On April 23, Riverkeeper took to the skies for its regular spring helicopter patrol of the Hudson River. Boat Captain John Lipscomb, Hudson River Program Director Basil Seggos, photographer Giles Ashford, and ace pilot James McVey flew the river from Brooklyn to Glens Falls and back for a total distance of more than 460 miles. The team tracked down a number of elusive polluters and obtained visual evidence for several key cases and campaigns. An aerial perspective provides an invaluable opportunity to detect subtle changes in the landscape and illegal activities behind fences that are often undetectable from ground level.

Riverkeeper’s discovery and investigation of the 17,000-gallon fuel spill at Metro North’s Harmon Yard facility in Croton-on-Hudson has led to charges and an arrest. On May 1, Westchester County Police Director of Environmental Security Ron Gatto brought criminal negligence charges against Metro North Commuter Railroad Company and arrested Metro North’s Assistant Director of Environmental Compliance and Services for violating New York’s Environmental Conservation Law. The charges arise from the deliberate disconnection of a spill containment system at a Metro North pump house during construction at the facility.

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