New York State Department News

The unified command consisting of the Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Office of Emergency Management, and Monmouth County Department of Health, received oil sample lab results from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory Friday, linking together oil spill cleanup efforts in both New York and New Jersey.Vane Brothers Company, as represented by Gallagher Marine Systems, has been identified as the responsible party.

President Joe Biden’s goal to deploy 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind along U.S. coastlines this decade to fight climate change may be unattainable due to soaring costs and supply chain delays, according to forecasters and industry insiders.The 2030 target, unveiled shortly after Biden took office, is central to Biden's broader plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050. It is also crucial to targets of Northeast states hoping wind will help them move away from fossil fuel…

The New York State Petroleum Business Tax (PBT), Article 13-A levies a tax on fuel consumption of commercial vessels operating on the waters of New York State. The PBT has long been a source of contention for operators of tug boats and towing vessels transiting New York State waters because of the difficulty to accurately calculate the tax due the state. This led to many long drawn out audits of vessel operators by the state, resulting in unacceptable additional taxes, interest and fines.Over the years, multiple efforts were made by industry groups to repeal the PBT legally without success.

A retired U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans has capsized after suffering a severe hull breech while moored on the Buffalo waterfront.On April 13, the 376-foot Fletcher-class destroyer-turned-museum experienced an electrical power-loss resulting in the failure of the onboard water discharge pumps. Progressive flooding and extreme weather conditions caused the vessel to list 45 degrees on its starboard side.Private contractors have been brought on-site by the Buffalo Naval Park to begin dewatering the vessel with four industrial dewatering pumps capable of discharging more than 13…

California-based boatbuilder Moose Boats has delivered a new fireboat to the Rochester, N.Y. Fire Department. The M2-38, dubbed Marine 1, is the first Moose in the Great Lakes. With a roof monitor, a cockpit monitor, a 5” large diameter hose Storz discharge, and the ability to pump over 1,500 gallons per minute, this boat will offer greatly increased capabilities to the city and its surrounding communities, the builder said.Rochester Fire Department's new boat has an extended walk-around cabin configured with three shock-mitigating crew seats…

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday announced offshore wind solicitation aimed at developing up to 2,500 Megawatts of renewable energy and complementary multi-port infrastructure investment.The solicitation includes a multi-port strategy and requirement for offshore wind generators to partner with any of the 11 prequalified New York ports to stage, construct, manufacture key components, or coordinate operations and maintenance activities."New York's second offshore wind solicitation seeks up to 2…

Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.The Port Authority, which oversees both states' seaports as well as airports and other major travel hubs, said in a statement that Cotton is currently asymptomatic and has self-quarantined at his home while maintaining a full work schedule.Staff members who have had close contact with Cotton in recent…

Operations to recover oil from a World War II-era shipwreck are nearing completion after commencing on May 11, 2019 off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday.The sunken vessel, Coimbra, was a supply ship owned by Great Britain that was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Long Island during World War II. Initial dive operations in May 2019 confirmed the tanker was leaking small amounts of oil, the Coast Guard discovered.A unified command…

The U.S. Coast Guard and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, along with contracted Resolve Marine Group, continue to assess the tanker Coimbra located approximately 30 miles southeast of Shinnecock, NY.

Moose Boats, a boat designer and manufacturer in the San Francisco Bay Area, was awarded a contract from the City of Rochester, New York Fire Department for the construction of the first M2-38 Fire Rescue Catamaran to be delivered to the Great Lakes. Twin Cummins 425hp turbo diesel propulsion engines, Twin Disc transmissions and Hamilton water-jets will power the M2-38 aluminum catamaran. Rochester Fire's new Moose Boat will be equipped with a fire pump system flowing over 1,500…

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is warning people in the waters off the Rockaways to stay away from any tar balls or oil sheens they might see and is investigating to see if they're related to an oil leak from a vessel a few days ago.USCG, along with partner agencies, are responding to reports of oil sheen and tar balls, on the ocean side of Coney Island and Long Island, from Norton Point to Atlantic Beach.Members of the Unified Command for Goethals Oil Spill continue responding to a report of sheening and tar balls received Saturday from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC).During shoreline assessments conducted Sunday afternoon…

The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a report of a sheen in Lake Ontario near the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, New York, approximately 10 miles northeast of Oswego, New York, Sunday. The cause of the sheen is unknown at this time. The Coast Guard has established a temporary safety zone extending two miles to the north and two miles to the east and west from the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant. A Coast Guard Auxiliary air crew noticed the sheen during a flight and reported it to Coast Guard Sector Buffalo.

