Phillip Musegaas, Riverkeeper’s Hudson River Program director, will give a talk to the Bedford Audubon Society titled “Superstorm Sandy: Impacts on the Hudson River Ecosystem” Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, at 7 p.m.
During and after Superstorm Sandy, Riverkeeper raised concerns about a variety of issues, including sewage and toxic chemicals contamination. Riverkeeper patrol boat Capt. John Lipscomb witnessed everything from 55-gallon drums and quart-sized containers of transmission fluid floating by, to fuel leaking from wrecked boats and swamped vehicles. Riverkeeper’s boat was unharmed, and was among a select few vessels approved to patrol New York City waters, including the Newtown Creek and Gowanus Canal Superfund sites, in the wake of the storm.
Watch a Democracy Now video report about Riverkeeper’s post-Sandy patrols, and listen to Musegaas discuss the issues now online by streaming this WNYC interview from Oct. 30, 2012.