Legislators has gone on record opposed to a proposal to construct a new gas-powered electric generating plant at the site of the Danskammer plant along the Hudson River in the Town of Newburgh.
Lawmakers signed letters in opposition twice in 2020, both addressed to the governor and PSC. The decision to pass a resolution adds the force of legislative action to the opposition, the legislators said.
“New York State recently passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act establishing programs, obligations, and targets to meet zero emissions by 2050,” said Legislator Catherine Parker, chief sponsor of the resolution and chairwoman of the board’s oversight committee. She said building a new Danskammer is the wrong thing to do. “Expanding the Danskammer plant to a full-time fossil fuel facility is exactly the wrong thing to do if we’re serious about a clean, sustainable future, and about meeting those goals.”
Food and Water Watch organizer Santosh Nandabalan said the Westchester vote “sends a clear message to neighbors up and down the Hudson. Danskammer’s plans to build out further fracked gas infrastructure in Newburgh would wreak havoc on the air, water, and public health of New Yorkers throughout the Hudson Valley. Governor Cuomo must listen to the mounting chorus of counties and cities across the state and stop Danskammer.”
Michelle Hook, Danskammer Energy vice president for public affairs, said they are not expanding the plant nor are they fracking. “The proposed upgrades would simply improve the 70-year-old plant that is there now, making it significantly cleaner and reducing local air pollution by tens of thousands of tons a year.”
She said the DEC website lists what existing, old Hudson Valley plants emit annually compared to what their new facility would emit. “Upgrading this equipment is a no brainer. If a private company is willing to come in and clean up local air and stop using Hudson River water at no cost to taxpayers, it’s a win-win for the community and its residents. Local elected officials have a duty to local residents and a responsibility to learn the facts before passing resolutions based on the claims of people who make their living as professional protesters.”
