View as webpage
Riverkeeper News...
RvK Takes Enforcement Action on Gowanus Canal
RvK Releases Volume 4 of Gas Drilling Reporter
City of Troy Warned to Halt Illegal Discharge
Newtown Creek Recycler Responds to RvK Warning
Enforcement Collaboration Stops Tire Dumping on the Harlem River
Cruise Night to Benefit Riverkeeper Oct. 3rd
Membership Makes the Movement!
Help RvK Spread the Word with Social Media!
| Riverkeeper Sites:
September 26
Hudson River Day
At the Croton Yacht Club
View our calendar
[Back to Top]
[Back to Top]
|
 RvK Takes Enforcement Action on Gowanus Canal
On September 16, 2009 Riverkeeper announced the beginning of an enforcement campaign targeted at environmental law breakers on the highly polluted Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York. In the first wave of enforcement actions targeted at Canal polluters, Riverkeeper filed Notices of Intent to Sue against:
- 6th Street Iron and Metal, a scrap yard, for dumping metal and debris into the Canal.
- Ferrara Brothers Building Materials Corp, a cement plant discharging liquid cement and stone into the Canal.
- 107 Sixth Street LLC and 36-2nd-J Corp., for operating an open dump and filling the Canal from a parking lot on their property.
- Riverkeeper also issued a warning letter to the NYC Department of Transportation after documenting a turbid plume of water coming from a stone barge at the DOT Asphalt Plant on Gowanus Bay.
These enforcement actions allege violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Learn More
[Back to Top]
 RvK Releases Volume 4 of Gas Drilling Reporter
Riverkeeper has released the fourth volume of its Industrial Gas Drilling Reporter. The Reporters are designed to raise public awareness about industrial gas drilling in New York State.
Volume 4 compiles many stories of the environmental and public health impacts of gas drilling from across the country, provides updates on legislation and the critically important environmental and regulatory review process underway in New York State, and includes a new “Take Action” section to help concerned citizens get involved.
Updates in Vol. 4 include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s results of a recent investigation in Wyoming in which elevated levels of arsenic, methane and other toxic chemicals were found in drinking water wells near industrial gas drilling sites. Notably, EPA confirmed the presence of 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE), a known constituent in fluids used in industrial gas drilling activity. According to researchers, this chemical causes the breakdown of red blood cells, and can damage the kidneys, liver, and bone marrow. EPA’s investigation concluded that many activities involving hydraulic fracturing “have the potential to create cross-contamination of aquifers.”
Photo: Well Water - Used by permission of Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens and Powder River Basin Resource Council (http://www.powderriverbasin.org/).
Learn More
[Back to Top]
 City of Troy Warned to Halt Illegal Discharge
On August 25, 2009, while conducting a routine patrol of the Hudson River and conducting water quality sampling near Troy, NY, Riverkeeper observed a gray discharge with a strong sewage odor coming from a combined sewer overflow (CSO) pipe located between the Green Island and Congress Street Bridges in Troy. Water quality tests conducted by Riverkeeper revealed extremely high levels of Enterococcus, an indicator of raw sewage. Overflows from combined sewer and storm water systems are permitted to occur during wet weather so that the system does not back up due to large volumes of storm water and sewage. On this date, however, there had been no rain locally in more than 24 hours. These discharges are illegal in dry weather under the Clean Water Act.
Learn More
[Back to Top]
 Newtown Creek Recycler Responds to Rvk Warning
On August 20, 2009, while conducting a routine patrol of Newtown Creek and conducting water quality sampling, Riverkeeper observed shredded glass, plastic, and other debris falling into the creek from a barge located in front of Sims Metal Management in Long Island City. Riverkeeper alerted the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and issued a warning letter to Sims pointing out that such discharges are illegal under the federal Clean Water Act. While not a formal “notice of intent to sue,” this letter informed Sims that this type of activity is unacceptable and that Riverkeeper will continue to monitor the facility during patrols to ensure that a future barge spillage does not occur.
Sims contacted Riverkeeper immediately and pledged to make operational changes to ensure that this issue would not be repeated. Riverkeeper has since received photographs from Sims showing new barges that will contain the shredded glass that is being loaded and transported.
Learn More
[Back to Top]
 Enforcement Collaboration Stops Tire Dumping on the Harlem River
Riverkeeper has received numerous reports over the past year of large numbers of tires floating in the Harlem River near Spuyten Duyvil. During a patrol in June, the Riverkeeper boat captain observed floating tires and discovered a large tire dump containing what appeared to be several hundred tires behind a self storage facility on the Harlem River.
Riverkeeper reported the tire dump to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Division of Law Enforcement, which already had a criminal complaint pending against the site for tire dumping reported several months earlier. On August 15, the DEC police officer assigned to the case inspected the site to confirm that it had been cleaned up and all tires had been contained for proper disposal.
Riverkeeper’s collaboration with DEC on this case is the result of a new enforcement partnership formed in spring 2009. This case demonstrates the importance and effectiveness of Riverkeeper’s enforcement program, which comprises the Riverkeeper patrol boat, the concerned citizens who report polluters to our hotline, and Riverkeeper’s new partnership with the DEC.
Learn More
[Back to Top]
 Cruise Night to Benefit Riverkeeper Oct. 3rd
Join Riverkeeper members and supporters on Saturday, October 3rd from 8pm-12am as we cruise the Hudson on the "Fire on the Water" Brazilian style fall cruise! Mix and mingle, sip on a cocktail, dine on a delicious buffet, and dance the night away to Brazilian beats with fellow Riverkeeper supporters and other eco-minded New Yorkers while cruising on board the bio-fueled Queen of Hearts. Boat will leave from Pier 40 at West Houston Street and the West Side Highway.
Ticket price of $50 includes:
- A Riverkeeper membership to keep pollution out of the Hudson and protect the drinking water supply for millions of New York City and Hudson Valley residents!
- A three-hour cruise around southern Manhattan
- One drink ticket
- One ticket for a Brazilian buffet
More Information
Purchase Tickets
[Back to Top]
Membership Makes the Movement!
Membership Makes the Movement! This year, Riverkeeper is starting a multi-year campaign to increase our active membership from 5,300 to 10,000 members. Our membership's response to our call to action in the past months has been gratifying and served to fortify our commitment to the movement. With the enthusiastic support of our Board of Directors, who have raised $50,000 to match membership giving, we are bringing renewed focus and energy to our membership campaign for the coming year and beyond. The campaign is crucial to our continued growth and will help us build a diverse base of support to sustain our work. View highlights of this campaign.
Become a Member
[Back to Top]
 Help Riverkeeper Spread the Word with Social Media!!
Over the last year we’ve been broadening our outreach by utilizing social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and others. The success of our outreach is building but we need your help. Keeping up with all social networks that are available today can be an overwhelming endeavor for our staff. YOU can help by going to the Riverkeeper ‘News and Events’ section of our website and posting what interests you to your network of friends and family.
Look for the ‘Share This’ button under any news or event article and spread the word through the network of your choice.
You can also follow us on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, or Twitter to keep up to date on what we’re doing and how you can get involved.
Spread the Word!
[Back to Top]
| |
