Scenic Hudson Decision
Hudson River Environmental Society Collection
On the River Documentary
The Saunders Collection
The HRVC Collection
The Seymour collection consists of materials relating to the landmark environmental law case that opposed the Consolidated Edison Company’s proposed pumped storage facility at Storm King Mountain, near Cornwall, New York.
The records that the Seymour’s collected consist of correspondence, legal documents, clippings, agenda and minutes of meetings, memoranda, studies, reports, publicity materials, printed matter, and photographs.
Scenic Hudson, Inc. presented the records to the Marist College Library in 1982.
In September 1962, the Consolidated Edison Company announced plans to build a pumped storage facility, the largest of its kind in the world, at Storm King Mountain near Cornwall, New York. The initial application for license to construct the plant was filed with the Federal Power Commission in January 1963. On November 8, 1963, a small group of concerned citizens met at the home of Carl Carmer and formed the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference to fight the pumped storage project on the grounds that it posed a threat to the Cornwall water supply and Hudson River fisheries as well as to scenic and historic Storm King Mountain.
Senator and Mrs. Seymour were among the concerned citizens who helped form the foundation of the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference. Mr. Seymour, a 1947 graduate of Princeton, received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1950. In 1966 he was elected to the New York State Senate, representing the Southern District of New York. Senator Seymour was a strong proponent of the environment and dedicated much of his time and efforts to preserve Storm King Mountain. Mrs. Seymour was also a major player in the fight against Con Ed. As a member of Scenic Hudson’s Executive Committee she organized meetings, drafted correspondence, and rallied others to back their organization.
With the help of people like the Seymour’s, Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference and Con Ed were able to reach a settlement some 17 years after the original proposal was made. When all was said and done Consolidated Edison agreed to drop the plan for the Storm King Facility.
The lengthy and controversial case set important precedents in environmental law and is generally credited with spawning the modern environmental movement.
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