UPDATE 8/12/2021: Photos from the day of the protest.
Photo Credit: Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Inc. issued a press release, advising the region of an on-the-water protest from the Stop Danskammer Coalition scheduled for August 4, 2021.

Activists to Hold Hudson River Flotilla Protest Against the Danskammer Fracked Gas Plant Expansion

”The proposed Danskammer expansion threatens public health, water, and air quality, plus locks New York into a fossil fuel future,” reads the press release.

On Wednesday, August 4th, 2021, activists representing Food & Water Watch, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, and other members of the Stop Danskammer Coalition will take to the water to protest the proposed Danskammer fracked gas plant expansion currently under review by the New York State Siting Board.

Activists will hold an on-the-water protest consisting of the sloops Clearwater and Woody Guthrie, kayaks, and canoes, accompanied by an on-land press conference and rally to be held at the Town of Wappinger public dock in Chelsea, across the river from the Danskammer site. Speakers will voice concerns over the proposal’s threats to public health, water, and air quality, as well as prolonging fossil fuel use in New York. Contrary to New York’s much needed and widely supported Climate Act, the Danskammer expansion would exacerbate the global climate crisis.

According to The Highlands Current, “Elected officials in Beacon, Newburgh, Cold Spring, and Philipstown (as well as a proposed resolution from Ulster County legislature) have also opposed a full-time plant, saying it doesn’t fit with the state’s goal over the next 30 years to replace technologies that burn fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming. Nevertheless, the Siting Board on Feb. 26 declared Danskammer’s application to be complete.”

“We are confident that our efforts to incorporate and eventually convert to a hydrogen power generation facility are well within the state’s mandates,” Michelle Hook, a spokesperson for Danskammer, said on Thursday (March 18, 2020). “We are committed to immediately lower emissions by upgrading existing equipment and then phase in hydrogen so that we can help the state meets its climate goals.”

On-The-Water Protest And Press Conference, Wednesday, August 4th, 2021

A press conference against the backdrop of a Hudson River flotilla, protesting the proposal to expand the Danskammer fracked gas plant. Interviews with speakers and activists will be available after the press conference. Photo opportunities will include imagery of the Danskammer plant with press conference speakers, the iconic sloops Clearwater and Woody Guthrie, kayakers, and paddlers on the river with banners and signs in front of the Danskammer site.

Speakers Planned To Attend

Press conference speakers to include Hudson Valley elected officials, a representative of the Ramapough Lenape Nation, and activists representing the following organizations: Food & Water Watch, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Newburgh Clean Water Project, Orange Residents Against Pilgrim Pipelines, Ulster Activists and other members of the Stop Danskammer Coalition.

Press Conference Time and Location

The press conference will start at 1 PM ET on Wednesday, August 4th. The press conference will take place at the Town of Wappinger Public Dock, located at 3 Front Street in Chelsea (adjacent to the Chelsea Yacht Club). Free parking is available at Hidden Rose Catering, located at 33 Chelsea Rd in Wappingers Falls.

About Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champions of the Hudson River. To date, more than half a million people have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the sloop Clearwater. Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet. For more information, visit www.clearwater.org.

About Food & Water Watch
Food & Water Watch mobilizes people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests. For more information, visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org/.