Riverkeeper
Formation1966 (Hudson River Fishermen's Association)
HeadquartersOssining, New York
Hudson Riverkeeper
Tracy Brown[1]
Websiteriverkeeper.org

Riverkeeper is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as the watersheds that provide New York City with its drinking water. It started out as the Hudson River Fisherman's Association (HRFA) in 1966. In 1986, the group officially changed its name to Riverkeeper, making it the first "keeper" group to be founded. In 1999, the Waterkeeper Alliance was created as an umbrella organization to unite and support "keeper" organizations.

The organization has lobbied against nuclear power and hydropower.[2][3]

History

Abandoned industrial facilities on the Hudson River in 1973 (photograph by Chester Higgins Jr.)

The Hudson Valley has long been considered the birthplace of the modern American environmental movement. In the 1960s, a small group of scientists, fishermen, and concerned citizens led by Robert H. Boyle, author of The Hudson River, A Natural and Unnatural History and a senior writer[4] at Sports Illustrated, were determined to reverse the decline of the then-polluted Hudson River by confronting the polluters through advocacy and citizen law enforcement. Eventually, Riverkeeper became a powerhouse that has played a leading role in protecting the Hudson and the New York City watershed.[5]

Along Scenic Hudson and other groups, Boyle was at the forefront of the fight against a Con Edison power plant proposal that would have destroyed Storm King mountain, by the Hudson, warning that water-intake equipment would kill small fish. In so doing, he opened up the courts to environmentalists for the first time in history, establishing the principle that citizens can sue corporations on the basis of potential harm to aesthetic, recreational, or conservational values as well as tangible economic injury.[5][6]

In 1983, HRFA named John Cronin the nation’s first Riverkeeeper.[7] His tenure began with a landmark victory against the Exxon Company which he caught sending oil tankers to rinse their holds in the Hudson, and pirate fresh river water for the company’s Lago refinery in Aruba.[8] “We pulled right up to the tankers and took samples. The ships were 700 feet long and high off the water; our boat was 25 feet. Samples of what was coming out of the tankers showed the presence of petrochemicals, such as ethyl benzene and toluene. Some of the ships were anchored just 1,500 feet from the drinking water intake of Port Ewen,” said Cronin to The New York Times. His proof was so thorough that Exxon had little choice but to settle, paying $2 million to New York State.[8]

In 2000, eight of the 22 members of Riverkeeper's board resigned after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insisted on rehiring William Wegner, a scientist whom the organization's then-president, Boyle, had fired as soon as he had learned Wegner had been hired six months earlier. In 1995, Wegner had been convicted of smuggling rare bird eggs from Australia and had also pled guilty to tax evasion. Boyle and the board members who resigned believed it was not right for an environmental organization to hire someone convicted of environmental crimes, especially since critics would not hesitate to publicize that fact to gain a publicity advantage. Treasurer John Fry, who also resigned, felt it would hurt the organization's fundraising. Boyle was also further displeased that Kennedy had made an employment decision, since that was solely his responsibility within the organization.[9] Kennedy, who had hired Wegner to work for him personally after Boyle had fired him, said Wegner had done "terrific work" for Riverkeeper and no one, even those who had resigned over the hiring, disputed that. "We all make mistakes in our lives," he told The New York Times. "Where would any of us be if we didn't get a second chance?"[9] Wegner does not work at Riverkeeper anymore.[10]

Opposition to nuclear power

Indian Point Energy Center

Riverkeeper has advocated for the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.[2] Riverkeeper argued that the power plant killed fish by taking in river water for cooling[2] and that the power plant could cause "apocalyptic damage" if attacked by terrorists.[11] Riverkeeper argued that the electricity provided by Indian Point could be fully replaced by renewable energy. After the closure, carbon emissions from electricity generation in New York state increased by 37% and the share of fossil fuel energy in the electric grid increased by 90%.[12]

In August 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the “Save the Hudson” bill into law. Riverkeeper worked in collaboration with others to pass this law.[13] According to the new legislation, it shall be unlawful to discharge any radiological substance into the Hudson River in connection with the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.[14] This put a stop on Holtec International’s (the company decommissioning Indian Point) plan to dump wastewater into the Hudson.

