TELL HOMELAND SECURTY SECRETARY JEH JOHNSON:Halt Proposed Rulemaking for Hudson River Barge Anchorages!The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is considering regulations that would establish 43 berths for commercial vessels at 10 sites on the Hudson River.This proposal would effectively create huge “parking lots” for barges carrying up to 4 million gallons of volatile crude oil and other hazardous materials. The plan not only poses significant environmental threats—in the tidal Hudson a spill could pollute wetlands and aquatic habitats from Kingston to New York City—but could compromise all the progress communities have made in revitalizing their riverfronts. See these simulations to get a sense of what the proposed anchorages would look like from selected riverfront communities. With your help, we called on the USCG to terminate the proposed rulemaking process. Now, we need you to request that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson utilize his authority over the USCG to halt this process. Scenic Hudson asked him to take this step (in this Nov. 21 letter), and so has NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (in this Dec. 23 letter). Your support has been invaluable thus far. With your continued effort we can appeal to Secretary Johnson to guarantee a brighter future for the Hudson River and people living along it. Please write to Secretary Johnson TODAY and tell him that: - Increased traffic of barges carrying explosive, health-threatening chemicals raises the potential for collisions and catastrophic spills.
- Drinking-water intakes on the river could be impacted by an oil spill.
- Eight of the 10 proposed anchorages are located within state-designated Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats deemed “irreplaceable.”
- The proposed anchorages would jeopardize the Hudson Valley’s world-class scenic splendor, foundation of the region’s $5.2-billion tourism economy.
For additonal talking points, see Scenic Hudson's formal comments on the proposals. Time is running out—email public.e...@dhs.gov and urge Secretary Johnson to call for an immediate end to the rulemaking process today! | 
