Environmental groups, elected officials rally to reject NYS DEC’s Harlem River sewage exemption
Exemption would allow nearly 2 billion gallons and polluted runoff to continue entering the river each year
June 3, 2025
Riverkeeper Team
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lewis Kendall
lkendall@riverkeeper.org
(914) 478-4501 ext. 238
Bronx, NY — June 3, 2025: At a press conference today at Mill Pond Park, environmental advocates and elected officials demanded that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) withdraw a proposal that would allow the continued discharge of nearly 2 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted runoff into the Harlem River each year.
The proposed “wet weather exemption” would suspend bacterial water quality standards for the Harlem River during and after rainfall, allowing combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to persist indefinitely and putting public health and environmental progress at risk. It further would preclude further investment in green infrastructure for the Harlem River watershed that would absorb and clean contaminated stormwater before it enters the waterway.
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation must take the necessary steps to ensure that we address the ongoing pollution of the Harlem River,” said Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz. “Any decision that would allow the City of New York to continue to discharge nearly 2 billion gallons of CSOs annually into the River would have major negative consequences on the health of this river between the Bronx and Manhattan. It would threaten decades worth of work to improve recreational access and restore and reconnect both sides of the Harlem River. We must take the same crucial steps that we would take if we were dealing with wealthier communities."
“We say NO to dumping 1.9 billion gallons of sewage into the Harlem River — enough to fill the Empire State Building seven times over! This is environmental injustice, plain and simple,” said Assembly Member Landon Dais. “We say YES to oysters that clean our water, YES to green jobs, and YES to restoring the Harlem River for the people who live, work, and play here.”
“The Harlem River is not a dumping ground -- it is a vital waterway and a source of pride and recreation for the Bronx. Any proposal that weakens protections for our river is an affront to the health, dignity, and future of our community,” said Representative Ritchie Torres. “I stand in opposition to the DEC’s draft exemption and call on the city and state to invest in green infrastructure and long-term solutions that will restore and protect the Harlem River for generations to come.”
“As the Senator for the 29th Senate District representing communities along the East Harlem River, the health, safety, and recreational access to the Harlem River is very important to the residents of our community,” said State Senator Jose Serrano. “With that in mind, it is important that the Harlem River meets bacterial water quality standards after rainfall. Our communities have faced decades of environmental injustice, and removing health and safety standards would undo the progress the area has made in addressing water pollution and increasing water recreation. We must continue to build on our existing environmental standards and explore solutions that enhance water quality, foster nature-based resilience, and restore natural habitats to address pollution in the Harlem River.”
"I join the Harlem River Coalition to call on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to reverse their harmful proposal that would expose the Harlem River to more pollution and worse water quality," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. "It is our responsibility as government officials to ensure our State's local waterways are protected, and most importantly, protect the health of our communities."
“Manhattanites deserve clean waterways and the Harlem River is no exception. As climate change brings stronger storms and more stormwater, we must commit to upgrading our stormwater and sewage management systems for the long term to eliminate combined sewage overflow from contaminating our waterways,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “This is a clear environmental equity issue and I am grateful to all of the advocates and community members who are leading the fight to clean up and restore the Harlem River.”
“This plan would lock in pollution for the Harlem River and send a dangerous message to other communities across the city,” said Mike Dulong, Riverkeeper Legal Program Director. “It undermines decades of clean water advocacy and contradicts New York City's own CSO elimination goals.”
“Our community has fought to get the Harlem River to pollution levels low enough for safe recreation,” stated Karen Argenti, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality Board Member. “But the agencies refuse to promote neighborhood green infrastructure standards for the natural bedrock of the west Bronx and northern Manhattan. This is unfair.”
“The Clean Water Act mandates that our waters should have been fishable and swimmable by the mid-1980s and now in 2025 there are nearly 2 billion gallons of CSOs flowing into the Harlem River every year. Rather than investing in eliminating the CSO discharge, the proposed action will force communities to live with unacceptable amounts of pollution in perpetuity,” said Michelle Luebke, Program Manager for the SWIM Coalition. “This tunnel-or-nothing approach doesn't consider the merits of additional green infrastructure or even other green/gray combinations, which we would like to see proposed for the Harlem River and all the other waterbodies being considered next.”
“Our rowers - youth with Row New York and adults with Harlem River Community Rowing - are out on the Harlem River every day,” said Joy Hecht, from Harlem River Community Rowing. “Giving up on the effort to keep raw sewage out of the river puts us at risk, as boaters are splashed by wakes and occasionally do land in the water. This proposal to lower the standards that the Harlem River must meet is not acceptable.”
“New York City is obligated to achieve swimmable and fishable waters through the reduction and elimination of CSOs,” said David Abreu, Clean Water Advocate for Save the Sound. “The proposed Harlem River wet weather exemption would set a dangerous precedent for efforts to attain higher water quality standards in waterbodies across the city, especially in the Bronx and Queens where the Western Narrows of Long Island Sound continues to suffer.”
“This proposal will have dangerous implications for every body of water across NYC that is harmed by Combined Sewer Outfalls,” said Christian Murphy, Ecology and Education Manager for Bronx River Alliance. “The proposal would undo decades of work and organizing to advance clean water goals across the city and is an unacceptable injustice and cannot be allowed to happen. Our waterfront communities deserve better.”
The Bronx Climate Justice Task Force, with its mission of uplifting and advancing environmental protections for vulnerable Bronx communities, “opposes this proposal and strongly urges the NYSDEC to consider alternative strategies to achieve New York City’s clean water goals such as expanding treatment capacity and investing in green infrastructure to divert stormwater.” The Task Force includes: the Bronx Children’s Museum, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, Bronx River Alliance, The Point CDC, Rocking the Boat, South Bronx Unite, SUNY Maritime, and Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice.
Joined by Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, Assembly Member Landon Dais, and partners from Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, SWIM Coalition, Riverkeeper, and local community groups, speakers urged the NYS DEC to instead require the City to evaluate cost-effective solutions, such as green infrastructure and expanded treatment capacity, while ensuring cleanup costs don’t fall on low-income residents.
If approved, the Harlem River exemption could set a harmful precedent for other New York City waterways, allowing similar downgrades in protections across the city. It would also legitimize the suspension of health-based water quality standards after every rainfall — at a time when more New Yorkers are using local rivers and waterfronts for recreation.
The Harlem River, which runs through historically marginalized communities, is already among the city’s most polluted waterways. The proposed exemption would further entrench environmental injustice and delay long-overdue investments in clean water infrastructure.
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