Scripts and sounds for WGXC radio hosts to play on the WGXC Morning Show or WGXC Afternoon Show. Breaking news, features, local audio, video, analysis, music, links to events in Greene and Columbia counties, NY. www.wgxc.org
“A state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Monday said reviews of about 2,000 comments on proposed rules governing outdoor wood-burning boilers could mean the issue remains unsettled through April 2011. Spokeswoman Lori Severino during a telephone interview noted there was no shortage of concern on both sides…. Severino said another round of public hearings could be set if significant changes are made in the proposed rules…. Under the proposal there boiler stacks would have to be a minimum of 2 feet above the peak of any roof of a structure located within 150 feet of the boiler. Regulations would prohibit use of boilers between April 15 to Sept. 30 in the Hudson Valley.” Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.
“We have a beautiful convention center here that can easily accommodate 1,000 or 1,200 people, but in the last day we continued to get calls about additional people, and that number is easily growing to more than 5,000,” [Sandy] Baker, [the vice president of sales and marketing at the Oncenter, the proposed venue] said. “In order to accommodate all of the safety issues, we need more time to plan this.”
New York Senator Charles Schumer will be visiting B and B Wood Products on Route 145 in Cairo for a press conference Tuesday at 2:45 p.m. to discuss the impact of the the Chinese Emerald Ash Borer. The bug has recently been discoverd in Saugerties and Greene County. Senator Schumer is here to discuss federal efforts to support the NYS DEC and enhance public awareness, about the pest that some estimate will wipe out seven percent of New York forests (the entire population of ash trees).
Susan Falzon speaking at Beattie-Powers Place 080810.
Susan Falzon, Secretary-Treasurer of Friends of Hudson, spoke at Beattie-Powers Place in Catskill today about “Industry in Our Midst,” mostly the Ravena Lafarge cement plant and the Catskill Holcim cement plant. Click here to see information about this event. Click here to listen to an mp3 recording or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
Click here to listen to WGXC volunteer Richard Roth introduce a phone interview by WGXC”s Sam Sebren and Alan Skerrett of Jim Michaels of Bradford County, Pennsylvania (near Scranton) who lives near shale gas drilling, or hydro-fracking, sites. Michaels talks about his experiences with the process of extracting gas from the ground by shooting high pressure liquid. On Wednesday the New York Senate voted for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing until May 2011. Assemblyman Tim Gordon, who represents parts of Greene, Columbia, and Albany counties, supports the measure and told WGXC’s Tom Roe, “If we want to proceed on this, I think we need to do it right, and there are still some unanswered questions.” This is the first report created by the WGXC Audio Training program led by Dharma Dailey and Emily Bennison. Help with research from Sara Kendall and recording and editing from Goro Ikeda-Iyeki. File is mp3 audio file. Paste the following url into your computer’s media player: http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/08/WGXC_Roth_Sebren_Skerret_interviewJimMichaels_080510.mp3
“Hydraulic fracturing (called “frac jobs”[1] or “frac’ing” in the industry[2][3][4] and recently, “fracking” by the media) is a process that results in the creation of fractures in rocks. The most important industrial use is in stimulating oil and gas wells, where hydraulic fracturing has been used for over 60 years in more than one million wells. On the other hand, high-volume horizontal slickwater fracturing is a recent phenomenon. The fracturing is done from a wellboredrilled into reservoir rock formations to enhance oil and natural gas recovery…. Man-made fluid-driven fractures are formed at depth in a borehole and extend into targeted rock formations. The fracture width is typically maintained after the injection by introducing a proppant into the injected fluid. Proppant is a material, such as grains of sand, ceramic, or other particulates, that prevent the fractures from closing when the injection is stopped. Natural hydraulic fractures include volcanic dikes, sills and fracturing by ice as in frost weathering. Considerable controversy surrounds the current implementation of hydraulic fracturing technology in the United States. Environmental safety and health concerns have emerged and are being debated at the state and national levels.” Read the entire entry in Wikipedia.
Adam Bosch at the Times Herald-Record had a terrifying story on Saturday about the newfound emerald ash borer infestation in the Catskills. Apparently, things are far, far worse that we originally thought:
“My best guess is that there are thousands of trees infested,” said Mark Whitmore, a forest entomologist at Cornell University who’s assisting the investigation. “The bug is here to stay, and we’re looking at maybe having all of the ash trees disappear.” New York is home to some 900 million ash trees, accounting for 7 percent of the forest.
