Newburgh Environmental Justice Listening Session Focuses on Water Cleanup

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation held an Environmental Justice listening session in Newburgh on January 21 to focus community attention on the city’s drinking water supply and the ongoing cleanup of the Newburgh watershed. The meeting took place at Kaplan Hall on the SUNY Orange campus from 5:30 to 8:00 pm; doors opened at 5:00 pm.

DEC staff delivered presentations on the status of local water resources and on cleanup work underway in the watershed, part of an agency effort to build relationships with community members, better understand environmental disparities, and ensure DEC programs reach communities designated as environmental justice (EJ) areas. The session was framed as a two-way exchange: DEC provided information and a registration link for attendees, while soliciting community input to inform future actions.

For Newburgh residents, the session addressed issues that affect daily life - tap water quality, watershed health, and the pace and scope of remediation work. Water supply and watershed cleanup have direct implications for public health, property values, and local recreation along waterways that feed into the Hudson River system. Bringing these topics into a public forum gives residents an opportunity to raise neighborhood-specific concerns, ask about monitoring and timelines, and press for equitable enforcement of cleanup measures.

The listening session is part of a broader DEC approach to environmental justice that emphasizes outreach and responsiveness to communities that have historically borne disproportionate environmental burdens. In practical terms, the session aimed to make sure DEC’s programs and initiatives are accessible and relevant to Newburgh residents, particularly those most affected by pollution and infrastructure disparities.

Local stakeholders in Orange County have previously pushed for clearer communication and stronger oversight around water-related contaminants and cleanup milestones. Public meetings such as the Kaplan Hall session offer a formal channel for that oversight, as well as a venue to request follow-up data, testing results, or additional community-specific meetings. DEC encouraged registration ahead of the event to manage attendance and engagement.

What comes next for residents is continued engagement: attendees and those who could not make the session should monitor DEC outreach for updates and follow-up opportunities. The listening session is a step toward translating community concerns into concrete cleanup priorities, but sustained local participation will be key to shaping how quickly and effectively those priorities are addressed.