KINGSTON, N.Y. - A group of citizens, lawmakers and environmentalists is fighting a proposal to establish more than 40 commercial anchorages at 10 locations along a 70-mile stretch of the Hudson River running north from New York City.

Shipping industry officials say they need safe places to anchor, sometimes for days, barges hauling North Dakota crude oil to East Coast refineries and export terminals.

But some environmental groups suspect the anchorages will be used to store oil until prices recover from the current glut of oil. Residents say moored barges mar the beauty and quiet of the river.

The industry asked the Coast Guard to officially designate the sites residents complained to the agency about barges parking at unauthorized spots. The complaints led the agency to threaten fines for anchoring outside federally designated sites last fall.