NYSDEC to Release It’s Concealed Records Publicly

Overview

Delaware Riverkeeper Network & Delaware Riverkeeper et. al. v. NY State Department of Environmental Conservation: The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, The Humane Society of the United States, the Delaware Riverkeeper, and American Littoral Society filed suit in the New York Supreme Court challenging the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s concealment of the terms of water pollution permits issued to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The suit asks the court to order NYSDEC to release the records publicly.

CAFOs are large scale “factory farm” facilities that raise animals for meat, eggs, and dairy. The animals, who are often so intensively confined they can barely move, produce massive amounts of manure and have degraded water quality in lakes and streams across the country. At least two intensive confinement facilities, both undergoing expansion, are located in the Delaware River Watershed on the Middle Mongaup River. One of them, Hudson Valley Foie Gras has a history of violations of its discharge permits, spilling manure and releasing bacteria and chlorine into the river. This lawsuit seeks access to permit-required documents key to assessing the environmental safety of the facility, documents that State law requires be publicly available.