Stop the Plant
No Danskammer Fracked Gas Plant!In June 2024, Danskammer withdrew their application for a Title V air permit. Under the federal Clean Air Act, Danskammer cannot move forward with their proposal without this permit! This is a huge victory for local environmental justice communities – and everyone in the Hudson Valley and the Northeast!
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had previously denied Danskammer’s application for a permit under the CLCPA. Danskammer commenced two appeals of DEC’s October 2021 decision: a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court and an administrative appeal before DEC. In June 2022, the Supreme Court upheld DEC’s decision and agreed that the CLCPA mandated denial of permits that would be inconsistent with the state’s climate goals.
While it’s a huge win that Danskammer has withdrawn their permit application, the fight to stop the plant is not necessarily over. Danskammer may still try to build a new plant on the Hudson that emits toxic pollutants. Stay tuned for updates and opportunities to get involved and make sure that a new polluting power plant is not built on the shores of the Hudson!
Stop the Plant
DANSKAMMER DENIED!On June 8, 2022, Orange County Supreme Court Judge Robert A. Onofry dismissed a lawsuit filed by Danskammer Energy LLC seeking to overturn the Department of Environmental Conservation’s denial of an air permit necessary for Danskammer to build its new fracked gas plant.
Judge Onofry ruled that the DEC had ample authority under the state’s landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to deny permits for new polluting gas plants that interfered with the law’s aggressive mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The court also found that Danskammer’s remaining fact-based challenges must first go through the DEC’s administrative hearing process before they can be brought in state court. On June 22, Danskammer filed notice that it plans to appeal Judge Onofry’s decision.
Members of the Stop Danskammer Coalition will continue to participate in hearings before the DEC and NYS Siting Board over the next year to ensure we #StopThePlant!
Who is Danskammer?
Owners of the Danskammer power plant on the Hudson River in the Town of Newburgh want to replace the current facility—which operates only a few days a year—with a new gas plant that will run nearly all the time.
Danskammer makes no sense:
Air Pollution
It will emit over 25 times more particulate matter—which can damage the heart and lungs—and more than 25 times more volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause short- and long-term health problems.
Wrong Time
NY is committed to combating climate change. A new Danskammer will accelerate it by emitting over 40 times more climate-warming greenhouse gases annually—the emissions equivalent of adding 217,000 passenger cars to Hudson Valley roads!
There are smarter alternatives. Clean energy offers comparable jobs—and more of them. Renewables growth means job growth.
A Step Backward
It will increase industrialization along the river when communities are working so hard to reclaim their waterfronts. And it doesn’t fit in with NY’s nation-leading climate change goals—to phase out all fossil-fuel electricity generation by 2040.
No Need
Forecasts by NY’s electricity grid operator found that even with Indian Point’s closure, electricity demands will be met without a new Danskammer—and with new renewable projects.
