News - Latest Developments

On Friday, May 15, the long delayed clean-up of the Hudson River PCBs begin. Now Riverkeeper will keep a watchful eye on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make sure the entire clean-up occurs and that it is thorough. The first phase of the two-phase cleanup will last about six months and focus on the removal of approximately 265,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment – only 10% of the total amount of contaminated sediment originally slated for removal. A legal agreement between GE and EPA allows GE to determine if … Learn More

On April 14, Riverkeeper submitted comments to the Army Corps of Engineers, urging the Corps to deny a federal permit application to fill wetlands in the proposed Kent Manor development. The developer plans to fill wetlands on the property and wants to mitigate this impact by constructing wetlands adjacent to roads and other impervious surfaces without suitable buffer zones. Riverkeeper commented that filling existing wetlands and constructing wetlands near roads, without appropriate buffers, increases the likelihood that pollutants such as phosphorus will discharge into the Croton Falls Reservoir. Learn More

On April 9, Riverkeeper filed comments opposing a dredging project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which would place approximately 150,000 cubic yards of highly toxic soil on Houghtaling Island in New Baltimore. New York has identified Houghtaling Island, one of the largest undisturbed parcels of land in the Hudson River estuary, as a critical habitat. Nevertheless, the Army Corps has used it for decades as a dump for dredged soil containing varying levels of PCBs, heavy metals, and other contaminants. Learn More

On April 1, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Water Act provision governing cooling water intake structures does not forbid cost-benefit analysis when determining “best technology available” for power plants. The Court also ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may decide to not engage in such analysis. That’s good news for Riverkeeper, who is now looking to the Obama administration and EPA to revise the rule it wrote in February 2004 and to write new regulations favoring the preservation of fish and other aquatic life. Learn More

Riverkeeper is currently working with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to address concerns about proposed stream bank restoration projects in the Kensico Reservoir basin. Although the projects are designed to comply with water quality regulations and reduce turbidity in the Kensico, local residents have expressed concerns about the size and number of trees that will be cleared in order to implement the proposed projects. In April, Riverkeeper visited the sites with DEP officials. We will continue to investigate and monitor the situation in … Learn More

On March 20, Riverkeeper joined The Center for Health, Environment & Justice, Newtown Creek Alliance, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY), and Councilman Eric Gioia at Newtown Creek to discuss a new report that reveals the relationship between global climate change, corporate bankruptcies and the crisis of the federal Superfund toxic waste cleanup program. The report, "Superfund: In the Eye of the Storm", calls on EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to add Newtown Creek to the federal Superfund National Priorities List and urges federal policymakers to support the reinstatement of "polluter-pays" fees, which expired more than a decade ago. Learn More

On March 18, Riverkeeper (RvK) submitted comments opposing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) review of the environmental impacts of Indian Point, which recommended relicensing the plant. Refuting NRC’s claims that the plant poses no significant public or environmental health threats, RvK's comments state that the plant kills more than a billion fish every year; its spent fuel pools are leaking radioactive water; it is vulnerable to terrorist attack; and, it is amassing thousands of tons of nuclear waste that will remain on the site for decades. Learn More

On March 5, the NRC denied an appeal filed by Entergy, the owner of Indian Point, which sought to throw out an important environmental claim raised by Riverkeeper in its challenge to the plant’s relicensing. Riverkeeper’s claim objects to Entergy’s assessment of the environmental impacts of highly toxic radioactive water leaks from the facility’s spent fuel pools. Now that the Commissioners have rejected this final appeal, Riverkeeper, bolstered further, will continue to litigate this important issue. Learn More

In recognition of Clean Water Week (2/23 - 2/28), Riverkeeper and Whole Foods Market have teamed up for the Tap Water Awareness Project—a collaborative effort to educate consumers about New York City’s tap water which flows unfiltered from reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains and Westchester County to 9 million New Yorkers in and around the city. Learn More