Latest briefing from DEP - 4:27pm on Jul 22, 2011

Let's hope this s the beginning of the end of this particular nightmare.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Phillip Musegaas
Date: Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 6:03 PM
Subject: FW: latest briefing from DEP?
To: Nancy Brous <nbrous@gmail.com>, rob buchanan <avironvoile@gmail.com>

Latest news, looks like pumps are running, and I've heard they may stop the bypass discharges this evening.  Would you distribute?

Phillip Musegaas, Esq.

Hudson River Program Director

Riverkeeper, Inc.

http://www.centredaily.com/2011/07/22/2851675/pumps-working-at-nyc-plant-that.html

Pumps working at NYC plant that spilled sewage

The Associated Press
Posted: 4:16pm on Jul 22, 2011; Modified: 4:27pm on Jul 22, 2011
NEW YORK — Pumps resumed working Friday at a wastewater treatment plant that spilled millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Hudson River, and officials expressed hope that the discharges would end in the evening.
Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Caswell Holloway said at a Friday afternoon briefing that the pumps were handling all of the incoming flow, and sewage that had been stored in the system was being reduced.

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/07/22/2851675/pumps-working-at-nyc-plant-that.html#ixzz1SrzufAQ5

_________________________________
Lawrence Levine
Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council
40 W. 20^th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 727-4548
PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
This message is intended only for the addressee and may contain information privileged confidential, and exempt from disclosure under law.  If you are not the intended recipient, please notify me immediately by email and delete the original message.

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nrdcnewyork

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NRDCNY

Public Boating Program Cancellations due to Sewage Release

Please be advised that the following organizations have alerted NYCWTA that they have canceled all or some of their public paddling programs scheduled for this weekend due to an extraordinary release of raw sewage into the Hudson and Harlem Rivers caused by a DEP treatment plant fire on Wednesday.
Please check directly with the organization you planned to boat or volunteer with this weekend for further details about their program cancelations.
For links to check with other area boating groups not listed below see http://nycwatertrailweb.blogspot.com/p/community-boating-groups.html

Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse  www.bbpboathouse.org
Downtown Boathouse  www.downtownboathouse.org
Friends of Brook Park  www.friendsofbrookpark.org
Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse  www.hobokencoveboathouse.org/
Inwood Canoe Club  www.inwoodcanoeclub.com
New York Kayak Polo  www.nykayakpolo.org
New York Outrigger  www.newyorkoutrigger.org
Village Community Boathouse  www.villagecommunityboathouse.org
Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club  www.yprc.org

We will do our best to keep everyone as up to date as possible on further developments.
NYCWTA

From the RiverKeeper:

NYC Sewage Treatment Plant Dumping Raw Sewage into Hudson After Fire

Since 5:15 p.m. yesterday, the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant, at 135th Street in New York City, began discharging untreated sewage into the Hudson River following a four alarm fire that caused severe damage and the shutdown of the plant. Riverkeeper is relieved that no one was seriously injured in the fire or subsequent evacuation of Riverbank Park, and fully supports the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) efforts to bring the treatment plant back online as soon as possible. However, we are concerned that the city’s efforts to notify the public have been inadequate and potentially confusing, and do not fully inform the public as to the risks posed by such a massive discharge of sewage into the Hudson.

For example, the DEP and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have issued a combined statement that focuses primarily on official swimming beaches and provides a very vague warning about recreating in the river, ignoring the fact that thousands of New Yorkers recreate on the Hudson from riverfront parks and boats, often far from designated public beaches such as Jones Beach. Riverkeeper considers the entire Hudson River estuary a “beach” during the boating and swimming season – New York City should do the same, to ensure that all New Yorkers are protected from the potential health effects of sewage discharges like this one. Any discharge of sewage is unacceptable and must be prevented at all costs.

“When accidents like this happen, it is critical that NYC officials speak with one voice, and provide the public with accurate, consistent information about the public health risk and environmental impacts that result,” said Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River Program Director at Riverkeeper. “New Yorkers use the entire Hudson, New York Harbor and East River for recreation, not just Jones Beach. The city’s public notification effort must reflect that fact, and ensure that all New Yorkers who want to enjoy the city’s “Sixth Borough” can do so with the best information available.”

Given the large number of organized boating events scheduled over the next few days in NYC, it is critical that the Health Department update this advisory and provide the public with better information on the geographic scope of sewage contamination in the Hudson River, and the risk to public health it represents.

The North River plant is located on the Hudson River, west of the West Side Highway from 137th Street to 145th Street and provides wastewater treatment for the hundreds of thousands of people who live and work in or visit the west side of Manhattan, from Bank Street in Greenwich Village to Inwood Hill at the island’s northern tip. North River has the capacity to treat 140 million gallons of sewage per day, but it is unknown how much has been dumped into the Hudson since yesterday afternoon. Based on its capacity, it is likely that millions of gallons of sewage have been discharged.

