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LATEST NEWS
LWRP School; Public Comments due by March 15Hudson LWRP/DGEIS Information SessionPresentation and Discussion Third in a series during the City of Hudson's Public Comment Period Saturday, March 6, 2010; 10 am-Noon Space 360 360 Warren Street Hudson Conducted by the LWRP Task Force, a Friends of Hudson-initiated project For further information contact: Christopher Reed, chr@capital.net, 672-7743 Patrick Doyle, jpatrickdoyle@earthlink.net, 965-8665 The City of Hudson Comment Period ends Monday, March 15, 2010 at 5 pm. Comments should be addressed to both: City of Hudson Common Council 520 Warren Street Hudson NY 12534 Division of Coastal Resources NYS Department of State 99 Washington Avenue, Suite 1010 Albany NY 12231-0001 The Draft documents can be found on the City of Hudson website: DRAFT LWRP (.pdf) DRAFT DGEIS (.pdf) Public Meeting in Stuyvesant 11/20 to Focus on LafargeDEC Has Issued Draft Title V Air Permit; First Ever Cap on Mercury Emissions; 30-Day Public Comment Period Ends December 4, 2009 Concerned groups question 176 pound mercury limit, call for extension of the Comment Period; Public Meeting will discuss this permit and Dr. Ward Stone's ongoing environmental testing PUBLIC MEETING Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7 PM Stuyvesant Town Hall 5 Sunset Drive Stuyvesant, NY 12173 Among other new conditions the Draft includes a cap on mercury emissions for the first time since the Ravena plant began operating almost 48 years ago. The proposed cap is 176 pounds per year which is greater than the amount of mercury emissions reported by Lafarge after mercury emissions testing in late 2008. (Lafarge Mercury Report, December 2008). Friends of Hudson's experts are currently reviewing the Draft with particular attention to the conditions regarding mercury and other heavy metals and dioxins and furans, proposed testing, monitoring and reporting procedures and certain timetables included for monitoring and compliance. It is critical that this document receive the highest possible independent scrutiny, especially given recently surfaced concerns about the public health impacts of Lafarge's emissions in the host community and communities downwind in Columbia and Rensselaer counties. Therefore FoH and CASE (Community Advocates for Safe Emissions) are co-sponsoring a Public Meeting at the Stuyvesant Town Hall to provide information and engage the public in a discussion of the Draft and other relevant issues. At this meeting Susan Falzon will be joined by FoH attorney Jeff Baker to discuss the Draft permit, our preliminary findings and the opportunities for public involvement in this review and the anticipated environmental review (DEIS) for Lafarge's proposed modernization. In addition Dr. Ward Stone will speak about the environmental testing for heavy metals that he has been conducting on behalf of CASE in Albany, Rensselaer and Columbia counties and plans for further testing. CASE co-founders Elyse Griffin and Elyse Kunz will introduce us to CASE's mission and their current activities. The thirty-day comment period will not provide enough time for our independent experts to review, analyze and verify the data and the proposed permit conditions. It will not provide enough time for officials or the public in affected municipalities to understand the Draft and be able to comment on it. Therefore we are calling on DEC to extend the period an additional 60 days and need the public to weigh in at the DEC in support of this request for extension. To request an extension contact: Ms. Sarah Evans NYS DEC Region 4 Headquarters 1130 North Westcott Road Schenectady NY 12306 cc: Mr. William Clarke NYS DEC Region 4 Headquarters 1130 North Westcott Road Schenectady NY 12306 Or send an e-mail to: r4dep@gw.dec.state.ny.us Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7 PM Stuyvesant Town Hall 5 Sunset Drive Stuyvesant, NY 12173 Erin Brockovich to Discuss Lafarge Cement Plant Emissions in Town Hall Meeting at Ravena HSWell Known Environmental Advocate to Address Community ConcernsIn a press release issued late Friday September 4, the NYC-based law firm Weitz and Luxenberg. P.C. announced that they will conduct a Town Hall meeting in association with Ms. Erin Brockovich and Dr. Mark Hyman MD on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 7 PM at Ravena-Coeyman-Selkirk High School to discuss the Lafarge Cement Plant in Ravena. They will be talking about the potential impact and options for addressing the problem. There will be presentations and a Q&A session. This promises to be an interesting and informative evening. Having long been involved in advocacy and activism regarding the health and environmental impacts of the cement industry in our midst we are pleased to learn that Ms. Brockovich and Weitz and Luxenberg (the east coast law firm with which she is associated) have taken a particular interest in the impact of potentially toxic air pollution from the Lafarge Cement Plant in Ravena. Erin Brockovich receives countless requests for help from people living in the shadow of polluting industries. She has taken a particular interest in Ravena because of the health concerns of the community. According to a statement from Ms. Brockovich, "Government is often absent when polluters need to be held accountable for poisoning the environment. And, invariably, we the people have to find some way to clean up the mess." This statement clearly expresses views shared by FoH and we are looking forward to hearing the thoughts of Ms. Brockovich, Dr. Hyman and Weitz and Luxenberg. Since 2003 when Lafarge applied for a permit to burn tires at Ravena until the present with Lafarge's announcement to seek permits to modernize their coal burning plant FoH has been a constant watchdog and a participant in the regulatory processes for both these applications. Our experts recently reviewed Lafarge's Title V Air Permit Renewal application and found it lacking in several minor and a few major ways and have made our concerns known to Lafarge. We are now waiting to see a corrected submission of that application as well as a finalized Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the modernization project. At that time we intend to be full participants in the regulatory process to ensure that the plant, if approved, will be built to operate at the highest standards protective of the public health and the environment. We were among the plaintiffs represented by EarthJustice (EJ) in numerous lawsuits seeking to force the EPA to limit emissions of hazardous air pollutants such as mercury and HCL from Portland Cement plants, as required by the Federal Clean Air Act. When the EPA finally proposed amendments to the National Air Toxics Emissions Standards we participated with EJ, other plaintiffs and numerous environmental groups across the country in demonstrating our support for the EPA's proposal. In June of this year FoH director Susan Falzon joined with these others in testifying at the EPA Public Hearing and in lobbying members of Congress on behalf of the proposal. There is reason to believe that this was a highly successful effort that will result in Congressional support. FoH has worked very closely with CASE (Community Advocates for Safe Emissions) in Ravena and SCRAP (Selkirk Coeymans Ravena Against Pollution) to bring research and concerns about Lafarge to the attention of the public and government agencies. If you have questions or can help by putting up flyers for the event or if you can staff our literature table on Friday please Email me or call 518-822-0334.If you can spread the word to help us publicize the event you can download a flyer issued by Weitz and Luxenberg. Friday, September 11, 2009 at 7 PM Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk HS Auditorium 2025 Route 9W, Ravena (1 mile north of the center of the village on the southbound side of 9W) HOME | ARCHIVES BOX 326 HUDSON NY 12534 (518) 822-0334 TEL  |