The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a sheen in Lake Ontario near the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba, New York, approximately 10 miles northeast of Oswego, New York, Sunday. The cause of the sheen is unknown at this time. The Coast Guard has established a temporary safety zone extending two miles to the north and two miles to the east and west from the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant. A Coast Guard Auxiliary air crew noticed the sheen during a flight and reported it to Coast Guard Sector Buffalo. A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Oswego launched and took samples of the sheen and is currently enforcing the safety zone. Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are on scene.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that a “no discharge zone” can be established for the New York State portion of the St. Lawrence River. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation petitioned the EPA to prohibit boats from discharging sewage into the river by establishing a “no discharge zone” for the area. The EPA has reviewed the state petition and found that there are adequate facilities around the St. Lawrence for boats to pump out their sewage, rather than dumping it in the water. “It’s astonishing that in 2016, boaters can dump raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River. Declaring this area of the St. Lawrence a “no discharge zone” would provide cleaner water for people who use this river,” said Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck.

Coast Guard crews are continuing to monitor oil recovery operations (ORO) in the water near the International-Matex Tank Terminal (IMTT) Bayonne, New Jersey, Monday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New York received notification at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday from IMTT crewmembers of an oil spill as a result of an allision between a tug and a fuel terminal pier. The Coast Guard immediately launched members from the Sector New York Pollution Response Team to investigate. A Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, New Jersey, also responded. At this time, it is estimated that less than 1,000 gallons of oil entered the water and contracted crews are in the process of recovering the product.

Vessel previously grounded in St. Lawrence Seaway refloated, navigational channel open. The vessel ran hard aground after suffering a steering casualty, and at this time there is no pollution reported. The motor vessel Juno, a 621-foot bulk carrier which ran agound in the vicinity of Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River, New York, was refloated about 7 a.m. Wednesday and is now safely anchored at Mason Point. At 8 a.m. the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation re-opened the American Narrows to full navigation. The Bahamian-flagged motor vessel Juno, carrying a load of sugar, ran aground Monday reportedly due to a loss of steering and took on water in one of the forward ballast tanks…

UPDATE: U.S. Coast Guard responding to vessel aground in St. The U.S. Coast Guard reports it is continuing its response Tuesday to a 621-foot bulk carrier which ran aground in the vicinity of Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River, New York, Monday while transiting inbound from the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Port of Toronto. The Bahamian-flagged motor vessel Juno, carrying a load of sugar, is aground and taking on water in one of the forward ballast tanks, however, these tanks were empty prior to the grounding, and there has been no report of pollution.

There’s no debate about LNG in New York. ELCO, New York State Canals team up to retrofit 86-year old tugboat with an electric motor. In June, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of an all-electric dredge tender work boat on the Erie Canal in the Utica area of New York. The project, a partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), utilized an electric motor supplied and installed by Elco Motor Yachts, LLC, of Athens, New York. Significantly, the New York State Canal Corporation collaborated with Yorkville-based New West Technologies, LLC, in order to determine how best to transition the State’s work boat fleet to a cleaner propulsion system.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that dredging operations are expected to resume on Wednesday in the Upper Hudson River. In 2014, dredging will begin south of Schuylerville, New York and proceed south towards Troy. Dredging will also occur in a two-mile section of river near Fort Miller that is not easily accessed by boat. Dredging is being conducted to remove sediment from the river bottom that is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

New York’s Governor Cuomo announces retrofitted electric canal boat to demonstrate benefits of no-emission engine; NYSERDA, NYSDOT partnership with Canal Corp. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of an all-electric dredge tender workboat on the Erie Canal in the Utica area. The project is the result of a partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Additionally…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation today declared the New York side of the Lake Erie shore line a “no discharge zone,” which means that boats are completely banned from discharging sewage into the water. The EPA reviewed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposal to establish a no discharge zone for the lake and determined that there are adequate facilities in the area for boats to pump out their sewage. Boaters must now dispose of their sewage at one of the lake’s specially-designated pump-out stations. This action is part of a joint EPA and New York State strategy to eliminate the discharge of sewage from boats into the state’s waterways.

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement partners will be brought together in a multi-agency exercise designed to prepare for and prevent cross-border terrorist and criminal activity on the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. There are no known threats against the area, but boaters may notice increased assets of law enforcement on the water. Organized by The Monroe County Emergency Management Office, the multi-jurisdictional exercise will be sponsored by The Department of Homeland Security.

Hurricane 'Sandy' pollution response US Coast Guard unified command completes tank vessel lift on Staten Island, NY. The tank vessel John B. Caddell is a 184-foot tanker ship that washed up on Staten Island as a result of high winds and floodwaters from Hurricane Sandy. The Caddell posed both an environmental and navigational threat to the New York waterways. The Hurricane Sandy Pollution Response Unified Command lifted and transported the vessel from Front Street in Staten Island, thus removing that pollution threat to the environment.