New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation held public hearings Wednesday on its denial of a key permit for Competitive Power Ventures’ Valley Energy Center in Orange County. The natural gas plant’s operators are contesting the DEC’s decision.

State and federal agencies met with the residents of Hoosick Falls Tuesday night, where an investigation into the presence of toxic chemicals in local water supplies continues. Officials hope to foster better communication between the people and government.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced actions including a fine against the operator of a landfill in the City of Rensselaer.

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation has denied a key permit for a natural gas power plant in Orange County. The plant had been gearing up for full operations this month.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is asking the public to weigh in on a proposal to establish day permits to access a popular swimming hole in the Catskills. 

Three elected officials joined an environmental group Monday in calling on the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation to revoke or suspend an essential permit for a natural gas power plant in Orange County. At the same time, they voiced concern about the health and safety of area residents during the testing phase of the plant.

New York state Department of Environmental Conservation and Health Department officials were in Newburgh Monday night to provide an update on the city’s new carbon filtration system to filter PFOS contamination from the city’s drinking water. Many residents voiced concern about switching to the state-funded system. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne reports the date for testing the system has been pushed back.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it will work with the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate sediment samples from the upper Hudson River. EPA is studying the river and reviewing public input before deciding whether General Electric’s PCB cleanup is complete.

The Adirondack Park Agency has approved the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation’s plan to redevelop the former Frontier Town site in North Hudson.

Officials say the City of Newburgh should be able to connect its main drinking water source to a new, state-funded carbon filtration system in February. That source is Washington Lake, where PFOS was found in 2016. The city now draws water from the Catskill Aqueduct. State environmental and health officials delivered an update during a Newburgh City Council meeting Monday night.

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation released its plan for redevelopment of the former Frontier Town site in North Hudson earlier this month and held public information sessions on Monday.

A New York environmental group is calling for increased water infrastructure and staff funding at the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. The call comes after the group updated a report analyzing data on reported sewage overflows.

New York state health and environmental officials are updating residents on private well testing in Orange County near Stewart Airport and Stewart Air National Guard base. A number of wells have been tested for PFOA and PFOS with none exceeding federal safety guidelines. Still, some residents are concerned and say more needs to be done.

New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney was in Newburgh Monday to announce he is taking legislative action to ensure the Department of Defense pays for the remediation of PFOS contamination at Stewart Air National Guard Base. Also there was New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, who divulged the results of a PFOS fish study in the area.

Improvements have been completed at a New York state forest in Columbia County.

About a month ago I penned a commentary about the single fish in my pond – a grass carp. I suggested that I probably ought to give him a name because, after a number of years swimming around in solitude and growing to the approximate size of an ocean-going tuna, he’d assumed the status of a family pet.

As officials continue grappling with the PFOS water contamination issue in Newburgh, thoughts are turning to the distant future — to creating a watershed model replicable throughout New York.

New York state officials were in Newburgh this week to update the community on PFOS contamination and the blood testing program. It was the sixth community meeting in the city since PFOS contamination in Newburgh’s main drinking water source was discovered in May 2016.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation this summer is expanding its stewardship partnership aimed at preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species in the Adirondacks.

About two dozen people filled the meeting room in the North Elba Town Hall in Lake Placid Thursday evening to hear about and ask questions about the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s plan for an Adirondack rail-trail plan.

A state senator from the Hudson Valley has introduced a bill that would give New York greater authority to identify and protect wetland areas. He says the legislation is crucial given the apparently reduced role of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and potential evisceration of some of the nation’s water protection rules.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and other officials are calling on the Air Force to expand its PFOS cleanup plan for Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh. They want contaminated waterways outside the base to be included.

New York state environmental and health officials held a public meeting Monday night in Washingtonville in Orange County. They delivered updates on well testing in an area touched by the PFOS contamination believed to be a result of firefighting foam used at the Stewart Air National Guard base and airport.

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health have announced the results of sampling from certain drinking water systems.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has a proposal to improve access to a hiking destination in the Catskills. There is a public meeting on the plan Tuesday night in Woodstock.

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation has issued an emergency regulation concerning fishing in the upper Esopus Creek.

New York state and local officials are co-sponsoring a forum Thursday evening on harmful algae blooms in the Walkill River. The event is aimed at heightening public awareness about a growing problem that spans the river in two counties.

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation will continue oversight of the cleanup of Friday’s oil spill at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester County. The governor and DEC commissioner have visited the plant, and a plant spokesman says cleanup likely will take a few days.

The formal announcement of a blood testing program in Newburgh garnered the most attention during a public meeting Monday concerning an update on the PFOS water contamination issue. However, there were a few developments on the environmental side.

WAMC News has learned that New York state has declared Stewart Air National Guard Base in Orange County a Superfund site. The classification comes some three months after the public learned of PFOS contamination in the main source of drinking water for Newburgh. 

The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation’s declaration comes after some three months of investigations. Martin Brand is DEC acting Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Remediation and Materials.