DEC Answers Call on Desalination

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In a significant victory for environmentalists concerned about the proposal to build a desalination plant in Rockland County, using Hudson River water, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is requiring the applicant, United Water New York, to provide detailed information on alternatives, including water conservation, loss minimization and minimization of demand. Riverkeeper has argued that a thorough review of these issues is necessary for effective evaluation of the actual need for an expensive and environmentally destructive desalination plant in an area that receives approximately 43 inches of rain annually.