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Scenic Hudson says barge mooring site will spoil Olana views
Dylan Moscoso is reporting for The Legislative Gazette that a Troy-based barge operation has proposed the construction of a new mooring site on the Hudson River, at the dock of the former Atlas Cement company located just south of Hudson. While the new barge mooring would provide sites for boats to dock for loading and unloading of sand and gravel, the plan is being proposed by a Troy-based operator and would not benefit the local community, and might harm local tourism. In a letter to the Army Corp of Engineers, Scenic Hudson has expressed its opposition to the plan. Citing a concern for the Olana State Historic Site, the group noted that while the proposed one-acre mooring site is past the 5-mile threshold for “visual impact,” it only passes the threshold by a third of a mile and precautionary measures alongside visual analysis of the proposed sites impact is necessary. Scenic Hudson has requested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hold a public hearing in Germantown to give stakeholders to ask questions and be heard. The group is also asking that the public comment period be held open for at least 30 days after the public hearing is concluded. Hayley Carlock, the director of environmental advocacy and legal affairs at Scenic Hudson, said, “We are also concerned that the action may set a precedent for additional moorings in the vicinity, which would cause cumulative impacts on views and may set precedent for moorings for oil barges in other reaches of the Hudson River.” In 2016, a similar proposal, introduced by the United States Coast Guard, to park oil barges in the Mid-Hudson River, ultimately failed when a law was passed prohibiting the parking of oil barges. However, the loading and unloading of products unrelated to oil are permitted; the current proposal is for the shipment of crushed rocks. Read more at legislativegazette [dot] com.