Environmentalists Want Faster Processing for Renewable Projects
BY NICK REISMAN
PUBLISHED 6:40 AM ET APR. 23, 2019A coalition of environmental groups this week released a letter to the Public Service Commission urging New York officials to hasten the siting process to build solar, wind, and other renewable energy projects around the state.
“The climate challenges we face demand immediate action,” the groups wrote in the letter. “New York’s clean energy goals are laudable, but if the regulatory process is too lengthy and arduous, it will be difficult if not impossible to meet them.”
Signing on to the letter are groups that represent a range of environmental interests around the state, including Audubon New York, Catskill Mountainkeeper, the New York League of Conservation Voters, among others.
ANOTHER VIEW: Tougher rules needed on ATVs in forest preserves
Posted Apr 13, 2019 at 8:00 AM
Leaders in Albany should heed a call from a coalition of conservation groups and enact a law to ban the private use of all-terrain vehicles in forest preserve lands. In short, they destroy precious public lands not only through noise and pollution but by tearing up trails, threatening public safety and otherwise infecting the natural environment by doing long-term damage to soil and wetlands and putting animal life in jeopardy.
Catskill Mountainkeeper says Trump is “stealing states’ rights" to protect clean water
Thursday, April 11, 2019
LIVINGSTON MANOR – President Trump signed an executive order while in Texas on Wednesday that the White House said rolls back regulations to the oil and gas industry.
Wes Gillingham, the associate director of Catskill Mountainkeeper headquartered in Livingston Manor, said the order “attempts to limit states’ abilities to block dirty and dangerous fossil fuel pipelines under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.”
Read moreState acquires 50 acres of land in Catskill
March 26, 2019
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos announced Friday that the state has acquired 50 acres of property in the town of Catskill in Greene County. The lands will become part of New York’s Forest Preserve. DEC acquired the property for $1 from Edward Maby. The property had been in the Maby/Mabie family since 1896, according to a media release.
“Forests are crucial to the future of our planet and one of our greatest natural treasures that we must preserve and protect,” Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said, in the release. “We are committed to enhancing the historical sites and recreational opportunities across the state for children and families. This addition to the Catskill Forest Preserve will continue to increase the tourism industry and strengthen the economy of the area.”
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Pushing the Climate and Community Protection Act
On February 12, the New York State Senate held its first ever hearing on climate change. That’s a rather astounding fact, given that climate change has been on the national agenda for at least four decades, and a growing number of people have considered it to be the top threat to humans for at least 10 years.
Through all that time, of course, corporations that benefit from the use of fossil fuels have been pumping millions of dollars into efforts to deny climate change. A report from Greenpeace (www.bit.ly/kochgreenpeace) found that Koch Family Foundations alone “have spent $127,013,955 directly financing 92 groups that have attacked climate change science and policy solutions from 1997–2017.”
OCCA director to lobby for watershed in D.C.
March 3, 2019
Leslie Orzetti, executive director of the Otsego County Conservation Association, will be part of a delegation to meet with New York members of Congress in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, according to a media release.
The delegation will meet to discuss maintaining programs to protect water quality in the New York portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed as part of Chesapeake Bay Lobby Day, organized by the Choose Clean Water Coalition.
Orzetti said it will be her first time attending the event.
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Letter: Catskill Mountainkeeper can help with home heating advice
February 5, 2019
In “Prepare for winter weather challenges,” Jan. 29, Michael Randall discussed frozen pipes and suggested adding insulation and leaving a tap open. I’d like to highlight the importance of improving building envelopes, which will not only keep pipes from freezing, but increase your home’s energy efficiency and decrease your energy bills.
Read moreCatskill Mountains advocates call for $15M to preserve region
Richard Moody Columbia-Greene Media
ARKVILLE — The Catskill Watershed Corporation, which oversees the sensitive underground water system beneath several Greene County mountaintop communities that feeds New York City reservoirs, is up for $500,000 in grants for shovel-ready access and stewardship projects across the Catskill Park.
Windham Town Supervisor Robert Pelham could not be reached for comment by presstime. Windham is the leading watershed town.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Takes the Lead for Clean Water
From the Organizations Working for the Complete Fracking Ban
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Takes the Lead for Clean Water
Governor calls for Ban on Fracking throughout the Delaware River Basin including a ban on Frack Wastewater Discharges
and Water Withdrawals for Fracking
Trenton, New Jersey – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced today that he will cast a vote as the Chairman of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) in support of a watershed-wide permanent ban on fracking and its associated activities, including a ban of wastewater storage, processing and discharges in the Basin, and a ban on water exports from the watershed to fuel fracking elsewhere. See Governor Murphy’s letter here: https://nj.gov/governor/news/docs/20190128_Letter-DRBCProposeRules-HVHF.pdf See the Governor’s Press Release here: https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562019/approved/20190130b.shtml
Catskills park groups call for additional funding in state budget
January 29, 2019
LIVINGSTON MANOR – Catskill Mountainkeeper and its allies at the Catskill Park Coalition are urging state leaders to place $15 million in the budget which is under review. The state fiscal year begins on April 1.
While there is money in the proposed spending plan for some components of preservation, more is needed, said Katherine Nadeau, Mountainkeeper deputy director.
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