Congressman Pat Ryan Highlights Anchoring Ban on Hudson River

NEWBURGH, N.Y.—Congressman Pat Ryan promoted his boat anchorage ban in Newburgh on Oct. 9 with local experts and advocates, saying that barges anchoring in the Hudson River pollute the water and threaten fish species.

The Hudson River Protection Act prohibits commercial vessels and barges from establishing new anchorage grounds between the cities of Kingston and Yonkers on the Hudson River. Vessels may still anchor at anchorage grounds established before 2021, including an anchorage site south of Kingston at Hyde Park.

“If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s making sure our drinking water is clean and that our Hudson River is safe and protected,” Ryan said at a press conference.

The Act was introduced in 2023 by Ryan, a Democrat representing the Central Hudson Valley, and Congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican representing much of the South Hudson Valley. The law was passed in 2025 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

Ryan is running for his third term in office against Republican Jackie Auringer in the Nov. 3 election. He beat Republican challenger Alison Esposito with 57.1 percent of the votes in the 2024 election.

Anchoring outside of approved sites was banned in 2021. A 2023 decision by the U.S. Coast Guard opened the upper Hudson to anchoring anywhere for any amount of time.

While the 2023 decision was reversed, Ryan said he created the Act to prevent the Coast Guard from attempting to open the river to anchoring in the future.

Ryan said he’s concerned about having vessels anchored in the Hudson because river barges carry oil, asphalt, and other hazardous materials, and spills can be dangerous.

One such case was the Ethel H (II), an oil barge that ran aground near West Point in 1977 carrying around 2.68 million gallons of No. 6 fuel. The fuel leaked into the river and floated as far as the George Washington Bridge.

“The river doesn’t follow municipal boundaries. A spill doesn’t stop at a town line, and a flood doesn’t stop at a county line,” Gary Bassett, mayor of the Village of Rhinebeck and chair of the Hudson 7, an inter-municipal council advocating for protecting the Hudson River, said at the press conference.

“Protecting this shared resource requires regional cooperation and strong federal leadership.”

The Hudson River is the primary water source for seven municipalities, including Rhinebeck, Esopus, Lloyd, Hyde Park, and Poughkeepsie, serving more than 100,000 people. The river also serves as New York City’s backup drinking water supply.

Ryan also said the noise and light pollution from the barges negatively affect the river. Anchors dragging on the riverbed threaten the more than 200 species of fish that spawn and thrive in the Hudson River, including shad, striped bass, and herring, environmental advocates said.

“Without the Hudson River Protection Act, our river was at risk of becoming a busy highway and parking lot for marine vessels carrying crude oil or other dangerous cargo,” Carli Fraccarolli, government relations manager for Scenic Hudson, a nonprofit that worked with Ryan on the Act, said at the press conference.

In a June 2026 notice of proposed rulemaking addressing the restrictions created by the Hudson River Protection Act, the Coast Guard proposed that vessels may still take action to maintain safety or prevent loss of property, including anchoring in emergency cases.

The Coast Guard said that the proposed rule would not have any significant economic impacts on small businesses or communities.

The American Waterways Operators—a tugboat, towboat, and barge industry advocacy group—wrote a letter to the Coast Guard in August, stating that vessels must be allowed to use anchors in emergencies.

One facet of the proposed Coast Guard rule is that vessels more than 20 meters long must notify New York water authorities before anchoring in the Hudson during emergencies. The waterway operators said that an efficient method of communication with authorities is absolutely necessary.

“A Coast Guard notification process for anchoring that is inefficient or otherwise cumbersome risks disincentivizing captains from anchoring when needed and undermines navigation safety,” the letter reads.

The group said that anchoring has been an important safety precaution for more than a century, and vessels routinely anchor for a few hours when visibility is too low for safe navigation. They also support the creation of more anchorage sites along the Hudson River, citing navigational safety.

The Coast Guard and Auringer did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.