Please take a moment to watch all 7 of these important YouTube videos. They were shot and edited by two concerned kayakers living in Albany County. The CAC values their efforts and contributions to help make Albany County (and the entire upper Hudson Valley) a better place for the next generation! CLICK ON THIS IMAGE TO GO TO THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL:
Who and why were these videos made?
“Two Viet Nam era granddads who feel the youngest generation has got it right, but as our generation was, are now being thoroughly ignored. Our YouTube narratives expand on our experience of scores of kayaking adventures on our area of the Hudson River. Those journeys have been distilled into the seven episodes on Hudson River Miles 130-135 YouTube videos. As Greta Thunberg and her young generation are saying over and over, as loudly as they can: the science tells the story ~ listen, believe, act. We provide some ideas and how to act locally while, frankly, we also believe all generations are skidding into Climate Collapse.”
SIGN OUR PETITION to convince NYS that we need an independent study of cumulative impacts!
PRESS CONFERENCE: POST PONED UNTIL SEPTEMBER
Today, there is a major waste management industrial complex expanding around the Port of Coeymans owned by Carver Laraway. Since 2006, this complex has tripled in size and the Port is now waiting for a permit to enlarge again. In total, the complex could soon occupy 600-1000 acres of land along the Hudson River, the Binnenkill, and Coeymans Creek.
What is New York State’s response? They treat this region like garbage, hiding behind narrow regulations to turn a blind eye to both current and future risks. Just when they should be protecting the health of our residents and environment, our State government is ready to sacrifice Coeymans and the Hudson River on a mountain of waste.
Before matters get worse, the Clean Air Coalition is calling for an independent review of the cumulative impact of this industrial development and its future waste management plans. We are asking Governor Hochul to insist that the DEC, the Army Corps, and the Department of State stop any permit approvals until this review has been done and independently verified.
There is a better future for the Hudson River and its Valley. This week, Congressman Paul Tonko, Scenic Hudson and Riverkeeper will speak out in support of the proposed New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act. This act would bring millions of dollars over five years to restore the Hudson River watershed. It will support the NY Parks Department’s development of the new Hudson Eagles Recreation Area, a novel 55-mile river park in the Hudson River from Kingston to Albany.
So why, with this future in our hands, is NY State encouraging a major waste processing complex on the Hudson at Coeymans? Why should this business be allowed to expand in our new river park? The Hudson and its watershed are still recovering from earlier industrial damage. They should not be exposed to yet more toxic activity.
The Coeymans waste management complex has been growing for almost twenty years, one permitted step at a time. Its expansion needs to stop. In 2008, the Port of Coeymans was handling 80,000 tons of scrap metal, bauxite, and salt. Local people immediately began to hear the crash of loading metals at all hours of day and night. In 2009, the Port got a DEC permit to take in construction and demolition debris, including restricted fill. Residents watched as that fill was used to expand the buildable area of the Coeymans Industrial Park created in 2013 over local opposition. A few weeks after the TCI facility in Colombia County exploded in 2012, the company was given a new home at the Port of Coeymans. That TCI explosion released an unknown amount of chemicals and a warning to residents to shelter in place, yet TCI began building a new facility in the Coeymans Industrial Park in 2014, upwind of the local primary school. In December 2017, the State of Connecticut was planning to ship one-third of its municipal waste to Coeymans for use as fuel at the Ravena LafargeHolcim Cement Plant on 9W. In 2018, Carver Laraway signed a contract with NY DEC to pick up old tires from around New York State, hoping to burn them in the Lafarge kiln. These are all pointers to the waste management industry these businesses want to build.
Although these incineration plans were temporarily stopped, LafargeHolcim is still planning to use waste as fuel, regardless of the emissions that could produce. TCI, meanwhile, has submitted a proposal to treble its capacity to process PCB-laden mineral oil in order to produce fuel. Nearby, CD Man, an ally of the Port of Coeymans, is asking for a permit to turn 70 acres along Route 144 into a major transfer station for C&D. There are even proposals to run a rail spur into this transfer station and the Coeymans Industrial Park. Is this wise? NY State should be pursuing a zero-waste policy, not encouraging an industrial complex like this one.
Since the 1990s, local laws have repeatedly stopped Coeymans from becoming a dumping ground. That changed in 2019 when George McHugh, legal counsel to the Port of Coeymans, was elected Coeymans Town Supervisor (salary $35,000). The following year, backed by a Town Board with numerous family and business links to the Port of Coeymans and its owner, Carver Laraway, they revised all the Town’s protective laws on solid waste, clean air, and industrial zoning. Each revision has encouraged the expansion of the riverfront waste management business.
Is this right? Do we want to see more garbage, more restricted fill, more tires and demolition debris right inside the new Hudson Eagles Recreation Area? Do we want waste of all kinds and toxicities to be processed at the Port of Coeymans, the Coeymans Industrial Park, the LafargeHolcim cement plant, and other sites in Coeymans?
No. This is not right and not wanted. That is why the Clean Air Coalition of Greater Ravena-Coeymans is asking Governor Hochul, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and New York’s Department of State to turn down all current applications to expand and not review any future permit applications until a comprehensive environmental review of the Port of Coeymans Complex and its waste management businesses have been completed and independently verified.
We can see the outlines of a better, cleaner future for the Hudson River and its residents. That future needs to be protected, not trashed.
