Stop Polluters - Press Releases

OSSINING, N.Y. — Riverkeeper is extremely troubled that the NRC has announced its imminent approval for the sale of the Indian Point Energy Center to Holtec International without addressing its contention, and the numerous serious concerns raised by local, state, and other interested groups. This approval puts the public at risk by transferring responsibility for Indian Point’s decommissioning to a company that lacks integrity, experience, and financial stability. Since the NRC has once again neglected its responsibility to properly scrutinize Holtec’s qualifications, Riverkeeper calls upon New York State to step in to […]

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WASHINGTON— Conservation groups today filed a notice of intent to sue the Trump administration over the Environmental Protection Agency’s suspension of monitoring and reporting requirements for major pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows confirmation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service that the EPA failed to contact the wildlife agencies to discuss how the policy will comply with the Endangered Species Act. The EPA’s policy, set forth in a March 26 memorandum, suspends monitoring, reporting and enforcement under several key environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, Clean […]

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Environmental groups with Beyond Indian Point campaign mark the shutdown and highlight how renewable energy and efficiency are replacing Indian Point One of Indian Point’s reactors is permanently shutting down today, with the second to follow next year. Today’s Indian Point reactor shutdown is an historic moment. Environmental and citizen groups have long fought to shut down Indian Point given the dangers it poses to the public and the lack of solutions for highly radioactive nuclear waste. As Indian Point shuts down, environmental groups – together as part of the […]

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OSSINING, N.Y. — Yesterday, Governor Cuomo directed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to ban the aerial spraying of the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos, ban all use except apple tree trunk application by 2020 and ban all use by 2021. The Governor also vetoed legislation sponsored by Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assembly Member Steve Englebright that would have also phased out the pesticide. Banning this toxic pesticide is important for protecting human health and life found in our rivers, lakes and oceans. The National Marine Fisheries Service in 2017 […]

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OSSINING, N.Y. — On Friday, Entergy, the operator of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, and Holtec International, a New Jersey-based firm with a scandalous corporate past, asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve a transfer of the plant’s license and its $2 billion decommissioning trust fund to Holtec. Holtec’s recent history makes it the wrong choice to take on the decommissioning of Indian Point. The company was caught bribing workers at the Tennessee Valley Authority, was suspended from contracting with TVA, and then lied about its corporate past to obtain tax breaks from […]

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Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay released this statement today: Riverkeeper has major concerns about Tuesday’s announcement that Entergy will sell the Indian Point reactors to Holtec for decommissioning.  Both Holtec and its intended partner, SNC-Lavalin, have problematic operating histories, including a bribery scandal in Canada that threatens to topple the Trudeau government. This proposed license transfer therefore needs careful scrutiny by New York State, and, ideally, by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The stated goal of decommissioning more rapidly than the 60 years allowed by the federal government is welcome, but that […]

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Scenic Hudson and Riverkeeper slam decision that makes it much harder to compel GE to continue cleanup   Groups thank Gov. Cuomo for his leadership and pledge support for his legal challenge of Certificate of Completion   HUDSON VALLEY—Scenic Hudson and Riverkeeper strongly condemn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—for issuing General Electric a Certificate of Completion for the Hudson River PCB cleanup while simultaneously admitting that the Superfund project has not achieved its mandated goal to be “protective of human health and the environment.” The EPA has concluded its […]

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Gov. Cuomo announced the proposals as part of his 2019 executive budget ALBANY, NY — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the inclusion of a ban on single-use plastic bags and an expansion of the state’s Bottle Bill  to make most non-alcoholic drink containers eligible for the state’s 5-cent redemption. The Sunday announcement came in a press release and will be included in Gov. Cuomo’s executive budget proposal. In a joint statement regarding the announcement, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Riverkeeper said: “This is […]

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Governor Andrew Cuomo today released a study by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation confirming that General Electric’s cleanup of PCB contamination in the upper Hudson River is incomplete and not protective of public health and the environment. Click here to read the study. Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay said: “DEC’s latest study is yet another brick in the wall showing that the Hudson River PCBs cleanup has been woefully less effective than we were promised. General Electric’s cleanup of the toxic PCBs it dumped in the river must […]

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