Since October 2023, Indian Point has transferred all spent nuclear fuel to dry cask storage.[15] With this, the risk of an off-site radiological release is significantly lower, and the types of possible accidents significantly fewer.[16]

Opposition to hydropower

In 2022, Riverkeeper called on New York to reject a $3 billion clean energy plan that would have supplied New York City with hydropower and lessened New York's reliance on fossil fuels. Riverkeeper opposed the hydropower plan, saying "This is not emission-free power." Riverkeeper's position was in stark contrast with many other environmental and clean-energy advocates who argued that the plan was needed to shift the region towards greener energy. Riverkeeper argued that construction of hydropower dams have adverse environmental effects, but the hydropower station that New York was set to use had already been constructed which meant that most of the upfront environmental impact had already occurred.[3][12]

Action on drinking water

Riverkeeper became a key player in the 1997 Watershed Memorandum of Agreement, which obligated New York City to spend $1 billion over 10 years to ensure the safety of its water supply and forestalled a federal order that would have forced the city to build a $6 billion filtration plant.[5][17]

In the 1997 agreement, New York City and communities around the reservoirs in the Catskill Aqueduct system pledged to undertake a series of actions, like installing new equipment in sewage plants to discharge treated wastewater into the reservoirs and buying land to prevent development that could let chemicals enter the water. In return, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has been able to maintain an unfiltered water supply in the Catskill system, the largest such system in the country.[17]

Dam removal

By removing old, obsolete dams, Riverkeeper is working to restore life to creeks and streams in the Hudson Valley. There are an estimated 2,000 dams in the Hudson River Estuary between New York City and Albany, NY. Many are small and obsolete, abandoned by long-shuttered factories and serving no purpose other than to thwart fish migration and harm river ecology. A challenge for Riverkeeper is convincing people that removing a dam will have payoffs for the fish and the landscape.[18]

Riverkeeper began their dam removal efforts in 2016, when they collaborated with the City of Troy and the state Department of Environmental Conservation to help remove a dam in the Wynants Kill.[19][20] In 2020, Riverkeeper continued to restore streams by removing the Strooks Felt Dam on Quassaick Creek in Newburgh as well as another dam on Furnace Brook in Westchester County.[19]

Action on water pollution

Riverkeeper studies the water quality of the Hudson. The river water is measured for salinity, oxygen, temperature, suspended sediment, chlorophyll and sewage. As of 2008,  it is estimated that each year New York City's 460 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) dump more than 27 billion gallons of raw sewage into the river and New York Harbor.[21]

Riverkeeper keeps a close watch for polluters and brings suits against corporations as large as Exxon and General Electric. The organization has often worked together with other environmental groups on issues affecting the Hudson, including the longstanding problem of PCBs in the Hudson, which have made the river's fish dangerous to eat.[22]