Since the Department of Envionmental Conservation‘s July announcement that ash borers had been found in Saugerties, ash borers and their larvae have been found across Ulster County and possibly in Greene County as well. Bosch writes that because the beetles can infest trees for a while without any discernible signs, the infestation might already be a few years old. The beetles can live in an area for years before signs of infestation appear, like dead canopies of ash trees or pin-size holes in their trunks. Initial evidence suggests the ash borer has been here for one or two years. And, because there is no “chemical or natural method” of killing the beetles, there isn’t that much that can be done.
Government records show that Holcim has been cited for more than 300 safety violations carrying fines totaling $455,000 since it became the Smith’s Landing plant operator in 2008. The records, compiled by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, which regulates U.S. metal, nonmetal and coal mines, show over the last two years the plant has racked up 310 violations, 97 of which the government says could lead to serious injury or illness. During Holcim’s first year as operator, 155 violations were found carrying fines totaling almost $264,000. In 2009, 65 violations were cited with penalties of almost $165,000. So far this year, the plant has been hit with 90 violations costing $26,000. Fines have yet to be assessed for 28 of the 90, however….Furthermore, according to the records, Holcim has been able to reduce its fines from $455,000 to $384,000. To date, the company has paid only $250,500. It’s challenging the remainder of the fines, $133,500 — a legal procedure under current U.S. regulations. Most of the violations carry small fines between $100 and $1,000. But others carry larger penalties from $2,000 to more than $25,000…. Holcim officials have defended the plant’s safety record, saying it’s the top priority. “I think what you’re seeing is not an accurate reflection of the plant,” said Tony Madrazo, Holcim’s human resources manager, during an interview on Monday. “I don’t think we have a poor safety record.” Madrazo admitted, however, the plant is not perfect. “(The inspectors) will find stuff,” he said. Officials also contend many of the violations are resolved while a MSHA inspector is still on site. However, the records show most of the violations are repeatedly cited throughout the past two years. Read the entire story in The Daily Mail.
The New York State Senatevoted 48-9 to impose a moratorium on shale gas drilling early this morning, just after midnight, passing the Thompson (S.8129B) / Sweeney (A.11443-B) measure. The bill would place a halt on granting new drilling permits until May, 2011. Locally, Steve Saland and James Seward voted for the moratorium. Assemblyman Tim Gordon, who represents parts of Greene, Columbia, and Albany counties, supports the measure and told WGXC, “If we want to proceed on this, I think we need to do it right, and there are still some unanswered questions.” Assemblyman Pete Lopezrecently came out against the moratorium, saying, “In this case, (a moratorium) just gives the (Department of Environmental Conservation) cover so they don’t have to come out with the regulations.”
Bad news: The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), a highly destructive Asian beetle that threatens to effectively wipe out ash trees in North American forests, has been found in a USDA trap in Saugerties.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis and state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker [yesterday] announced the discovery of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) on private properties in the Town of Bath, Steuben County, and Town of Saugerties, Ulster County. The EAB is a small but destructive beetle that infests and kills North American ash tree species, including green, white, black, and blue ash.
Sustainable Esopus reminds us that it’s vital not to transport firewood, which spreads the beetle around….State conservationists say the best we can hope for is to slow it down, the [The Daily] Freeman reports:
State officials said they expect the borer to continue to spread. Regulations restricting the importation of firewood from out of state and the movement of untreated wood within the state are intended to slow the spread.
Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R,C,I-Red Hook) will join Scenic Hudson’s Seth McKee, Tivoli Mayor Tom Cordier, and others at a press conference July 28 celebrating the Village of Tivoli’s purchase of Hudson Riverfront property. This land preservation effort will secure permanent public access to the Hudson River. The press conference will take place at the Tivoli waterfront at Broadway and Friendship St. on Wednesday, July 28 at 1:30 p.m.
Friends of Hudson's Susan Falzon introduces Sustainable Hudson Valley's Michael O'Hara at his talk on global warming at Beattie-Powers Place July 18, 2010.
