MidHudsonNews.com: The U.S. Coast Guard may have suspended the Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment, an assessment of establishing more anchorages up and down the Hudson River.

Surrounded by local officials and environmental group representatives, Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18), said that’s good, as far is it goes, but, the Hudson Valley needs full participatory status in any group or ongoing discussions on best use of the river.

“My concern about the initial process was that we had the interest of the barge operators, which is to store product close to market, and the interest of the Coast Guard, which is to minimize their enforcement hassles when it comes to illegal anchoring. And yet, we didn’t have as a priority, the facts about safety and the facts about harm to the river and the potential threat to local communities.”  Read more.