Riverkeeper also acts on Superfund sites like Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek. New York City’s two most notoriously polluted waterways were listed as federal Superfund sites within months of each other in the 2010s. Since then, a full-fledged cleanup has begun in Gowanus Canal – yet Newtown Creek has no relief in sight. The once heavily industrialized Newtown Creek features 11 miles of shoreline that winds along the Queens-Brooklyn border. From 1915 to 1917, the waterway handled as much freight tonnage as the entire Mississippi River.[23] Over 150 years of industrial use have resulted in substantial contamination and impairment of habitat related to releases of hazardous substances and oil. Fish and crab consumption advisories are in place, including a ban on eating fish and crabs by children and women of childbearing age and other recreational opportunities have also been negatively affected.[24] It is estimated that, over decades, oil refineries on those shores spilled between 17 and 30 million gallons of product into the creek. More than 13 million gallons have been cleaned up so far. Riverkeeper has brought litigation forward, raised public awareness about the oil spill, and worked with state officials to address this contamination.[25]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Sleepy Hollow Woman to Make History as New Riverkeeper Leader". The Hudson Indy Westchester's Rivertowns News -. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  2. 1 2 3 Helmore, Edward. "New York Indian Point nuclear plant shuts down, ending an era". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  3. 1 2 "NYC's Big Clean Energy Plan Is Under Attack From One-Time Advocate". Bloomberg News. 2022.
  4. ↑ "Books of The Times". The New York Times. July 7, 1983. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  5. 1 2 3 Worth, Robert (November 5, 2000). "A Kennedy and His Mentor Part Ways Over River Group". The New York Times. pp. 14, section WC. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ Roberts, Sam (22 May 2017). "Robert H. Boyle, a Watchdog of the Hudson River, Dies at 88". The New York Times. pp. 14, Section B. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Bryant, Nelson (27 February 1983). "OUTDOORS; New Riverkeeper To Patrol Hudson". The New York Times. pp. 8, Section 5. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  8. 1 2 Mautner, Lyn (14 January 1990). "New Jersey Q & A: John Cronin; Hudson Riverkeeper, a Pollution Detective". The New York Times. pp. 3, Section 12NJ. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  9. 1 2 Worth, Robert (June 22, 2000). "Eight at Riverkeeper Resign Over Kennedy's Hiring of a Rare-Egg Smuggler". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Our Team". Riverkeeper. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  11. ↑ Wald, Matthew L. (2004-09-08). "Group Says Terror Attack on Indian Point Would Be Apocalyptic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  12. 1 2 Levitz, Eric (2022-04-02). "Once Again, Environmentalists Are Sabotaging Climate Progress". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  13. ↑ Misdary, Rosemary (18 August 2023). "No more radioactive dumping in Hudson River: NY Gov. Hochul signs ban". Gothamist. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "2023-S6893". NYSenate.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  15. ↑ "Indian Point NY plant moves spent nuclear fuel to dry cask storage". Reuters. 2023-10-16. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  16. ↑ "No More Pills, Test Sirens or Escape Routes". The Highlands Current. 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  17. 1 2 Hu, Winnie (28 June 2000). "Group Says City Fails to Keep Its Part of a Clean-Water Pact". The New York Times. pp. 4, Section B. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  18. ↑ Foderaro, Lisa (20 January 2020). "It's Fish vs. Dams, and the Dams Are Winning". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  19. 1 2 "Disappearing Dams, Rebounding Ecosystems". Scenic Hudson. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  20. ↑ Keegan, Ryan. "Documentary One Dam at a Time Showcases Riverkeeper's Dam Removal Project". Chronogram Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  21. ↑ "River Keepers". The New York Times. 2008-07-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  22. ↑ Worth, Robert (5 November 2000). "Groups That Defend the Hudson: A Primer". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  23. ↑ "In New York City, a Bold Urban Plan Seeks to Revitalize Miles of Shoreline". Metropolis. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  24. ↑ "Vision Plan for Newtown Creek Superfund Site | response.restoration.noaa.gov". response.restoration.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  25. ↑ "Looking back 45 years after the discovery of the Greenpoint Oil Spill, one of the largest ever recorded in our country's history - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2023-11-21.

Bibliography

  • Cronin, John Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. (1999). The Riverkeepers: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim Our Environment as a Basic Human Right. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-84625-5
  • Gottlieb, Robert. (2005). Forcing the Spring: the Transformation of the American Environmental Movement. Washington D.C.: Island Press.
  • Kennedy, Robert F. Jr. (2000). "Risk, Democracy, and the Environment". In Gail Charnley, John D. Graham, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Jason Shogren, "1998 Annual Meeting Plenary Session: Assessing and Managing Risks in a Democratic Society," Risk Analysis 20(3):301-316.
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