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“Waters with updated advice include Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Upper Niagara River, Mohawk River between locks E20 and E21, Lake Champlain's Cumberland Bay, Lake George, Seneca Lake and Catharine Creek.
The PFOS guidelines are used along with guidelines for other chemicals, like mercury and PCBs, to protect against exposure to chemicals from eating fish.
These guidelines are used to evaluate fish sampling data provided by DEC to recommend fish consumption advice for waters across the state. The Department continues to update advice for waters across the state as additional data becomes available from DEC.
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton said,"New York's waterways are world-renowned for abundant fishing opportunities. It remains critical to advise of any potential health risks from contaminants that may build up in fish tissue in certain bodies of water so that anglers can make well-informed choices about consuming their catch. DEC prioritizes cleaning up contaminants and restoring water quality to support fish consumption and will continue to work with our partners at the Department of Health to track and address harmful contaminants and use the latest science and data to help protect public health and our shared environmental resources."
Reducing Exposure to Chemicals When Eating Fish You Catch
Some waters have specific advice because certain fish have higher levels of chemicals like mercury, PCBs, or PFOS. Check for waterbody-specific advice at www.health.ny.gov/fish. If the water is not listed, anglers should follow the Statewide Advisory or the Catskill or Adirondack advisories when fishing in those regions.
Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Oneida Lake, and parts of the St. Lawrence River offer the most variety of healthy fish choices, making them some of the best fisheries if you want to eat your catch.
Fishing is a popular activity and fish are an important part of a healthy diet. However, some fish contain chemicals at levels that may be harmful. Each year, the Department updates its health advice due to concerns about contaminants. The goal is to help people make healthier choices about which fish to eat and which to avoid. People who become pregnant and eat contaminated fish may be at a higher risk of having children with developmental or learning delays. Children who eat a lot of contaminated fish may also have potential for negative effects on their development and long-term health.
Older adults may face fewer health risks from these chemicals, so the advice is less restrictive, allowing them to enjoy eating these sport-caught fish more frequently.
The Department's health advice is based on a risk management approach and uses fish contamination data collected by DEC's statewide fish monitoring program . Each year, DEC performs several thousand chemical analyses on more than 1,000 fish samples and provides the results to DOH for use in setting consumption advisories.”
Maine Is About to Become the First State to Ban New Data Centers
Legislation that could be enacted this spring would pause construction of large new data centers until November 2027
By Will Parker Follow
April 2, 2026 5:30 am ET
Maine is poised to freeze large data-center construction, which would make it the first state to enact such a measure as communities across the U.S. grapple with fallout from the boom in artificial intelligence.
The Maine bill calls for a ban on major new data-center construction until November 2027, so the state can assess the impact of such development on the environment and electricity grid.
The freeze would apply to data-center projects of at least 20 megawatts, which is enough energy to power more than 15,000 homes.
The bill passed a floor vote in the Democratic-controlled Maine House of Representatives last month, collecting a handful of Republican votes. It is expected to pass in the Senate, which is also majority Democratic. Gov. Janet Mills said she supports a freeze.
Maine has some of the country’s highest residential electricity prices, and elected officials are concerned that a surge in data-center power demand might further inflate costs. The AI build-out is driving up electricity costs for consumers in some parts of the country, and at the same time generating large tax revenues for local governments that continue to court developers.
The bill’s momentum will be watched closely by lawmakers in at least 10 other states that are advancing similar policies over concerns about straining local power sources and the cost. The effects of the artificial-intelligence race on the economy, energy costs and the environment is emerging as a major issue ahead of this year’s midterm elections. In Maine, a U.S. senate seat is up for grabs in November.
“I think Maine is the canary in the coal mine,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist for the Associated Builders and Contractors, a construction trade group that counts members who work on data centers. “Maine will be the first of many states to have such moratoria.”
Legislators have introduced measures to temporarily ban or restrict data centers in New York, South Carolina, Oklahoma and other states. In Ohio, one of the top states for data-center development, a group of rural activists is collecting signatures to put a statewide ban of large data centers on a November ballot.
