Captain John Lipscomb's Visit to the Hudson 7 Council to start the year in 2025

​In January, the Hudson 7 was honored to host Captain John Lipscomb, who recently retired after serving as Riverkeeper’s boat captain since 2000. Over the course of his career, John has dedicated himself to the protection and restoration of the Hudson River.

Growing up in Irvington and Tarrytown, John developed a deep connection to the river, learning to swim and sail in its waters. In the early 1970s, he began apprenticing with WWII-era boat builders at Petersen’s Boatyard in Nyack, where he gained expertise in the maintenance and repair of wooden boats. He worked in both wooden and fiberglass boat repair and as a rigger, eventually becoming General Manager of Petersen’s from 1991 to 2000.

As Riverkeeper’s boat captain, John patrolled the Hudson River aboard the “R. Ian Fletcher,” a 36-foot Chesapeake Bay-style wooden vessel. From April to December, he traveled between New York Harbor and Troy, covering 4,000 to 5,000 nautical miles and monitoring pollution, tributaries, and waterfront facilities.

During the recent Hudson River Anchorages campaign, John served as a technical advisor to the Hudson 7, where the council voiced its concerns about the Coast Guard’s proposed redefinition of the Port of New York. This redefinition raised significant issues regarding the safeguarding of drinking water sources and the environment due to potential risks of hazardous spills from vessels carrying substances such as diesel fuel or heating oil. These spills could spread with tidal movements, threatening clean drinking water for the seven communities along the river. Through their collective efforts alongside Riverkeeper, Congressmen Ryan, Molinaro, and Lawler introduced the Hudson River Protection Act, which seeks to permanently ban the creation of additional anchorages between Yonkers and Kingston. This legislation passed the House of Representatives and is set to go before the Senate in May 2024. The Hudson 7 will continue to closely monitor this issue in the years ahead.
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Captain Lipscomb joined the council to recommend three priority issues for the Hudson 7 to focus on in the coming years:

1. Area Contingency Planning and Spill Drills – Continuing efforts to ensure effective spill response strategies for local risks.
2. Leachate and Wastewater Treatment Plant Pollution – Addressing ongoing environmental challenges related to landfill leachate and wastewater treatment plant discharge into the river.
3. CSX Rail Bridges and Potential Spills – Assessing the risks associated with CSX-owned rail bridges and the potential for hazardous material spills.
   
   

Captain John’s wealth of knowledge and dedication to the river will continue to guide the Hudson 7 as we work toward safeguarding the Hudson River as a drinking water source and the communities that rely on it.