Environmental Groups Support Citizen Action, Call for Desalination Plant to Have Its Day in Court
June 21, 2012
Riverkeeper Team
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Riverkeeper
Scenic Hudson
Tina Posterli, Riverkeeper, 914 478 4501, Ext. 239; tposterli@riverkeeper.org
Jay Burgess, Scenic Hudson, 845 473 4440, Ext. 222; jburgess@scenichudson.org
June 21, 2012
HAVERSTRAW, ROCKLAND COUNTY—The Hudson Valley’s leading environmental organizations formally requested that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hold a hearing to consider an industrial water desalination facility proposed by United Water for Haverstraw, Rockland County following advocacy by thousands of residents. The environmental organizations are urging DEC to consider serious issues related to the environment and endangered species, public health and drinking water safety, energy uses and consumer costs as well as the need to consider alternatives including the creation of a county water conservation plan.
Clearwater, Riverkeeper and Scenic Hudson sent a letter to DEC Commissioner Joe Martens officially requesting the hearing to be held by a DEC administrative law judge. The groups characterized the one public hearing held in Haverstraw last March as not providing adequate opportunity for public input for the unprecedented scale of the proposed plant. The environmental groups also said that the number of serious issues that remain unresolved also highlighted the need for a more thorough review. In making their request, the groups cited state law and public rights that clearly established the appropriateness of the special hearing.
Highlighting some chief problems with the proposed water desalination industrial facility:
- Haverstraw Bay, designated by the state as the most highly valued Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat, would be damaged by the plant’s daily water withdrawals of up to 10 million gallons and discharges of high-salinity water back into the bay.
- The water intakes would be located just 3.5 miles downstream of Indian Point nuclear power plant and the technology employed by the plant would not remove all radioactive material that may be present in the water.
- By providing a virtually unlimited water supply, the proposed project would perpetuate sprawling development patterns and unsustainable site designs that already create impervious surfaces and intensive water demands.
- The hugely energy-intensive nature of the proposed facility would impact a region already dealing with intense energy demands and pricing. In addition, the large energy use would increase greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and create adverse impacts on the environment and property
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