Michael O’Hara from Sustainable Hudson spoke July 18 at Beattie-Powers Place in Catskill, as part of their “River. Air. Action.” lecture series. Photo shows Susan Falzon from Friends of Hudson introducing O’Hara. Sorry for the loud fan sounds that make listening a bit difficult. Click here to listen to an mp3 recording of the talk, or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
On Monday, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s plan to purchase more private land in the upstate watershed was discussed a public hearing at SUNY Delhi. Watershed Post brings you the video above. Another meeting was held Tuesday in Hunter.
Jim Planck has a terrific story in The Daily Mail about the U.S. Department of Energy hearing Tuesday night in Kingston about a proposal to route a high voltage Direct Current line from Canada to New York City. Highlights:
The project applicant, Transmission Developers, Inc. has applied for permission to run the line’s twin cables underneath the bottom of Lake Champlain, then the Champlain Canal, where it would come out of the water and circuit around the PCB dredging project above the Hudson by utilizing railroad rights-of-way, then enter the Hudson River at Coeymans and submerge beneath its bottom, and run down to the Metropolitan area, where the DC would come back on land at a converter station and be turned back into useable AC current…. Speaking at the project’s scoping session at Kingston — one of seven DOE is holding along the route — TDI President Donald Jessome told those present that an original part of the plan which had called for a companion set of cables to serve southern Connecticut by way of the Long Island Sound had been dropped…. Jessome said the project is thus now a 1,000 megawatt, $1.9 billion plan, with an in-service date of 2015.
Planck quotes Riverkeeper’s Hudson River Program Director Phillip Musegaas, and Sierra Club Ramapo-Catskill Chapter conservation chair Jurgen Wekerle, who spoke about the dangers to fish and the possibility of kicking up the PCB’s in the Hudson River when putting the cable in the water. Read the entire story in The Daily Mail.
It’s called downy mildew, and it’s infecting basil plants across New York, as well as other states. The disease is harmless to humans. But it turns basil leaves an unsightly yellow, as well as leaving purplish-gray spots of spores on the leaves’ undersides. Eventually, the leaves die. And the disease spreads quickly, either through contaminated seeds or wind-swept spores.
Tonight’s Hudson Common Council meeting was about the city’s LWRP (Local Waterfront Revitalization Program/Plan) waterfront plan. The meeting was recorded by WGXC volunteer Victor Mendolia. Click here to listen to an mp3 audio recording or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
On average, the United States recycles about 33 percent of its municipal solid waste, not including construction and demolition debris. New York recycles 20 percent. The state’s ability to divert trash from landfills looks even worse when historical goals are considered: In 1987, New York aimed to recycle 50 percent of waste by 1997.
Undeterred by the state’s utter failure to meet its recycling goal in 1997, the DEC has set a new one: 90 percent by 2018. Read the entire story in Watershed Post.
David Gargill (seated), being introduced by Susan Falzon at Beattie-Powers Place.
WGXC recorded a live webstream with noted journalist David Gargill’s talk at the Beattie-Powers Place in Catskill. Gargill spent much of last year investigating the Hudson River cleanup, and his report on the subject (“The General Electric Superfraud: Why the Hudson River Will Never Run Clean”) was Harper’s December 2009 cover story (available at www.davidgargill.com). Mr. Gargill presented his findings and provided an update on remediation efforts. Mr. Gargill has written for Harper’s Magazine, GQ, The National, Our Town, and other publications. Click here to listen to the lecture from Beattie-Power Place or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
Beattie-Powers Place presents “River. Air. Action.: Perspectives on local environmental issues, and how you can make a difference” lecture series. This summer, Friends of Beattie-Powers Place provides an insider’s view of critical environmental issues which affect us all, with a series designed to inspire thought and action. While our speakers will focus on local concerns, the national and global implications of what is happening in our own “backyard” will be apparent. With perhaps the greatest environmental disaster in our country’s history occurring right now in the Gulf, this series is particularly timely – and guaranteed to be as provocative as it is enlightening. Space is limited, so please reserve your seat now by calling 518.943.3064 or email beattiepowersplace@gmail.org. Following each presentation, expect refreshments and lively discussion. WGXC Online Radio will provide live webcast and archived recordings at www.wgxc.org.
