More Smoke Over The Hudson, Bowline Power Plant Shut Down: Riverkeeper

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — The Bowline Generating Station emitted black smoke on Wednesday, the second time this month, and the plant was shut down, Hudson Riverkeeper John Lipscomb reported.

"We received several reports of a second smoke event at the plant yesterday morning, and notified DEC, which sent a team," Riverkeeper told Patch. "Last night the DEC confirmed a second problem, apparently a mechanical failure, at the plant. As of last night (Wednesday night), the plant was shut down. An investigation into the cause, by both the plant and by DEC, is ongoing."

DEC officials said they responded to the Bowline facility on the afternoon of July 27 after receiving complaints about an additional problem at the plant causing a visible plume.

In reality, it was not only visible, it was thick and black and extensive:

People have been watching the plant closely since July 13, when an alert nature photographer noticed the Hudson River was bubbling near the plant and caught it on video (see above). That was two hours before the generating station's smokestack pushed a huge plume of thick black smoke into the air.

State officials issued a Notice of Violation to the facility on July 21. The smoke could have been avoided, Kelly Turturro, Region 3 director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, said last week.

"While adjusting natural gas flow to the unit, the plant operator inadvertently reduced flow on one pipeline while not concurrently increasing flow from the other, with a steady demand. This disruption in gas flow caused boiler flame issues, causing the unit to produce increased opacity. The issue was identified as a blocking valve which was left shut, thus preventing gas flow," the DEC said in the violation notice.

"DEC is currently assessing possible fines associated with the violation and any additional steps needed to prevent future violations," Turturro said before the second incident. "DEC will continue its oversight of the facility to ensure compliance. DEC is committed to holding parties accountable for violations of the stringent requirements in place to protect public health and the environment."

Meanwhile the cause of the bubbles seen on July 13 is still a disturbing mystery.

The bubbling came up from both the water and the sediment along the shoreline at Bowline Point Park. It was discovered around 8:30 a.m., two hours before the plume appeared, by nature photographer Owen Cramsie. He not only filmed it (see above), he reported it.

"Our staff has never seen a plume of this kind at the plant, or a condition in the water like the bubbling seen in the video," Lipscomb said on the Riverkeeper blog.

DEC continues to investigate that, officials said.

Editor's Note: The photographer of the second black plume was incorrectly identified in an earlier version of this article.