Word from Norrie Point
Tonight, at the Norrie Point Environmental Center in Staatsburg, the Department of State and the Department of Environmental Conservation held a joint public hearing about the proposed Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats designations, among them our own South Bay. Gossips has received word that O&G sent an attorney from a law firm in Syracuse to the hearing to argue against the designation, claiming that there wasn't enough data to support the designation and that water transportation was such a high priority it should take precedence over the designation.
Photo courtesy the South Bay Task Force.
I attended and participated in the hearing, heard the O&G lawyer's comments, and spoke with him afterward. He erroneously referred to Hudson's "deepwater port" (language which has been struck from the LWRP, as it is incorrect use of the term), ignored the purpose of the hearing (specific scientific info about proposed designations), and provided no actual evidence to support his claim. Indeed, the draft scoring of the Bay is virtually certain to increase, not decrease, in the course of the review.
ReplyDeleteNote also that extensive data has been submitted to the State supporting the designation, including data which was gathered by an SLC consultant, the Malcolm Pirnie firm of White Plains, ten years ago. It will be interesting if H/OG tries to assail the work of their own consultants.