Saturday, July 10th at 2 p.m. David Gargill on GE and The Myth of Healing the Hudson
Noted journalist David Gargill spent much of last year investigating the Hudson River cleanup, and his report on the subject (The General Electric Superfraud: Why the Hudson River Will Never Run Clean) was Harper’s December 2009 cover story (available at www.davidgargill.com). Join us as Mr. Gargill presents his findings and provides an update on remediation efforts. Mr. Gargill has written for Harper’s Magazine, GQ, The National, Our Town, and other publications.
Sunday, July 18th at 2 p.m. Michael O’Hara on Climate Change Effects and Actions for Our Region
The international scientific community has compiled their research and agrees that the earth is warming — with potentially disastrous consequences. Human activity can be identified as the cause; changes in human activity may provide solutions. Mr. O’Hara will discuss changes in policy, technology and behaviors that are being implemented at the regional, national and international level, and how we can take a proactive role in doing our part. Mr. O’Hara is the Operations Director for Sustainable Hudson Valley, a Kingston-based environmental consultancy.
Sunday, August 8th at 2 p.m. Susan Falzon on Industry in Our Midst: A Citizen’s Guide
Susan Falzon has been active in local and national environmental issues since 1998 and Director of Friends of Hudson since August 2005. Using the proposed Ravena Cement Plant modernization as an example, Ms. Falzon will discuss opportunities for individual and community involvement that could positively impact the manner in which such an industry operates in our communities, to the benefit of the people as well as corporations.
Beattie-Powers Place is located at Prospect Ave. and Bridge St., Catskill, NY 12414
WGXC co-sponsors second Greene County Eco-Fair, Aug. 21 at Agroforestry Resource Center in Acra. Workshops and speakers on live webstream and recorded for wgxc.org archives. Co-sponsored by Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued an air-quality health advisory for Columbia, Greene and other nearby counties until 10 p.m. tonight, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday. Call toll-free 1-800-535-1345 for more information.
Biologists like [Peter] Nye [the endangered species unit leader with the state Department of Environmental Conservation], and those who assist him around the state, have found themselves busy in recent years because the eagle population has been increasing at a steady rate, especially in the last decade. The number of bald eagles in the state climbed from 43 breeding eagles in 2000 to 158 last year, according to the DEC’s 2009 bald eagle report. The report also states that in 2000, there were 71 eagles fledged. By last year that number grew to 223…. A big reason for the increase in eagles is that in the 1970s and early ’80s, New York took the lead in reintroducing bald eagles into the wild. Nye was part of a team that went to Alaska and brought back eagles that were housed, and then released, in hacking towers stragetically placed throughout the state. The first was at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge in central New York. Later, Nye traveled to other northeastern states to train biologists in reintroduction methods. Those states then followed New York and introduced eagles from other environs. “So now the population in the greater Northeast area – outside of Chesapeake Bay and Maine – is a result of all these eagles that were brought in, essentially recreating the population,” Nye said. Read the entire story in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
The symposium was entitled “The Ecology of Hudson South Bay: Understanding the Past, Looking to the Future.” The presenters were from the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program, the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Hudsonia, and the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies. Gathered around the table were a group of people with disparate hopes and plans for the South Bay. Mayor Scalera was there, with City Attorney Cheryl Roberts. Common Council President Don Moore was there, along with Aldermen Ellen Thurston (Third Ward), Sarah Sterling (First Ward), and Geeta Cheddie (First Ward). George Super from the Greenport Planning Board was there. Kenneth Faroni, Director of Planning and Permits for O&G Industries was there, with Holcim attorney Donald Stever. Linda Mussmann, former chair of the Waterfront Advisory Steering Committee was there, and so was Bonnie Devine, the Department of State staff member who worked with the WASC to develop the 2009 draft LWRP. Participants also included Peter Paden and Ellen Jouret-Epstein from the Columbia Land Conservancy; Sam Pratt and Peter Jung from The Valley Alliance; all the members of a citizens’ research group calling themselves the LWRP Task Force (Patrick Doyle, Chris Reed, Meg Carlon, Timothy O’Connor); Susan Falzon from Friends of Hudson; Michael O’Hara from Sustainable Hudson Valley, as well as several staff members from Scenic Hudson: Seth McKee, Jeff Anzevino, and Mark Wildonger. There was also a representative from Congressman Scott Murphy’s office, who stayed for only part of the two-and-a-half hour meeting.
