Canal Corporation Highlights Concerns to EPA Hudson River Dredging Peer Review Panel

ALBANY, NY (05/07/2010)(readMedia)-- The New York State Canal Corporation highlighted several concerns to the EPA Hudson River Dredging Peer Review Panel at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls.

In order to maintain the navigability of the Champlain canal to barge traffic and support upstate economic development, the Canal Corporation pointed out that substantially more dredging must be included in Phase 2 of the remedial project. In addition, contaminated sediments in the navigation channel should be removed and not capped in-place.

The Canal Corporation estimates that when the remediation project is completed, over 600,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will still remain in the river that must be removed to maintain the navigational depth of the Champlain Canal. If the dredging of this 600,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments is deferred to another entity after the remedy is completed, the additional dredging will once again stir up contaminated sediments and transport them downriver, further delaying the river's recovery.

EPA has proposed capping sediments in the navigation channel during Phase 2 at 14 feet. While this is an improvement over Phase 1, the Canal Corporation stressed that avoiding caps in the navigation channel altogether is a more preferable approach. During Phase 1, the depth that caps were placed within the navigation channel leaves those caps prone to damage from vessels and from future dredging activities necessary to maintain the navigability of the river.

The New York State Canal System is comprised of four historic waterways, the Erie, the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Spanning 524 miles across New York State, the waterway links the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes and the Niagara River with communities rich in history and culture.

The New York State Canal Corporation is a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority (Authority). Since 1992, following State legislation transferring the Canal System from the New York State Department of Transportation to the Authority, Canal operating and maintenance activities have been supported by Thruway toll revenue.

For information regarding events, recreational and vacation opportunities along the Canal System, please visit www.nyscanals.gov or call 1-800-4CANAL4.

The New York State Thruway Authority/Canal Corporation offers a free email service called TRANSalert to its customers via email or text messaging to inform them of major incidents and emergencies that may affect travel on the Thruway or navigation on the Canal System. To sign up for the Canal TRANSalert service, customers can visit the Corporation's website at www.nyscanals.gov/tas/. To sign-up for Thruway TRANSalerts please visit the Authority's website at www.nysthruway.gov/tas/.

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