Emilia Teasdale reports for The Columbia Paper that both the Scenic Hudson activists and the Germantown Town Board oppose plans to construct a mooring for barges in the Hudson River near the town. The mooring would cover nearly an acre in size, for up to six large barges. They could be empty vessels waiting to be filled with loose sand and gravel at quarry docks in Catskill and Hudson, or full and awaiting transport, Scenic Hudson says. The group is particularly concerned that the mooring will be seen from the Olana State Historic Site. “The view from Olana’s front porch, a place frequented by many visitors, includes the Hudson River, as well as a direct view of the proposed barge mooring site,” which would be a “discordant element… and could be present for extended periods of time. In light of these impacts and the overwhelming opposition to the proposal from Germantown residents, whose riverfront park is very close to the mooring site, Scenic Hudson has recommended consideration of an alternative location — the large dock at the former Atlas Cement plant, about 1.3 miles south of the quarry jetty in Catskill,” Scenic Hudson says. New York State Marine Highway Transportation, a tug and barge operation from Troy, said that the docks at the quarries at Peckham in Catskill and Colarusso in Hudson are “narrow sections of the river immediately adjacent to the Navigation Channel. The proximity to the nav-channel does not afford a safe berth for multiple barges.” So the new mooring would provide a “lay-berth for barges while waiting for berth availability at the quarry’s loading facility.” On November 9, the Germantown Board passed a resolution saying that the mooring “may interfere with boating associated with the New York State Boating Launch at Lasher Park, may delay or complicate first responders’ marine responses and training” at the park as well as cause bank erosion. Read more about this story in The Columbia Paper.