When Congressional candidate Chris Gibson held a fundraiser with Rep. Tom Price after Price said the creation of a $20 million BP-funded escrow account illustrated that the Obama Administration “is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics,” the DCCC called foul. Yesterday, Gibson [from Kinderhook] struck back and said his opponent, Rep. Scott Murphy, accepted money from BP – $1,000 in November, 2009. That’s true, but according to Murphy’s office, the congressman donated the money to the National Wildlife Federation June 9. Campaign spokesperson Mitch Wallace released this statement: “Congressman Murphy donated that money to the National Wildlife Federation weeks ago to go towards cleaning up the gulf. Actions speak louder than words. If Chris Gibson is going to talk about personal responsibility he should demonstrate some and give back the money he raised with British Petroleum’s defender Rep. Price at his high-priced Washington, DC fundraiser.” Read the entire story in Capitol Confidential.
“Bat numbers are plummeting, bat biologists across the country have been urgently sounding the extinction alarm, and yet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is silent,” said Mollie Matteson, a conservation advocate at the Center. The Interior Department missed an April deadline for responding to the endangered species petition and has given no indication of when and how it intends to answer the call for stronger protections for the two species. Both bat species were thought to be uncommon to rare prior to the appearance of white-nose syndrome in the northeast United States in 2006. Since then, the disease has spread into 14 states and two Canadian provinces, taking a harsh toll on the two species as well as seven others. In Massachusetts, New York and Vermont, the states where the disease has been present for the longest, the eastern small-footed bat population has decreased by nearly 80 percent over the past two years, and the northern long-eared bat population has shrunk by 93 percent.
New York has been the epicenter of the bat catastrophe, as one of the places where White-nose Syndrome, a cold-tolerant fungus that kills hibernating bats by forcing them to wake up and starve to death, emerged. Read the entire story in Watershed Post.
Hot off the (digital) press: New maps of New York State’s various eco-regions for use with GIS mapping software, thanks to a group effort by the EPA, DEC, USGS, NRCS, and the mercifully acronym-free New York Natural Heritage Program. They’re free to download from the EPA’s website — and if you want printed versions, they’re just $10. New York Flora has the details. Read the entire story in Watershed Post.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that an Environmental Impact Statement, including regional public scoping sessions, is necessary for a proposed 2,000 megawatt high-voltage direct current line from Quebec down to NYC and southwestern Connecticut. Locally, the line will essentially run under the bed of the Hudson River, between Greene and Columbia counties, after entering the river in Coeymans…. Locally, the two scoping session meetings are at Kingston and Albany.Their format will be in two parts, first an informal workshop discussion that is not recorded, and then a formal taking of comments with a court stenographer. The Kingston one is Tuesday, July 13, at the Holiday Inn, 503 Washington Ave., from 7-9 p.m., and the Albany one is Wednesday, July 14, at the Holiday Inn, 205 Wolf Road, from 7-9 p.m. The public scoping period officially started Friday, June 18, with publication of the notice in the Federal Register, and will run until Aug. 2. Attendance at any of the scoping sessions is not required to provide input, as written comments received or postmarked by Aug. 2 will be equally considered. Requests to provide oral comment at a scoping session can be written to DOE on or before July 6, which will yield priority in the speaking order, but requests to speak may also be made at the meetings. Comments on the scope of the EIS and/or requests to speak should be sent to Dr. Jerry Pell, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), U.S. DOE, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585, or by e-mail to Jerry.Pell@hq.doe.gov. Additionally, all comments received will be summarized by DOE in a Scoping Report, which will afterwards be available for distribution, including electronically. To view the complete application, including maps and drawings, visit http://www.oe.energy.gov/permits_pending.htm, and select PP-362 (Application). Read the entire story in The Daily Mail.
