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Write Governor Paterson and DEC Commissioner Grannis Here are two sample letters you can send. Please copy, paste, edit if you like, and mail. You can send by email or to the addresses listed at the top of the sample letter.
Governor David Paterson State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 Dear Governor Paterson: I am writing to applaud your recent announcement of the steps the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will be taking to protect the declining Hudson River fish populations, including American shad. The Hudson River is one of New York State's most important natural treasures, and provides rich habitat for many of the migratory fish species along the Atlantic coast. Your efforts to increase monitoring, to reduce fishing in the Hudson's critical spawning and nursery habitats, to end ocean and estuarine by-catch of shad by commercial trawlers seeking other species, and to restore a healthy fishery and Hudson River ecosystem are critical. I especially appreciate your call to reduce fish mortality at water intakes through DEC's permitting processes and urge that this policy be implemented with the urgency that severity of the problem demands. There are five power plants north of New York City on the tidal Hudson - Indian Point, Lovett, Danskammer, Bowline and Roseton - all have once through cooling. This destructive, outdated cooling technology consumes up to five billion gallons per day from the River. Indian Point alone uses over 2.4 billion gallons per day during peak period. These facilities kill billions of adult and juvenile fish, larvae eggs and other aquatic life every year, severely impacting Hudson River ecosystem. When it was thought that fish populations were stable, the ending of this damaging technology was less critical, but in light of recent reports that ten of thirteen major Hudson River fish species are in serious decline, it is imperative that implementation of less consumptive closed-cycle cooling be an urgent priority. Please advise Commissioner Grannis to notify his staff to move promptly to revise the permits for all Hudson River power plants to require the best available technology, which is closed-cycle cooling. Thank you for recognizing the importance of this action. Sincerely, [Your Name Here]
Hon. Pete Grannis, Commissioner New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway Albany, NY 1223 Re: Hudson River Power Plant Fish Kills Dear Commissioner Grannis: The Hudson River is one of the state's most important natural treasures, and a rich habitat for many of the east coast's migratory fish species. However, the five power plants on the tidal Hudson north of New York City - Indian Point, Lovett, Danskammer, Bowline and Roseton - all have once-through cooling. This destructive, outdated cooling technology consumes up to five billion gallons per day from the River. Indian Point alone uses over 2.4 billion gallons per day during peak period. These facilities kill billions of adult and juvenile fish, larvae eggs and other aquatic life every year, severely impacting Hudson River ecosystem. When it was thought that fish populations were stable, the ending of this damaging technology was less critical, but in light of recent reports that ten of thirteen major Hudson River fish species are in serious decline, it is imperative that transitioning to less consumptive closed-cycle cooling be an urgent priority. The Department is supposed to renew the permits for these facilities every five years, and require the best technology available to minimize the environmental impacts. Closed-cycle cooling could reduce water use and fish mortality by 97 percent or more, but the DEC has not renewed the permits for most of the five plants for more than 10 years and has not required closed-cycle cooling as the best technology available. Please move promptly to revise these permits and require existing power plants on the Hudson to convert to closed-cycle cooling to protect this precious resource. Thank you for your long-standing and unwavering commitment to environmental protection. Sincerely, [Your Name Here] |
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