Update on North River treatment plant overflow - 6:47pm 21 July 2011

a little more info from riverkeeper.  thanks again to phillip musegaas.

most up to date list of outfalls is below his email.
sorry to be the bearer of bad news to quite a few people who were on the water last night from pier 66, but note that one of the outfalls is right AT west 26th street. 
nb

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Phillip Musegaas
Date: Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 6:47 PM
Subject: RE: update on North River treatment plant overflow

Nancy and Rob,

Thanks for the emails today – here's what I know at this point, some of it's probably old news but I thought I'd share anyway.  Feel free to call or email me with questions or ideas.  The plant permit is attached, which has the list of CSO outfalls, some of which are being used for this bypass.  Let me know if you want me to send a list of the outfalls and GPS coordinates.

Here is a link to the statement on our website – I'm going to update it tomorrow morning.

http://www.riverkeeper.org/blog/2011/07/21/nyc-sewage-treatment-plant-dumping-raw-sewage-into-hudson-after-fire

-          DEC confirmed that the inflow is being diverted to at least seven permitted CSO outfalls, located along the west side of Manhattan from Dyckman street down to 18^th street, and on the Harlem River at Academy St. and W. 203^rd st.   hypochlorite is being added to the discharge at 158^th street, but that's the only treatment occurring, and Larry Levine reminded me that it's known to be not very effective and possibly more harm than good to aquatic life.  This is a key point we need to get out to the public, that this is not one big discharge happening from the plant, but sewage discharges all along the west side of Manhattan, and at least two locations on the Harlem River.

-          DEP predicts that 120 million gallons have been discharged since yesterday at 515 pm, when the bypass began – this matches up with the avg. flow of the plant, not actual field measurements of flow.  If they don't get the plant up and running by tomorrow, they are expecting to announce beach closures by tomorrow afternoon, not sure which ones though.

-          The Riverkeeper boat is taking samples at the outfall locations today, and will head down tomorrow to resample.  We just finished a sampling run about a week ago, also dry weather – early results from that run show acceptable water quality in every sampling location except Gowanus.   I'll share sample results from North River as soon as we have them, the contrast between the two should be interesting.

-          Jim Tierney at DEC gave me the following info on the plant condition – 1 pump/engine destroyed, one badly damaged, two possibly operational – they've brought in portable generators to the site, because ConEd is very hesitant to reconnect the plant to the grid until they know the condition of electrical systems, and possibly more about the cause of the fire.  They believe if they can get one pump running, they can begin primary treatment and disinfection on a broader scale.  Tierney also mentioned beach closures, and made a point of saying they wouldn't reopen beaches until sampling showed clean water. 

o   DEP and DEC have also convened a "bypass group" that is running a hydroqual model of bypass impacts – however, the model only assesses the impacts on designated swimming beaches, hence the early language about a 48 hour window before beaches would be closed. 

-          Coast Guard issued a radio advisory this afternoon on Channel 16, informing boaters about DEP's advisory.  Otherwise they are diverting all info requests back to DEP.

I think those are the key points – I spoke to lots of media today, core message was 'we need better public notification – more timely, more detailed, more interagency coordination, and specific advisories on the health risks and geographic scope of the advisory.'  I think the press release suggests DEP  is slowly moving in the  right direction, but it took them almost 24 hrs!  John Lipscomb, our boat captain, sent me a photo of guys swimming near Dyckman, south of the main CSO bypass outfall this afternoon.

Thanks,

Phillip

Phillip Musegaas, Esq.

Hudson River Program Director

Riverkeeper, Inc.

GPS coordinates for the CSO outfalls being used for the discharge are below, thanks. This is based on info from DEC Region 2 today.  I have a feeling they will add more outfalls, since we alerted them to 006 this afternoon.
            Latitude          Longitude         Location
 NR-023      40,44,42          74,00,36          W. 18th Street (6 blocks north of NR050)
NR 003      40,50,07          73,56,56          W. 158th St.  (just north of Riverkbank State Park and Trinity Cemetery)
NR 050      40,44,30          74,00,36          Bloomfield Street (Meatpacking District- 6 blocks south of NR023)
NR 045      40,51,35          73,54,56          Academy Street (Discharging into the HARLEM River)
NR 026      40,45,11          74,00,32          W. 26th Street (8 blocks north of NR 023)

NR 016      40,51,43          73,54,49          Harlem River, W. 203^rd st.
NR 006      40, 52,10         73,55,46          Dyckman St.