Chris Gibson, a Republican hoping to unseat Rep. Scott Murphy [in District 20, which covers Greene and Columbia counties], forcefully repudiated remarks by a sitting Republican congressman who apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for what he saw as a “shakedown” being perpetuated by the Obama administration. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, made the comments during a House hearing last week. He said he was “ashamed” of President Barack Obama’s call for BP to set aside a $20 billion “slush fund” for claims from the Gulf oil spill. The comments were widely criticized by Democrats, and Barton later apologized for his use of the word “shakedown.” “Just as I believe in individual responsibility, I believe in corporate responsibility. They need to be held responsible for their actions, so as we go forward, we absolutely need to continue towards that end: holding BP responsible for this. Now, we do need to take a hard look at how we do this drilling,” Gibson, a retired Army colonel from Kinderhook, said Monday. “That was an outrageous comment by Mr. Barton and I disassociate myself from him. Again, I lead in with the fact that I believe in individual responsibility and I believe in corporate responsibility.” His rebuke came a day before a scheduled fundraiser this evening in Washington with three incumbent GOP congressman — including one who has also called the claims fund a “shakedown.” The event — for which political actions committees are asked to contribute $1,000 — is headlined by Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., Geoff Davis, R-Ky. and Tom Price, R-Ga. Price, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, issued a statement last week. A Gibson spokesman did not immediately explain the apparent contradiction. Gibson later issued a statement saying “I believe in individual responsibility and corporate responsibility and that BP should be held accountable for their actions. However the central issues in this campaign are to grow the private sector economy and create jobs followed by reigning in spending so we can secure a promising future for residents in NY20.” Read the entire story in Capitol Confidential.
On the DEP’s website, as of June 1: A 400-plus page Draft Environmental Impact Statement outlining proposed plans to extend New York City’s program of land acquisition in its upstate watershed for another ten years. (Sorry we missed it. It might help if the DEP used their fancy online press-release system to alert us to these things.) The Catskill Daily Mail reports that town supervisors in the watershed, who helped draft the plans, are now slogging through them:
At Tuesday night’s Town of Hunter board meeting, Hunter Supervisor Dennis Lucas told those present that he is slowly working his way through the 410-page document. Lucas, who is chairman of the multi-county Coalition of Watershed Towns, is already very familiar with what he hopes to read in the document, having, along with his peers, helped shape its course during its development, so his reading is essentially to verify what did or did not make it in.
As the DEP’s website notes, the DEIS is available in hard copy at several municipal offices around the watershed as well as online. Public hearings to get input on its contents will be scheduled for next month. (Hopefully soon.) But if you want to speak up, you’d better read it quickly: Public comments will only be accepted until about 10 days after the hearings, says DEP. Apparently Daily Mail reporter Jim Planck was as aggrieved as we were that the DEP didn’t issue a press release. The City’s DEIS on its proposed extended Land Acquisition Program is available on line — in parts and as a whole unit — at www.nyc.gov, but was only locatable by searching the on-site terms “DEIS” and “acquisition.” Read the entire story in the Watershed Post.
WGXC volunteer Sam Sebren recorded the Town of Catskill public hearing about outdoor wood boilers on June 16, 2010. The first few speakers are cut off due to a technological glitch. Click here to listen to an mp3 audio recording, or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:
Liz LoGiudice, Extension Educator at Agroforestry Resource Center, led an “Amphibian Adventure” WGXC fundraiser Friday night, giving a “frog walk” across the street at the Siuslaw Model Forest. We listened to peepers, tree frogs, pond frogs, and found tadpoles and snails.
Click here to listen to an mp3 sound recording of the “Amphibian Adventure” or paste this url into your computer’s media player:
Review the complete LaFarge application documents at this link: http://www.dec.ny.gov/dardata/boss/afs/draft_atv_l.html. The DEC will be accepting written comments until May 21. Please mail or email your comments & include the application number so your comments aren’t lost.
Mail to:
Sarah H. Evans
NYSDEC Region 4 Headquarters
1130 North Westcott Rd.
Schenectady, NY 12306
518-357-2069
r4dep@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Application ID# : 4-0124-00001/00112
Several hundred people turned out for a hearing Tuesday on the proposed state air pollution permit for the Lafarge cement plant, and nearly all gave the same message — the state must do more to limit the amount of mercury and other toxins coming from the smokestack. “I think we are splitting hairs here over just how much they are poisoning us,” said Leigh Jamison, who lives about seven miles downwind of the Route 9W plant in Stuyvesant, Columbia County. Nearly 30 people spoke during the three-hour hearing held across from the plant at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Read the entire story in the Times-Union.
WGXC’s Sam Sebren was at the hearing, and made a recording we will upload on Wednesday.
