Melanie Lekocevic is reporting in the Greene County News environmental advocacy group Riverkeeper has made public its disappointment with the state's recent decision to allow the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Thruway Authority co-manage the environmental review of the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline project. Riverkeeper wrote in a statement, “We believe that a joint lead agency status is unprecedented and fails to address the concerns of the many municipalities in the region that specifically expressed their opposition to the Thruway Authority’s participation in the environmental review process." Fifty-eight municipalities along the Thruway corridor have voiced opposition to the Authority’s involvement in reviewing the proposal. Riverkeeper also said the decision undermines the process that is intended to protect the environmental resources impacted by the pipeline. Kate Hudson, director of Cross-Watershed Initiatives for Riverkeeper, predicted a conflict could arise between the two agencies. She said, “We’re concerned about the possible consequences of having two state agencies share responsibility. It could become problematic should disagreements arise....” If built, the 178-mile pipeline would move Bakken crude from Albany to Linden, N.J., through Albany, Greene, and Ulster counties, and send refined crude back to Albany, largely along the I-87 corridor. Read the full story in the Greene County News.