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Audio Feature: Hudson River stories
Jul 29, 2017 9:33 am
Here are some stories from the Hudson River this week. Click here to hear an audio version of this report.
• The Stevens Institute reports temperatures this week in the Hudson River at Schodack Island have been between 73 and 77 degrees.
• The Mid-Hudson News reports that Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who represents the Hudson Valley's 18th District south of the WGXC listening area, sponsored the Anchorages Away Act. That bill passed the U.S. House last week and would slow the Coast Guard's efforts to set up several proposed commercial anchorages on the Hudson River. If the legislation passes the Senate and is signed by the president, the Coast Guard would have to submit a report to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the impacts of the anchorages on existing superfund sites and habitats of endangered species, as well as the Coast Guard’s response to those concerns, within 180 days. The bill prohibits the proposed anchorages from being established between Yonkers and Kingston until another 180 days after the report's completion. “The original proposal is effectively dead, but I want to make sure it stays dead and buried,” Maloney said. The Coast Guard wanted to set up anchorages for large barges on the Hudson River, but that proposal fizzled last month after much criticism from local officials and the public. Read the full story in the Mid-Hudson News.
• Brian Nearing reports in the Albany Times Union that the Department of Environmental Conservation says a scrap metal and electronics recycling yard in Bethlehem in Albany County has been spilling "high levels" of mercury into the Hudson River. A drain pipe at Sims Metal Management was recently discharging rainwater that contained mercury at 1,100 parts per trillion. The state limit for mercury is 50 parts per trillion, and the drain pipe is one of two at the 140 Port Road South facility not included under the company's current state permit. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, especially dangerous for children and fetuses, and can be transferred to humans from fish. Port Albany Ventures LLC, an affiliate of Sims, took over the state water pollution permit when it acquired the site in 2005. Sims runs more than 130 recycling yards in North America, and 100 more in Australia and Europe. The company did not return the calls from the newspaper. Brian Nearing reports in the Albany Times Union.
• This week the City of Hudson Wastewater Treatment Facility had five-and-a-half-hour combined sewer overflow into the Hudson River July 24.
• The Stevens Institute reports temperatures this week in the Hudson River at Schodack Island have been between 73 and 77 degrees.
• The Mid-Hudson News reports that Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who represents the Hudson Valley's 18th District south of the WGXC listening area, sponsored the Anchorages Away Act. That bill passed the U.S. House last week and would slow the Coast Guard's efforts to set up several proposed commercial anchorages on the Hudson River. If the legislation passes the Senate and is signed by the president, the Coast Guard would have to submit a report to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the impacts of the anchorages on existing superfund sites and habitats of endangered species, as well as the Coast Guard’s response to those concerns, within 180 days. The bill prohibits the proposed anchorages from being established between Yonkers and Kingston until another 180 days after the report's completion. “The original proposal is effectively dead, but I want to make sure it stays dead and buried,” Maloney said. The Coast Guard wanted to set up anchorages for large barges on the Hudson River, but that proposal fizzled last month after much criticism from local officials and the public. Read the full story in the Mid-Hudson News.
• Brian Nearing reports in the Albany Times Union that the Department of Environmental Conservation says a scrap metal and electronics recycling yard in Bethlehem in Albany County has been spilling "high levels" of mercury into the Hudson River. A drain pipe at Sims Metal Management was recently discharging rainwater that contained mercury at 1,100 parts per trillion. The state limit for mercury is 50 parts per trillion, and the drain pipe is one of two at the 140 Port Road South facility not included under the company's current state permit. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, especially dangerous for children and fetuses, and can be transferred to humans from fish. Port Albany Ventures LLC, an affiliate of Sims, took over the state water pollution permit when it acquired the site in 2005. Sims runs more than 130 recycling yards in North America, and 100 more in Australia and Europe. The company did not return the calls from the newspaper. Brian Nearing reports in the Albany Times Union.
• This week the City of Hudson Wastewater Treatment Facility had five-and-a-half-hour combined sewer overflow into the Hudson River July 24.