News - Press Releases

Ongoing delay of law’s implementation threatens to exacerbate the opioid epidemic amid the Covid-19 pandemic Continued flushing of unwanted drugs endangers water quality across the state Albany, NY—A broad coalition of environmental, product stewardship, public health, solid waste management, local government, and fishing organizations recently sent a letter to the New York State Department of Health (“Department”) calling for final regulations and implementation of the NYS Drug Take Back Act within 30 days (see letter attached). The law requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to fund a statewide drug take-back program that provides […]

Learn More

NYS is attempting to walk back protections for water recreation that were established in 2015. ALBANY, NY — Riverkeeper, represented by the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, filed suit late yesterday to prevent the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation from attempting to roll back human health protections for recreation in New York City’s waterways, initially established by regulation in 2015. The 2015 water quality standards for swimming and other “primary contact recreation” would require the state to set scientifically accurate sewage pollution limits for the City’s waterways. To meet […]

Learn More

Three Troy students will focus on community science and radio and podcast production to illuminate water issues that disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Troy, N.Y. – Media Sanctuary and Riverkeeper announce the launch of the “Water Justice Lab.” The three-year project based at Media Sanctuary in North Troy will establish a water quality sampling lab and train students in both laboratory science and media arts skills in order to focus on environmental justice issues in the Hudson River Watershed. Three Youth Scientist Fellows from Lansingburgh High School, […]

Learn More

Riverkeeper applauds the DEC’s decision and urges the agency to maintain its position in the event of an appeal. RENSSELAER, N.Y. — Riverkeeper applauds the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for its decision this week to deny two essential permits for a proposed waste processing facility that would sit on top of a capped toxic waste site next to the Hudson River – and urges the agency to maintain its position in the event of an appeal. The Department of Environmental Conservation has denied both the Air State […]

Learn More

Re-posted from Rensselaer Environmental Coalition. For immediate release: August 12, 2020 Contact: David Ellis, Chairman, Rensselaer Environmental Coalition dellis@rensselaerenvironmentalcoalition.org On November 26, 2019, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent a letter to outgoing Rensselaer Mayor, Rich Mooney stating that the DEC “has grave concerns regarding what appears from a review of the SEQRA record for this Project to be a wrongfully abbreviated environmental impact assessment that the City of Rensselaer undertook.” In March 2018, Rensselaer Resource Recovery LLC, applied to the Rensselaer City Planning Commission for approval […]

Learn More

Riverkeeper issues the following statement from its President, Paul Gallay:  “We are deeply disappointed with the Cuomo Administration’s decision to pull the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act from the November ballot. This Bond Act would have addressed time-sensitive challenges all New Yorkers face in connection with climate change, the need for safe drinking water and growing threats to biodiversity. The sooner the state starts the projects that would have been funded by the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act, the better prepared New York will be to meet difficult times ahead. […]

Learn More

Coalition Urges Continued Action to Address Emerging Contaminants Albany – Today, the NY Department of Health (DOH) took the final step to establish Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and 1,4-dioxane, three toxic emerging contaminants found in drinking water across the state. DOH’s Public Health and Health Planning Council voted to set MCLs at 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA, 10 ppt for PFOS, and 1 part per billion (ppb) for 1,4-dioxane. The regulations will appear in the next State Register, at which time […]

Learn More

Albany, N.Y. — The New York State Legislature voted to close the oil & gas waste loophole after nearly a decade of advocacy from Riverkeeper and our partners. The oil and gas industry enjoys a special exemption from New York State requirements governing the treatment of hazardous waste. Although waste from oil and gas operations – including extraction using hydrofracking – can contain hazardous contaminants, it’s categorically excluded from hazardous waste treatment, storage, transportation and disposal requirements due to a legal loophole. Since 2010, more than 608,000 tons of solid […]

Learn More

Albany NY – Today, the New York Senate took a historic vote to protect clean water across New York.It voted to add 41,000 miles of at risk streams to the protected class of waters within the DEC’s Protection of Waters Program. The legislation protects streams within the Class C designation and will require a permit for disturbing a stream already required for Class AA, A, B and trout waters. This legislation passed the New York Assembly in February. Now, New York has taken the significant step of ensuring clean water […]

Learn More