TOWN OF WAPPINGER – A flotilla of dozens of canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards launched from the Town of Wappinger public dock in Chelsea on Wednesday to join with the Sloop Clearwater and Sloop Woodie Guthrie in a voyage to the Danskammer Energy Plant on the west shore of the Hudson River. The groups of activists, members of the Stop Danskammer Coalition, were protesting the energy company’s plans to expand the size and hours of operation of the fracked gas plant.
Eric Weltman, a senior organizer with Food & Water Watch, called on Governor Cuomo to block the proposed expansion. “We are here today both on water and land to send a message to the governor – stop the Danskammer fracked gas power plant and move New York off fossil fuels,” he said.
Weltman claims that the proposed development of a new Danskammer will rely on fracked gas piped in from states where it is legal, and will pollute the air and water of the Hudson Valley. The project is currently under review by the New York State Siting Board. The State Department of Environmental Conservation is accepting public comments on the project through August 29.
He indicated that municipalities throughout the Hudson Valley are opposed to the project. As previously reported by Mid-Hudson News, elected officials across the state have signed on to oppose the new plant.
The Town of Newburgh, where the plant is situated, has endorsed the plan. In a letter to the siting board in March of 2021, Town Supervisor Gil Piaquadio said in part, “Danskammer’s proposal to repower its plant in the Town of Newburgh to make it cleaner and more efficient is good for the Hudson Valley and good for New York. Remember, NYISO will call on Danskammer to meet the state’s aforementioned energy needs, with or without a newer, cleaner facility. But the repowered plant will reduce emissions by 85 percent on a per-megawatt-hour basis.”
The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was represented on land Wednesday by Matt Salton, their Environmental Action Associate. Salton noted that New York State lawmakers passed legislation two years ago that intended to protect the climate by reducing the use of fossil fuels. “The Danskammer project is in direct opposition to the law that was signed by Governor Cuomo,” he said.
