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LATEST NEWS
LWRP School Presentation and CommentsThird session well attended and well receivedThe LWRP 10-person Task Force, consisting of both FoH members and non-member residents of Hudson, conducted the research and created the presentation. Several members of the Task Force jointly conducted the meeting, walking through a Powerpoint presentation of major findings and recommendations and accessing the Internet in real time to provide additional information as questions and issues arose. Click here to view a PDF of the Task Force presentation. One of the more compelling and inspiring pieces was an online video from NOAA about the successful restoration of a salt water marsh, Gooseneck Cove in Rhode Island, which was accomplished through the collaboration of local citizens, scientists and local and federal government agencies. In addition to a review of the LWRP and DGEIS the Task Force presented its key findings and recommendations for actions that are needed in order to make these documents acceptable. These findings cover environmental and ecological issues in the treatment of the South Bay and wetlands, transportation and safety issues within the City of Hudson and the disturbing lack of public participation and consensus building in process by which the documents were created. The Hudson Common Council Public Comment Period ends on Monday March 15 at 5:30 PM. The Council will then send the documents to the NYS Department of State DOS) for final approval. Friends of Hudson is preparing formal comments that will be submitted in addition to the Task Force's. Click here to read earlier comments presented to the Common Council on January 20, 2010 by Christopher Reed, FoH board president. The LWRP Task Force presented the following list of key issues for the public to comment upon both to the Common Council and the DOS. WETLANDS The South Bay is a designated Class I wetland. A post-Civil War era railroad right-of-way through the South Bay is being proposed as the preferred site for an aggregate company’s new road. How these facts meet the test of consistency with state wetland policy is a central issue. BROAD STREET CROSSING AND FERRY STREET BRIDGE The City of Hudson owns no access and cannot regulate public or commercial means to the core riverfront area.
TRANSPORTATION There is only one workable alternative to a new, private trucking route that bisects the wetland. The publicly accessible "South Bay Public Road" appears nowhere in either of the current draft documents. This is an inconsistency.
ZONING The proposed zoning amendments should be ratified immediately, irrespective of the fate of the LWRP. HARBOR MANAGEMENT Competing water uses in Hudson's under-regulated harbor need a harbor management plan. PUBLIC CONSENSUS Sub-committees are the most direct approach to resolving conflicts. Consensus follows. Members of the public are urged to express their concerns in writing, by 5:30 PM on Monday March 15 to:
Kevin Millington NYS Department of State Office of Coastal Resources 99 Washington Ave., Suite 1010 Albany, NY 12231-0001
City of Hudson Common Council 520 Warren St. Hudson, NY 12534 LWRP School; Public Comments due by March 15Hudson LWRP/DGEIS Information SessionPresentation and Discussion Third in a series during the City of Hudson's Public Comment Period Saturday, March 6, 2010; 10 am-Noon Space 360 360 Warren Street Hudson Conducted by the LWRP Task Force, a Friends of Hudson-initiated project For further information contact: Christopher Reed, chr@capital.net, 672-7743 Patrick Doyle, jpatrickdoyle@earthlink.net, 965-8665 The City of Hudson Comment Period ends Monday, March 15, 2010 at 5 pm. Comments should be addressed to both: City of Hudson Common Council 520 Warren Street Hudson NY 12534 Division of Coastal Resources NYS Department of State 99 Washington Avenue, Suite 1010 Albany NY 12231-0001 The Draft documents can be found on the City of Hudson website: DRAFT LWRP (.pdf) DRAFT DGEIS (.pdf) Public Meeting in Stuyvesant 11/20 to Focus on LafargeDEC Has Issued Draft Title V Air Permit; First Ever Cap on Mercury Emissions; 30-Day Public Comment Period Ends December 4, 2009 Concerned groups question 176 pound mercury limit, call for extension of the Comment Period; Public Meeting will discuss this permit and Dr. Ward Stone's ongoing environmental testing PUBLIC MEETING Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7 PM Stuyvesant Town Hall 5 Sunset Drive Stuyvesant, NY 12173 Among other new conditions the Draft includes a cap on mercury emissions for the first time since the Ravena plant began operating almost 48 years ago. The proposed cap is 176 pounds per year which is greater than the amount of mercury emissions reported by Lafarge after mercury emissions testing in late 2008. (Lafarge Mercury Report, December 2008). Friends of Hudson's experts are currently reviewing the Draft with particular attention to the conditions regarding mercury and other heavy metals and dioxins and furans, proposed testing, monitoring and reporting procedures and certain timetables included for monitoring and compliance. It is critical that this document receive the highest possible independent scrutiny, especially given recently surfaced concerns about the public health impacts of Lafarge's emissions in the host community and communities downwind in Columbia and Rensselaer counties. Therefore FoH and CASE (Community Advocates for Safe Emissions) are co-sponsoring a Public Meeting at the Stuyvesant Town Hall to provide information and engage the public in a discussion of the Draft and other relevant issues. At this meeting Susan Falzon will be joined by FoH attorney Jeff Baker to discuss the Draft permit, our preliminary findings and the opportunities for public involvement in this review and the anticipated environmental review (DEIS) for Lafarge's proposed modernization. In addition Dr. Ward Stone will speak about the environmental testing for heavy metals that he has been conducting on behalf of CASE in Albany, Rensselaer and Columbia counties and plans for further testing. CASE co-founders Elyse Griffin and Elyse Kunz will introduce us to CASE's mission and their current activities. The thirty-day comment period will not provide enough time for our independent experts to review, analyze and verify the data and the proposed permit conditions. It will not provide enough time for officials or the public in affected municipalities to understand the Draft and be able to comment on it. Therefore we are calling on DEC to extend the period an additional 60 days and need the public to weigh in at the DEC in support of this request for extension. To request an extension contact: Ms. Sarah Evans NYS DEC Region 4 Headquarters 1130 North Westcott Road Schenectady NY 12306 cc: Mr. William Clarke NYS DEC Region 4 Headquarters 1130 North Westcott Road Schenectady NY 12306 Or send an e-mail to: r4dep@gw.dec.state.ny.us Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7 PM Stuyvesant Town Hall 5 Sunset Drive Stuyvesant, NY 12173 HOME | ARCHIVES BOX 326 HUDSON NY 12534 (518) 822-0334 TEL  |