Roundup of Environmental News

Rally planned for Tuesday; Job re-training fair on Wednesday

A pleasure craft on the Hudson in July with Indian Point in the background. (Photo by Regina Clarkin)

By Mike Matteo

August 12, 2023

The nonprofit organization Food and Water Watch (FWW) announced more action in support of the Save the Hudson act. On Tuesday, August 15, FWW will rally outside the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

Immediately following the rally, at the same location, will be a “listening tour” stop for the New York State Environmental Bond Act. Experts and representatives from New York State government will present information about projects that the bond act will support.

The group hopes to convince Gov.Hochul to sign bill A7208/S6893, sponsored by Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg and Senator Pete Harckham, which would prohibit dumping any radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River. Holtec, the company currently decommissioning Indian Point, plans to discharge over a million gallons of water starting at the end of this month.

While the bill passed the State Senate unanimously and with a super majority in the Assembly, it has hit an unexpected snag while waiting on the Governor’s signature. At the July meeting of the Indian Point Decommissioning Oversight Board (DOB), New York State Department of Public Service representatives assured those in attendance that the bill is just one of hundreds passed in the last week that Albany was in session, and Gov. Hochul is thoroughly vetting all the new legislation.

Job Training for Workers in the Fossil Fuel Industry

In other environmental news from the July DOB meeting, Rachel Adler of the New York State Department of Labor announced that the Office of Just Energy Transition (OJET) will kick off in 2024. The OJET will help workers retrain and transition from the fossil fuel industry to jobs in the green energy field.

“This office will connect workers with opportunities of quality jobs, upscaling, and training with focus on servicing those who are traditionally unrepresented especially within disadvantaged communities,” said Adler. “Beginning next year, in 2024, it is anticipated that this office will oversee a fund of up to $25 million annually for workforce training and retraining programs to prepare workers for employment in the renewable fields. The New York State Research and Development Authority has also dedicated more than $170 million in funding to support clean energy workforce and development training,” said Adler at the Decommissioning Oversight Board meeting in July.

The DOL representative also announced a virtual career fair on August 16 for Holtec employees. Adler and the Department of Labor did not return emails requesting comment.

About the Contributor

Mike Matteo

This is the final story produced by Mike Matteo during his eight-week internship with Peekskill Herald, covering the environment beat. He returns to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and plans to graduate in December. While in his undergraduate years at Baruch College, Michael Matteo faced a choice for his major- Public Policy or Journalism? He had just read Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail and decided he wanted to do at least one of them. While both were appealing, he chose Public Policy. After almost five years working in the New York political scene, Matteo knew it was time for a change. Thinking back to undergrad, he decided to address one of the bigger “what-ifs” in his life. He started at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in August of 2022 and knew he found his calling. While his true love is photography, Matteo enjoys writing about environmental issues and local politics. In his free time, he likes watching Turner Classic Movies, finding new music, and all things baseball.