Hudson Valley News Network: Scenic Hudson has asked U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to terminate immediately the rulemaking process to establish 43 berths for commercial vessels at 10 new sites along the Hudson River. Secretary Johnson has the authority to halt the process because he oversees the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), which is considering the proposal.

In a letter to Secretary Johnson, Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan calls the plan “a pathway to potential disaster—for public health and safety, the environment and business interests.” He notes that the maritime industry’s request for the new anchorages is not based on enhancing navigational safety—the sole reason for establishing them—but to create a “2,400-acre floating industrial storage area for massive barges loaded with millions of gallons of explosive, health threatening chemicals.”

The anchorages will facilitate increased shipments of crude oil from the Port of Albany to refineries on the East Coast and overseas now that the federal ban on its exportation has been lifted.“My request is that you terminate the process…before the transfer of power to a new administration,” the letter states. Read more.