Westchester Legislators Pass Unanimous Resolution Against Hudson River Anchorage Sites Proposal

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Westchester County is officially against a government plan to create 10 anchorage sites for barges in the Hudson River.

The county Board of Legislators voted unanimously Monday on a resolution opposing the US. Coast Guard’s proposal.

The 10 sites could hold more than 40 oil-laden vessels between Yonkers and Kingston, taking up nearly 1,000 acres of the river off the shores of Westchester County alone, according to a spokesman for the board.

Minority Leader John Testa, R-Peekskill, proposed the resolution.

The former mayor of Peekskill said he was glad to see his colleague stand together to oppose the plan.

“Westchester is the first county to pass a resolution against the plan and I hope the other counties along the Hudson River follow our lead,” he said.

Testa said the resolution sends a strong message to the Coast Guard and the federal government that there is bipartisan agreement that the proposal is detrimental to Westchester communities.

“Now we need to continue our advocacy until the Coast Guard realizes what an ill-conceived plan this is,” he said.

Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, D-Hastings-on-Hudson, who is chairwoman of the Infrastructure Committee, which reviewed the resolution, said the expanded anchorage sites coupled with the volatile cargo the barges would be transporting would endanger billions of dollars of public and private sector investments that have transformed Hudson River waterfronts from industrial wastelands into housing, recreational facilities, restaurants and shops.

“The economic, environmental and public safety risks these sites would impose on our Hudson River communities are simply too great to let the proposed new Coast Guard rule stand,” Shimsky said.

Legislator Francis Corcoran, R-Bedford, is chairman of the board’s Environment and Health Committee.

He said the Coast Guard is claiming the sites would be used for short-term storage, but the sites are defined in the National Register as long-term.

“While I understand the logistical need to move oil around our nation,” he said, “I don’t understand why a commercial industry is allowed to take over 1,000 acres of a beautiful, natural public resource like the Hudson River to park their barges.”

Public comments can be submitted to the Coast Guard until December 6, 2016.

Comments can be left on this website.

Photo credit: Michael Woyton/Patch.com.