Hudson River Anchorages Could Be Stopped By Coast Guard Bill Amendment

TARRYTOWN, NY — An amendment to a bill reauthorizing the U.S. Coast Guard could act as a way to stop — for at least a year — barge anchorage fields from being established in the Hudson River. The amendment was authored by Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, and was added to H.R. 2518, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2017.

Faso said he has urged, since the Coast Guard announced its proposal to put 10 anchorage fields in the Hudson between Yonkers and Kingston, the agency to work with communities and listen to their concerns.

The 10 proposed anchorage grounds would contain 43 berths and would be used for commercial vessels, many of which would be carrying oil. They would take up nearly 1,000 acres of the river.

“I saw the opportunity with a must-pass piece of legislation affecting the Coast Guard to add a provision which would halt the anchorage process and get this provision enacted into law,” Faso said.

“The Hudson River, like any finite resource, can only thrive when it is shared responsibly and all voices are heard,” he said.

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The amendment, as described by Faso, requires a six-month time limit for the Cast Guard to submit to Congress a “detailed summary” of the public comments it has collected related to its proposal.

The summary must include the Coast Guard’s responses to the concerns.

Once Congress has received the summary from the Coast Guard, the agency may not approve the proposed anchorages from an additional six months while the summary is reviewed.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, supports the amendment.

He tweeted, “We’re going to kill @USCG #anchorages proposal once & for all — yesterday was step in the right direction. #BanTheBarges”

Maloney added language to the bill that would mandate the Coast Guard submit a report on the impacts of the proposed anchorages on endangered species habitats and existing superfund sites within 180 days, according to MidHudsonNews.com.

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said he was grateful to Faso for the amendment.

“For too long the federal government has made decisions impacting our communities without an adequate public process, leaving key stakeholders out,” he said.

“Now Dutchess County and other river communities will have a real chance to be heard loud and clear,” Molinaro said.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said that parking commercial barges off our shores would have profound environmental, economic and public safety implications for Westchester residents.

“We need a better process to vet this proposal and ensure that local concerns are heard at the federal level,” he said.

“We’ve been asking for this for the better part of a year and thanks to Congressman Faso’s efforts, we may finally be on our way to a more open and transparent process we deserve and the opportunity to let our voices be heard,” Astorino said.

The complete amendments for H.R. 2518 can be read here.

Photo credit: Michael Woyton/Patch Staff.