A citizen watchdog for the Hudson Valley — since 1982.

Our Mission

Orange Environment Inc. is a 43-year-old non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting the environment and communities of Orange County, New York, and the surrounding border areas of the Hudson Valley, and the New York and New Jersey Highlands between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. The mission of the organization is to protect the integrity of Orange County (NY)'s region and promote the sustainability of its communities.

To fulfill this mission, OE has had a distinguished record of concrete action that includes educating the public on environmental laws, fighting for good government and preserving our natural resources, organizing and training activists, producing technical reports on local issues, presenting testimony at public hearings, promoting sustainability through Permaculture workshops, and sponsoring community events.

Our Region

OE serves Orange County and the surrounding border areas of the Hudson Valley and the NY/NJ Highlands between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. Our scenic landscape contrasts striking mountains with the broad and verdant Wallkill River Valley and old, historic cities with a rural, agrarian core. The Ramapo River runs south to New Jersey, serving as a drinking water source for millions of NY and NJ residents.

Given our proximity and connectedness to the New York Metropolitan region, our area has been the locus of many epic land-use battles. Extraordinary growth pressure is turning farms into subdivisions, scenic roadways into commercial strips, and communities into over-developed enclaves. OE provides the leadership and guidance needed to develop and implement sustainability strategies that hold the line.

A Legacy of Wins

A few of the issues OE has significantly impacted since 1982:

• Pioneered New York State's response to radon gas, building a co-op model for testing and mitigation until state programs took over.
• Forced the RSR battery recycling plant in Wallkill — a secondary lead smelter responsible for the state's worst ambient lead air pollution — to clean up and submit to community oversight.
• Led a multi-year sustainability planning and impact assessment effort for the redevelopment of the Port of Newburgh.
• Established an independent public oversight Community Action Committee for the Nepera Chemical Plant.
• Won a string of administrative and civil court victories that closed both the Orange County and the mob-run Al Turi Landfills, scared off incinerator proposals, and moved the county toward waste reduction & recovery.
• Intervened in the 2002 permit hearings for the Calpine gas-fired power plant in Wawayanda, securing a citizen oversight committee and regional air-pollution research.
• Defeated the growth-inducing Orange County Water Loop Project, redirecting the county toward conservation and resource protection.
• Spun off the precursor to the Orange County Land Trust and later funded it with $750,000 won in a nine-year court battle protecting the Wallkill River.
• Played a key role in stopping the 25,000-resident development at Sterling Forest, preserving the largest connected natural area in the Northeast.
• Reached thousands of school children through classroom programs, a battery recycling program (7 tons in four years), workshops, and Earth Day celebrations that drew 5,000 attendees.
• Helped protect the Dutchess Quarry Caves at Mt. Lookout, one of the oldest sites of human activity east of the Mississippi River.