April 2022 Natural Resource Damage (NRD) Report
For decades, General Electric dumped highly toxic chemicals called PCBs into the Hudson River. Those poisons continue to pollute our waters to this day. Scenic Hudson asked leading Natural Resource Damage (NRD) experts to assess the injury to the Hudson caused by GE’s PCBs. Their report, An Analysis of Potential Natural Resource Damages Related to Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Discharges into the Hudson River estimates GE could owe as much as $11.4 billion to restore the river, ecology, and communities along its shores, with up to an additional $10.7 billion for dredging to prevent further harm to natural resources.
FY 2021 State Budget Testimony
Scenic Hudson Director of Public Policy Andy Bicking spoke before New York’s Joint Legislative Committee on January 27, 2020. His testimony details how investments in protecting the Hudson River and other natural treasures help to create clean drinking water, protect our communities, children and grandchildren against the effects of climate change, and provide recreational opportunities that help fuel the region’s economy.
The Climate-Resilient Agriculture Initiative
The Climate-Resilient Agriculture Initiative is a Scenic Hudson project which explores the potential for land conservation organizations to support and enhance public agricultural conservation incentive programs that promote climate resilience and carbon neutrality on working lands, and to offer these organizations a new strategy for sustaining resilient landscapes over the long term.
Foodshed Conservation Plan
This plan presents a strategic approach to conserve the agricultural land that can supply fresh, local food to the people of New York City and the Hudson Valley. It focuses on farmland in 11 Hudson Valley counties where it is most possible to reinforce the growing economic sustainability of regional agriculture.
Hudson Valley Conservation Strategy
Scenic Hudson designed the Hudson Valley Conservation Strategy (HVCS) to complement and build upon our existing conservation strategies—the Saving the Land That Matters Most campaign, the Hudson Valley/New York City Foodshed Conservation Plan, and the Tidal Wetland Adaptation Framework. In addition, it incorporates the most current and rigorous regional climate-resilience and natural resource datasets generated by non-profit, state agency, and academic partners.
Renewables Siting Guide
The Hudson Valley can serve as a regional model for promoting accelerated renewable energy development while simultaneously preserving important natural resources. This guide provides a decision-making framework for all
stakeholders—including host communities, developers, landowners and concerned citizens—to find common ground in the interest of achieving this vision.
Revitalizing Hudson Riverfronts
The Hudson Valley’s spectacular beauty, rich history, and ecological and agricultural resources are national treasures that have earned the region Congressional designation as a National Heritage Area. This guide offers a set of principles that ensure these resources and qualities endure for the next hundred years and beyond.
Hudson River Oil Spill Risk Assessment
The Hudson River Oil Spill Risk Assessment provides both quantitative and qualitative information on spill threats that can be used for a variety of purposes. The report details 77 hypothetical spill scenarios in nine locations along the Hudson. A mapping exercise completed for each scenario — and several varieties of petroleum products — indicates how extensively oil spilled in these locations would contaminate the water, shoreline and atmosphere. This data will prove invaluable for improving spill-prevention measures and emergency preparedness.
- Volume 1: Executive Summary
- Volume 2: Hudson River and Study Overview
- Volume 3: Oil Spill Probability Analysis
- Volume 4: Spill Consequences: Trajectory, Fate and Resource Exposure
- Volume 5: Fire and Explosion Consequences
- Volume 5 Appendix: Fire and Explosion Consequence Summary Reports
- Volume 6: Risk Mitigation
- Volume 7: Spill Scenario Summaries