Riverkeeper Sewage Release Notice

Sorry for the delay.  It was imperative to get this info to the area immediately surrounding the CSOs first.
This is from earlier today from Riverkeeper.  NYCWTA will try to keep you updated as more information is made available.
NB

NYC Sewage Treatment Plant Dumping Raw Sewage into Hudson After Fire Since 5:15 p.m. yesterday, the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant, at 135th Street in New York City, began discharging untreated sewage into the Hudson River following a four alarm fire that caused severe damage and the shutdown of the plant.  Riverkeeper is relieved that no one was seriously injured in the fire or subsequent evacuation of Riverbank Park, and fully supports the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) efforts to bring the treatment plant back online as soon as possible.  However, we are concerned that the city's efforts to notify the public have been inadequate and potentially confusing, and do not fully inform the public as to the risks posed by such a massive discharge of sewage into the Hudson.  For example, the DEP and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have issued a combined statement that focuses primarily on official swimming beaches and provides a very vague warning about recreating in the river, ignoring the fact that thousands of New Yorkers recreate on the Hudson from riverfront parks and boats, often far from designated public beaches such as Jones Beach.  Riverkeeper considers the entire Hudson River estuary a "beach" during the boating and swimming season – New York City should do the same, to ensure that all New Yorkers are protected from the potential health effects of sewage discharges like this one. Any discharge of sewage is unacceptable and must be prevented at all costs. "When accidents like this happen, it is critical that NYC officials speak with one voice, and provide the public with accurate, consistent information about the public health risk and environmental impacts that result," said Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River Program Director at Riverkeeper.  "New Yorkers use the entire Hudson, New York Harbor and East River for recreation, not just Jones Beach.  The city's public notification effort must reflect that fact, and ensure that all New Yorkers who want to enjoy the city's "Sixth Borough" can do so with the best information available."  Given the large number of organized boating events scheduled over the next few days in NYC, it is critical that the Health Department update this advisory and provide the public with better information on the geographic scope of sewage contamination in the Hudson River, and the risk to public health it represents.     The North River plant is located on the Hudson River, west of the West Side Highway from 137th Street to 145th Street and provides wastewater treatment for the hundreds of thousands of people who live and work in or visit the west side of Manhattan, from Bank Street in Greenwich Village to Inwood Hill at the island's northern tip.  North River has the capacity to treat 140 million gallons of sewage per day, but it is unknown how much has been dumped into the Hudson since yesterday afternoon.  Based on its capacity, it is likely that millions of gallons of sewage have been discharged. Riverkeeper will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. For information about Riverkeeper's Water Quality Testing Program, visit: www.riverkeeper.org/water-quality/hudson/.

11th ANNUAL GREAT HUDSON RIVER PADDLE SET FOR JULY

11^th ANNUAL GREAT HUDSON RIVER PADDLE SET FOR JULY

NEW FORMAT WILL BOOST ECOTOURISM

(Albany, NY) –The Hudson River Valley Greenway is encouraging residents of the Hudson Valley and beyond to get ready for the 11th Annual Great Hudson River Paddle, scheduled for July 1-31, 2011.

Following ten highly successful years the Hudson River Valley Greenway is changing the format of the Great Hudson River Paddle (GHRP) from a single end-to-end trip to a series of many types of partner run paddles. The new Great Hudson River Paddle will be modeled on the celebrated Hudson River Valley Ramble and will include short overnight paddles, day paddles, free paddles, paddle races, and any other events our partners dream up. The goals of the change are to get more people out on the Hudson in a safe and fun environment and to bolster local economic development through increased ecotourism.

A new website allows partners to directly upload events. The GHRP website, www.greatHRpaddle.org, is ready for event entries from our partner organizations, and will be the go-to destination for paddling events this July.

The Paddle offers the opportunity for participants to enjoy a variety of kayaking and boating experiences, and canal and estuary explorations that highlight the significant historical, cultural and natural resources found throughout the Hudson River Valley. Click to watch a video about the GHRP. Experiencing these resources from the water gives participants a unique and up-close perspective that is not to be missed.

Riverkeeper's May 2011 Hudson River Water Quality Report

May 2011 Sampling Data
Hudson River Water Quality Report:
First sampling patrol of 2011 - May 16 through May 19
Highlights

This month our sampling patrol was carried out aboard “Launch 5” while Riverkeeper’s boat was in final stages of a major rebuild. Many thanks to Greg Porteus, owner of “Launch 5.”

Our May patrol was rainy, wet and nasty. It rained between 1.2 and 2.5 inches during and before our patrol (with local heavy rain every day as we worked north) and, as a result, we found more unacceptable water quality than ever before. Not one sample site north of Poughkeepsie was “acceptable.” This is stunning. I've never been on a patrol like this one. Read on to see how the Hudson River can be regularly and dramatically compromised by sewage releases triggered by something as simple as a few inches of rain.
Of 74 sampling locations:
59 (80%) were “unacceptable”
7 (9%) were “possible risk”
8 (11%) were “acceptable”