Poughkeepsie Journal: A federal law banning new anchorages for barges traveling the Hudson River was signed by President Donald Trump.
The signing comes after a three-year battle waged by environmental groups and federal lawmakers from the Hudson Valley highlighting the potential for an oil or gas spill contaminating a waterway that provides drinking water to 100,000.
“For far too long, big corporations have polluted and put at risk our precious river in pursuit of profits,” said Rep. Pat Ryan, a Hudson Valley Democrat. “But not anymore. The Hudson is more than a river — it’s the lifeblood and the heartbeat of our community.”
Ryan joined with his House colleague, Republican Mike Lawler, in pressing for the law after the U.S. Coast Guard in 2023 issued a marine bulletin some feared would clear the way for the addition of anchorages north of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
Where are the anchorages on Hudson River?
Currently, there are seven — three in New York City, three in Yonkers and one west of Hyde Park — where barges carrying oil, gas, asphalt and other materials can park while they make their way along the river.
The new law, tucked into a defense funding bill, bans the addition of anchorages between Yonkers and Kingston.
Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson and officials from seven towns along the Hudson urged federal and state officials to seek the ban, citing, among other things, a 2005 spill near New Hamburg when a barge carrying 3.1 million gallons of gasoline ruptured.
Read more: Law banning new Hudson River barge anchorages signed by Trump