NY AG Urges Homeland Security to End Plan for Hudson River Anchorages

TARRYTOWN, NY — New York’s Attorney General Eric Scheiderman has urged the Department of Homeland Security to ask the Coast Guard to scuttle its plans to allow commercial anchorage fields on the Hudson River.

The letter, written on behalf of Scheiderman by his office’s Environmental Protection Bureau chief, said that the plan would turn a historic and environmental resource into a parking lot, the Journal News said.

Also noted was that the Army Corps of Engineers considered the new anchorages as unnecessary.

Because the barges will likely be carrying fuel oil, adding to the danger of spills, environmental organizations have come out against the proposal.

Manna Jo Greene, Clearwater’s environmental director, called the plan “unacceptable and dangerous.”

The organization’s position is that, since the river has been designated a National Heritage Area, there should no additional anchorages.

No public hearings have yet been since by the Coast Guard, but the Journal News said they could be scheduled as early as spring.

Photo credit: Michael Woyton/Patch.