Hudson River Protection Act
The Hudson River Protection Act would amend a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 to tighten restrictions on vessel anchoring in a specified reach of the Hudson River. Specifically, it replaces certain old anchorage rules and adds a new prohibition: the Coast Guard Commandant must prohibit any vessel from anchoring in the described reach unless the anchoring occurs within anchorage grounds that were established before January 1, 2021. In short, anchoring outside pre-existing anchorage grounds in that reach would be prohibited, shifting anchoring to only those areas that already existed prior to 2021. The bill targets a narrow geographic area and is enforced by the Coast Guard. The bill also reorganizes the section of the NDAA governing Hudson River anchorage by removing two subsections, reclassifying another, and inserting the new prohibition language. It is introduced in the 119th Congress and referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, with sponsors identified as Mr. Ryan and Mr. Lawler.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition on anchoring: The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall prohibit any vessel from anchoring on the specified reach of the Hudson River unless the anchoring is within anchorage grounds established before January 1, 2021.
- 2Structural change to NDAA 2021 text: The bill strips out subsections (d) and (e) of Section 8437, redesignates subsection (c) as subsection (d), and inserts a new subsection (c) containing the prohibition.
- 3Geographic scope: The restriction applies to “the reach of the Hudson River described in subsection (a)” of Section 8437; the exact reach is defined in that subsection of the law (not shown in the provided text).
- 4Enforcement: The prohibition is to be enforced by the Commandant (i.e., the U.S. Coast Guard), suggesting regulatory and navigational enforcement actions to prevent non-compliant anchoring.
- 5Legislative status and sponsors: Introduced in the House on April 17, 2025, by Mr. Ryan (for himself and Mr. Lawler) and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.