Many other municipalities and counties, especially small ones in Michigan and Indiana, already have imposed their own temporary pauses. Denver and Detroit are among major cities considering such bans.
Data-center developers are growing increasingly wary of community and political opposition as they hunt for powered land across the country.
Proposed local laws restricting data centers are “a red flag,” said Tracey Hyatt Bosman, a site selection consultant at BLS & Co. who works with data-center developers. “They do limit where we are looking,” she said.
Tony McDonald, who is developing a data center in the western Maine town of Jay, said he is scheduled to begin construction in July. “All of a sudden we’ve been caught in this dragnet,” he said.
Maine hasn’t been a magnet for Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft or other companies building hyperscale facilities for artificial intelligence. Recent data-center proposals in the Maine towns of Wiscasset and Lewiston were paused or failed at the local level, following resident opposition.
Some data-center developments in Maine have targeted defunct industrial sites, such as closed mills. One company recently proposed to build a $415 million underwater data center off Maine’s coast.
While it is possible the Maine moratorium bill could stumble in the amendment process, that a version of it eventually becomes law is a foregone conclusion among some state political operatives.
“That’s the political reality,” said Tony Buxton, a climate and energy attorney at Preti Flaherty, a legal and lobbying firm in Maine. “There is a very strong voter fear of data centers and AI.”
Buxton’s firm has placed ads on social media advocating exemptions in the bill that would allow two already planned data-center projects to move forward in Jay and in Sanford, which is in southern Maine. These exemptions are being considered in the House.
Gov. Mills, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate in a highly publicized primary race against Iraq war veteran Graham Platner, said she supports the data moratorium if it includes an exception for the project already planned in Jay.
“The project is expected to bring much-needed jobs, economic activity and tax revenue to the region,” a spokesman for Mills said in a statement.
In the U.S. Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) last month unveiled legislative proposals to temporarily pause data-center construction nationwide.
From Bluesky
Seneca Lake Guardian
Protect the Finger Lakes for Future Generations
Public Education | Citizen Participation | Engagement with Decision Makers | Networking with Like-Minded Organizations
Join us in understanding the urgent threats facing the Finger Lakes and take action to protect our land and waters. Industrial projects, pollution, and harmful development put our region’s health, economy, and way of life at risk. At Seneca Lake Guardian, a Waterkeeper Alliance Affiliate, we believe that protecting our lakes is a shared responsibility—one that requires awareness, advocacy, and community partnership. We are the only organization dedicated to actively working to protect the Finger Lakes from dirty industrial projects that could threaten the health of our lakes, our rural community character, the Finger Lakes Brand, or the livelihoods of the small business owners who depend on the lakes for their success. Together, we can defend the Finger Lakes from environmental harm and ensure they remain clean, vibrant, and thriving for generations to come. Be a part of the movement to safeguard our waters—because once they’re gone, there’s no turning back.
National Recognition Seneca Lake Guardian Vice President, Yvonne Taylor, was recently recognized as “one of the most influential climate leaders in the country” by Grist 50 for her work to protect the region and educate communities across the country on issues of solid waste, cryptomining and AI/ Data Centers. What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it shines a national spotlight on the work Yvonne and Seneca Lake Guardian are doing, not only in New York State, but across the country. This recognition underscores the transformative impact of your support: together, we are shaping environmental policy, inspiring statewide and national movements, and proving that grassroots action can take on powerful industries and win.
A quote from Yvonne to celebrate this moment: “I’m truly humbled and honored to be recognized among so many incredible leaders. This award belongs just as much to our amazing team, our collaborators, and the community members who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us to create lasting change and inspire me every day. I remain committed to working tirelessly for a healthier, more sustainable future – for my neighbors in the Finger Lakes, for the people of New York, and for communities across the nation.”
We invite you to celebrate this achievement with us and continue standing alongside Yvonne and our team by donating today- so that we can continue to protect what matters most
Seneca Lake Guardian is a New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation with 501(c)(3) status. It is dedicated to preserving and protecting the health of the Finger Lakes, its residents and visitors, its rural community character, and its agricultural and tourist-related businesses. This is achieved through public education, citizen participation, engagement with decision-makers, and networking with like-minded organizations.