Safeguard Drinking Water

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 […]

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Alarming pattern of delay in drinking water protection puts New Yorkers at risk Albany – Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried and Assembly Children and Families Chair Ellen Jaffee joined residents from impacted communities and leading environmental advocates today to call on Governor Cuomo and the NYS Department of Health to stop delaying protections for New York’s drinking water and set the most health-protective standards possible for three toxic chemicals that have polluted drinking water across the state: PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane. The New York Department of Health (DOH) is […]

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Riverkeeper and Newburgh Clean Water Project today called on the Air National Guard to commit to an aggressive schedule to clean up PFAS pollution at the Stewart Air National Guard Base, as a new agreement is negotiated with New York State that will influence the next two years of remediation.

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The following is a statement from Riverkeeper’s Director of Legal Programs, Richard Webster, regarding the abandonment of the Constitution Pipeline project by Williams Partners: “Riverkeeper is gratified that it has been announced that the Constitution Pipeline project has been scrapped. This pipeline would have carried fracked natural gas across 251 waterbodies — including 89 trout spawning streams — and through many unique and sensitive ecological areas such as old-growth forest and undisturbed springs, which provide vital habitat and are key to local ecosystems. Over many years, Riverkeeper and our partners […]

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More than 2.5 years after Riverkeeper first called for the Stewart Air National Guard Base to “immediately and permanently” stop polluted discharges, the Department of Defense has committed to treat the water flowing off the base that has contaminated the City of Newburgh’s Washington Lake Reservoir, as well as fish in Silver Stream and Moodna Creek. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced the commitment, and Riverkeeper is grateful to him, and to the elected leaders and agency officials at the local, state and federal levels who have been part of the chorus […]

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Despite being formed over a year ago, and with an October 2 deadline looming, the state’s Drinking Water Quality Council has yet to make any recommendations for Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for toxic chemicals like PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane in drinking water.

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