Included in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Trump was the “Hudson River Protection Act” that prevents parts of the Hudson River from being used as a parking areas for barges.
In 2023, the Coast Guard issued a Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) saying it would be easing regulations that had prevented commercial vessels from anchoring in the Hudson River. The Coast Guard’s announcement touched off a protest movement that warned the barges would pollute the river in areas where some municipalities collected river water for use as drinking water. An estimated 100,000 Hudson Valley residents rely on water from the Hudson.
Legislation to protect the river from barge parking was introduced in 2023 by Rep. Pat Ryan of Kingston.
“If there’s one thing we can all agree on it’s making sure our drinking water is clean and that our Hudson River is safe and protected,” Ryan said after learning that the “Hudson River Protection Act” had become law. “For far too long, big corporations have polluted and put at risk our precious river in pursuit of profits. But not anymore.”
Rep. Mike Lawler of New York’s 17th Congressional District that includes part of Westchester and Rockland said, “The Hudson River has faced serious ecological challenges for decades, and this law makes clear that our towns, homeowners, and riverfront communities come first.”
The organization Scenic Hudson was a strong advocate for reversing the Coast Guard’s decision to open up the river to barge parking and Scenic Hudson’s President Ned Sullivan said, “Ships and barges carrying crude oil and other dangerous cargo along the Hudson pose an immense risk to the communities who rely on the river for their drinking water, livelihoods, and recreation. They’re also a serious threat to local fish and aquatic life, whose habitat would be destroyed if a spill happens. The ‘Hudson River Protection Act’ is a major step forward in the years-long effort to block new anchorages and safeguard this irreplaceable resource.”
Jeremy Cherson, who is the associate director of government affairs for the organization Riverkeeper that also pushed for Hudson River protections, said, “More than 10,000 New Yorkers spoke up with Riverkeeper when the U.S. Coast Guard proposed new anchorage sites for large tankers and barges. This bill sends a clear message that the Hudson River is no longer open for industrial exploitation.”
Gary Bassett, mayor of the Village of Rhinebeck and chair of the group Hudson 7, an intermunicipal council representing seven mid-Hudson municipalities that rely on the Hudson River as a drinking water source, said that even with the new law the group will continue to monitor activities that could threaten the Hudson River as a drinking water source. Municipalities in the group are the Town of Esopus, Town of Hyde Park, Town of Lloyd, Town and City of Poughkeepsie, and the Town and Village of Rhinebeck located in Dutchess and Ulster Counties.