New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) was signed into law in 2019 with the mission to empower every New Yorker to fight climate change at home, at work, and in their communities. One of its main goals is to identify climate injustices happening in low-income, disadvantaged or vulnerable communities.
Is Ravena one of those communities? Given the data compiled by the Climate Justice Working Group, a think tank of the best and brightest, we at the CAC believe there is no doubt that it is.
Data easily found on the NYS Disadvantaged Communities Map shows that our environmental burden here in the village of Ravena is higher than 94% of those census areas tracked statewide.
Presumably, this is because of the ever-expanding industrial activities taking place on routes 144 and 9W between Lafarge and the Port. The risks associated with that burden include a higher incidence of asthma, COPD, heart attacks, premature deaths, lower birth weights, and disabilities. The map goes on to cite the reasons why:
Diesel trucks in the village pose an 81% higher risk to our health,
Active landfills in the village pose a 48% higher risk, and
Industrial Manufacturing/Mining activities in the village pose a whopping 96% higher risk.
With so many stark warnings on our horizon, how could the DEC possibly green-light the first FEIS for the POWI project last week? Note that the DEC has NOT yet granted the permit so it’s still not too late to halt the expansion.
Admittedly, the need to switch from fossil fuels to wind energy is an important solution to the climate change crisis but if doing so jeopardizes the air, water, and soil quality along the Hudson, as the POWI project would do, it’s a “one step forward, two steps backward” strategy. We need a historic transition to cleaner, greener energy but not at the expense of our health or that of the community we live in.
Let’s slow down and reexamine the impact that more traffic, more dredging, and more degradation of land and habitats will mean to our town before we let the POWI project go forth.
Please join us as we raise these issues this summer by joining our email list. Stay up-to-date and active on our steering committee with bi-monthly ZOOM meetings. Meetings take place every other Tuesday for one hour starting at 7:30p.
Illustrations provided by the climate.ny.gov webpage:
THE NYS LEGISLATIVE SESSION ENDS ON JUNE 2. HERE ARE THE BILLS THE CAC SUPPORTS. PLEASE HELP US GET THE WORD OUT HOW IMPORTANT THESE BILLS ARE FOR CLEAN AIR:
STOP THE EXPANSION OF THE PORT! The Clean Air Coalition has been submitting comments to the DEC and the Army Corps of Engineers on the proposed expansion of the Port of Coeymans. This expansion is being justified as a wind power project, but we believe it is a ‘dual use’ investment that will also expand waste processing along the Hudson River and Route 144 in Coeymans. This could include the incineration of waste at the LafargeHolcim cement plant in Ravena, which would have serious consequences for regional air quality. Let us know how you feel! Provide feedback & comments on this blog.
SUPPORT CUMULATIVE IMPACT BILLS! NYRenews alerted us to a bill recently passed in New York’s Assembly and Senate. The bill seeks to ensure that “each community in the state should equitably share the responsibilities, burdens, and benefits of managing and solving the state’s environmental problems and the facilities necessary to accomplish such ends.”
The law wants to ensure that new projects do not increase the environmental burden on disadvantaged communities. Greater Ravena-Coeymans needs this bill given the rapid expansion of dirty industries along the Hudson River.
Here is NYRenews’ sign-on letter asking Gov. Hochul to sign the bill. Please sign on behalf of any organization you represent. —
BEYOND PLASTICS – SUPPORT FOR EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY
Beyond Plastics, led by Judith Enck, is supporting two bills sponsored by Assemblymember Steve Englebright. These bills will reduce plastic waste from bottles and plastic packaging by shifting responsibility to the companies that create the waste.
The Clean Air Coalition of Greater Ravena-Coeymans fully supports these bills as the toxic emissions from burning waste plastics in cement kilns or incinerators is a major concern.
The theme of this year’s Earth Day celebration is “Invest in Our Planet.”
As the world marks Earth Day 2022 today there are several local organizations have put out fresh appeals to create awareness about the significance of the day and ways to protect the environment. Earth Day is celebrated every year to raise awareness on issues, like pollution, deforestation, and global warming.
Many campaigns and events on this day have been planned to motivate people to find solutions to issues surrounding the climate. As we seek out businesses to shift to a greener, cleaner, and sustainable future let’s highlight the need to save the planet and leave it in a better shape for the future generations.
Here are 3 small local actions you can take this week to invest in decarbonizing our economy this month:
1. COMMENT ON LEGACY PROJECTS
One of the most ambitious pieces of legislation in New York is called the Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). This bill was signed into law on July 18, 2019, to address climate change and reach net zero emissions in NY State. The Public Comment period opened on January 1, 2022, and continues for 120-days or until the end of this month. Write and comment on Chapter 19: Land Use to stop industries from deforestation. Trees are vital for oxygen and help absorb greenhouse gases. Cutting trees result in loss of habitat for animal species and harms ecosystems.
2. LEARNABOUTCOMPOSTING & REGENERATIVE AG
Saturday, April 23 at 11am: Super-charge your garden, save money and help the planet – all in your backyard. Visit the RCS Library for their “Turn Your Spoil into Soil” in-person event. Regenerative agriculture is a farming principle that improves soil health, fertilizer use, and water management. Soul Fire Farm near Grafton is the place to see it in action on a farm that features Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color land stewards.
3. RALLY FOR CLEAN AIR
Make some noise and inspire others to shut down Norlite. After 30 years of violations and fines and now operating with an expired permit, it’s time to say NO to business as usual. Put an end to the toxic chemical insanity by attending a rally at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday, April 30th.
