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September 2017
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boatingonthehudson.com
“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick….”
Chubby Checker’s hit of the early
1960s may well describe the dance
being conducted with the Hudson’s
future hanging in the balance, but
we may all end up in“limbo” for
generations to come!
A bit of a limbo dance seemingly has developed regarding
the current state of environmental cleanliness of the Hudson
River, as various State and Federal agencies grapple for the
solution to a problem that originated while Grandma was still
alive, namely the cleanup of manufacturing deposits which
were legally dumped into the river from upstate factories but
the aftereffects of which have curtailed economic development
along the upper River since the late 1970s.
Without getting into the details of the various factions and the
government decrees that have gotten us to this point (follow
the hyperlinks to read more about the positions of the EPA and
various groups involved), suffice it to say that this “dance” has
put us in a “limbo” of sorts, to use a different definition of the
word. Simply put, we are stuck between the political answer
and the scientific answer of whether the Hudson River is “clean”.
If its clean, then we should be able to fully utilize it for both
A white perch.
Photo courtesy of
Marylandbiodiversity.com
recreational and commercial use. Build docks, bulkheads, boat
and kayak launches, and even 21st Century environmentally-
sustainable factories along its shores. If its not clean, then steps
should be underway to make it sufficiently clean as soon as
possible so the ideas above can be implemented. But where
the EPA seems to have settled is on a “clean enough” standard,
using measured levels of PCBs in various fish such as the
ubiquitous white perch and a concept of “attenuation” that will
help straighten the water out in about 50 years. 50 years??????
The problem with “clean enough” is that it really isn’t clean
enough to do anything meaningful at all, except check off a
few boxes on some bureaucrats’ to-do lists. Can the Village
of Schuylerville clean out the storm drains adjacent to the
waterfront ballfields at Fort Hardy Park so that potentially-
contaminated water doesn’t keep backing up onto them? Can
the main navigational channel be dredged to and maintained
at the Constitutionally-mandated 12 feet versus the current
controlling depth of about 9? Can a waterfront terminal be
created in Halfmoon to support the proposed Area 3 project
and bring jobs and major investment to the area?
To be fair, the representatives of the EPA are just doing their job
and adhering to scientific principles and the letter of agreements
made at the start of the PCB dredging project to measure
their success. At a July 19 hearing at the Saratoga Hilton, EPA
representatives presented evidence to support their assertion
that measured results indicate the desired improvements
have largely been achieved. Groups like Scenic Hudson and
Riverkeeper have evidence to the contrary and have been very
vocal about it. For example Althea Mullarkey of Scenic Hudson
said, “the data does not support the claim that this remedy will