William J. Kemble reports in The Daily Freeman that the environmental advocacy group Scenic Hudson is happy about Global Partners decision to move less crude oil on the Hudson River and local rail system. The Massachusetts-based Global Partners company announced this week said earlier this week it will not up the amount of tar sands crude oil it ships through the area from 450 million gallons to 2.2 billion gallons annually, even though a permit allows the larger number. “We need to await Global’s permit modification application to DEC to see the exact numbers, but what they stated was they would be significantly scaling back their currently allowed crude oil output and that they would be withdrawing their application to handle the heavy tar sands product at their Albany terminal,” said Hayley Carlock, Scenic Hudson’s environmental advocacy director. The state Department of Environmental Conservation was also pleased with the decision. “Protecting the environment is a top priority and DEC will rigorously review any new modification request to ensure it complies with all state rules and regulations and the environment and public health are protected.” Scenic Hudson explains how much less oil activity there will be near the Hudson River. “At the height of the Bakken crude transport ... around 2015, we were seeing seven to 10 barges going down the river and 25 to 35 trains going down the CSX lines,” Carlock said. “Even at its peak, Global was not actually maximizing their throughput. But if we reduce it back down to its pre-2012 numbers you’re looking at a maximum of one barge per week.” Global Partners did not comment after the announcement. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.