Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to Meredith Savitt’s article “Port of Albany Tries to Heel into Crosswinds” (Spotlight News, July 25, 2024). The piece includes statements from NYS Waterkeeper’s General Counsel and Legal Director that appear to use outdated and hearsay information to justify exempting the Port of Albany from compliance with the EPA’s 2024 CCR Final Rule.
The article presents a biased narrative, favoring the Port of Albany, without adequately verifying the sources or the veracity of the statements made by the General Counsel. This lack of journalistic integrity misleads the public on a critical environmental issue.
The General Counsel’s original assertion that Beacon Island was an off-site facility based on conversations over a year ago is concerning. In an email dated August 1, 2024, the General Counsel admitted, “My belief that Beacon Island was an off-site facility was based on conversations over a year ago. At that time, I was involved in formulating oral comments to provide at an EPA public hearing. I spoke with several people about the site and really don’t recall who said what and why exactly I concluded that Beacon Island was an off-site location where coal ash was dumped from power plants some distance away from the site.”
This statement, made without concrete evidence or recent verification, should not have been used as a basis to exempt the Port from regulatory compliance. It is irresponsible for both the legal representative and the newspaper to propagate such unverified information. Subsequently, the General Counsel acknowledged the potential inaccuracies in his previous assumptions: “…I’m concerned that I may have been operating on faulty, inaccurate assumptions based on information I was provided some time ago…. And if EPA has included Beacon Island on its surface impoundments and/or CCRMU lists, the 2024 Legacy CCR Rule may very well be found to apply.” (General Counsel email, July 25, 2024).
It is imperative that Spotlight News upholds journalistic standards by ensuring that all claims, especially those with significant environmental and public health implications, are thoroughly vetted and based on reliable sources. Additionally, legal professionals must ensure their public statements are grounded in verified facts to maintain public trust and uphold the law effectively.
I urge the Spotlight News to correct this oversight and provide a more balanced and accurate account of the situation regarding Beacon Island and the Port of Albany’s compliance with the EPA’s CCR Final Rule.
Sincerely,
Sylvia Rowlands
Beacon Island Environmental Justice