New York’s Department of Health’s Environmental Facilities and Cancer Map shows the number of people diagnosed with cancer (cancer counts) for the years 2003-2007 in small geographic areas of New York State. Locations of certain environmental facilities can also be viewed.
The General Electric Corporation is arguing that its clean-up of PCBs from the upper Hudson River is making the pollution worse. GE is telling a panel of scientists meeting today [through Thursday at Queensbury Hotel, Adirondack Room, 88 Ridge Street, Glens Falls] that phase one of the dredging stirred up the toxic chemicals into the river. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that GE is exaggerating the problem. The panel will make recommendations on how to proceed with the clean up. GE has long argued against the clean up, but in 2001 the Bush administration ordered the company to remove tons of PCBs it released into the Hudson before the chemicals were banned in the 1970s. The Hudson River is the nation’s largest Superfund site.
GE believes so many PCBs were stirred up and moved downriver that future dredging ought to be scaled back and PCBs left behind in the river should be covered over. EPA counters that GE is using one-sided data of questionable reliability, that PCB levels released by dredging were never dangerous and future dredging can be improved to reduce the amount of PCBs escaping into the river.
Support your local community radio station and listen to the sounds of our resident frogs – all in one, fun evening! This family-friendly program will include a brief, indoor presentation on frogs and salamanders by Dr. Richard Wyman and an evening walk to the ponds at the Siuslaw Model Forest to hear the dulcet tones of spring peepers and other evening sounds. This program will be recorded for broadcast on WGXC!
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced a legislative hearing for renewal and modification of the existing Lafarge Title V Air Permit application on May 11, 6 p.m. at the Ravena-Coeymans Selkirk High School Auditorium. All New York State contaminant-emitting facilities must have either a Title V Air permit, a state facility permit or a registration certificate. Lafarge’s permit expired in 2006 and it has been running under an extension since then. The company, which manufactures Portland cement and operates a limestone quarry, has extensive plans for modernizing the plant, the kilns and for reducing emissions. Administrative Law Judge Richard A. Sherman will preside over the hearing session and will accept unsworn statements on both the Title V application and the draft permit. Any member of the public potentially affected by the proposed project is invited to attend and provide oral or written comments. DEC originally gave public notice for the project in November 2009 and provided a 30-day comment period, later extended to 68 days, which ended on January 11, 2010. Rick Georgeson, DEC Region 4 spokesman, said the agency scheduled the May 11 hearing based on 44 comments, all in written or e-mail form, received during the public comment period. He also said 32 individuals expressed interest in further hearings. Georgeson said that after the May 11 hearing, “DEC will issue a response to the public comments. Going forward DEC can either issue or deny the Lafarge permit or issue a permit with added conditions.” The final decision can take anywhere from months to years. Read the entire story in The Daily Mail.
WGXC is a community-run media project, re-envisioning radio as an innovative platform for local participation. Our inclusive programming connects diverse voices, and distributes information across the public spectrum in New York’s Greene and Columbia counties.
Send items, tips, press releases, and more to news@wgxc.org.
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Hosts of the WGXC Morning Show and WGXC Afternoon Show should use the tools on this page to find information, sounds, music, local recordings, event listings, and more to host a WGXC Morning Show or WGXC Afternoon Show. Follow these links, and the others below, to help produce the program.
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On The Air
WGXC is on 90.7-FM now, at full-power, 3300 watts. We cover all parts of Greene County except parts of the mountaintop, and all of Columbia County except for a bit of Western Columbia County south of Germantown. WGXC also covers a large part of southern Albany County. We have heard reports that the signal is getting from Delaware County to Great Barrington, from Selkirk to Saugerties, from Pine Plains to the I-90 extension.
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Kelly Benjamin
WGXC Town Recorders
The following folks have recorded town meetings and other events that aired on WGXC. You could too! Email info@wgxc.org.
Tanya Blue
Ann Forbes Cooper
Dharma Dailey
Crane Davis
Tony Fallon
Joan Geitz
Christina Malisoff
Victor Mendolia
Fawn Potash
Kieran Rielly
Martin Roby
Richard Roth
Nancy Rothman
Melissa Sarris
Sam Sebren
Alan Skerrett
Ellen Thurston
Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page
When the computer is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information in Harlemville. Check dates and times to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was turned off.
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