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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

One day decades from now, will the people involved with the Environmental Protection Agency look back at their legacy and feel pride and satisfaction? Sure, reducing waste is a good idea, cutting unnecessary costs is beneficial and effective and removing regulations that might cause inefficiencies without adding much benefit could be helpful.

But at what cost and what is lost along the way?

Take, for example, the New York Times piece earlier this week that suggested that the EPA is exploring the possibility of laying off 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists, and other scientists. The NYT cited Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology to describe this proposed plan.

The agency plans to get rid of 75 percent of the people who work in the Office of Research and Development. Does ignoring problems, removing the scientists who study them, and reducing the likelihood of tracking any threats to the environment and to human health make it better?

Lee Zeldin, former Republican congressmen from NY-1 and a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, is heading up the agency.

The proposal, which, fortunately, appears to be just that at this stage, reminds me of the time President Trump suggested that the only reason the United States has more cases of Covid than other nations was because we were testing for it.

So, the solution, implicit in that observation, is that if we don’t test for it, we won’t know how prevalent it is and we will look better compared with other nations.

No, look, I get it. On some level, more rigorous testing means we will find problems that might otherwise not require too much effort to solve. Some people who tested positive for Covid didn’t get that sick and didn’t require medical attention.

Knowing whether people contracted the virus, however, could be useful for everyone. You see, if a certain sub group of the country had the virus but didn’t get all that sick, scientists might be able to compare the blood, the backgrounds, or the pre-existing medical conditions to determine who is most or least at risk from various health threats.

The same holds true for the environment. Data is helpful and can and should help make informed decisions.

We don’t already know everything we need to know. As any scientist will tell you, the results they get can and often are exciting. What inspires them beyond their results is the next set of questions.

The federal government may not want to support every type of research, but dismissing over a thousand scientists can and will lead to the kind of dangerous information gaps that could affect human health and the environment.

Scientists don’t generally live lives of extreme wealth and luxury, unless they invent or patent something that people decide they can’t live without or that becomes a necessity.

I have known scientists for decades. They often work long hours, are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and to contributing to their fields, and tend to live modest lives.

Back in the day when I covered Wall Street banks, I rubbed elbows with power brokers who thought nothing of spending lavishly on dinners, who sat a few rows from the on-deck circle at Yankee Stadium, and who had cars waiting for them day and night to bring them to and from their luxurious homes.

Scientists and educators, on the whole, don’t have the same professional financial options.

And yet they help advance society, protect us from infections, keep our water and air clean and gather the kind of information we shouldn’t ignore.

Before cutting over a thousand people in a drastic cost cutting initiative, the EPA and Zeldin should study the type of information these researchers produce.

We wouldn’t want to heat our houses by burning down the wood that supports our walls and ceilings. Scientists can help us figure out whether decisions by individuals or companies are doing just that, providing us with temporary warmth at great expense to the homes in which we live.

Information, after all, isn’t owned exclusively by one political party or another, the way a resort might be. As with other layoff decisions by the Trump administration, I hope they reconsider this one. If they do, the older versions of themselves and their grandchildren may one day appreciate it and benefit from the work these scientists do to protect the environment we share.

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From left to right: County Legislator Robert Trotta, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, TOB Supervisor Dan Panico, TOB Superintendent of Highways Daniel Losquadro, Representative from the Governor's, office Thalia Olaya, and in front, Gloria Rocchio, Ward Melville Heritage Organization President, at a Stony Brook Village press conference. Photo by Toni-Elena Gallo

By Toni-Elena Gallo with contributions by Lynn Hallarman and John Broven

Photo gallery to come.

According to the New York State Weather Risk Communication Center, Stony Brook recorded 9.4 inches of rain, in the 24 hours between Sunday, Aug. 18, and Monday, Aug. 19, amounting to a rainfall that is not just a once in a lifetime event —but a one-in-a-thousand year-event.

At a Monday press conference, County Executive Ed Romaine (R) spoke about the shock many Long Islanders experienced.

“This storm was not predicted for northern Suffolk,” he said. “This storm was over Connecticut and probably traveled south. When you get almost 10 inches of rain, that’s a once [in a lifetime event]. Unfortunately, these once-in-a-lifetime events seem to be coming more than that. I don’t think we’re going to have to wait another hundred years for another storm like this.”

“It tells you the impact that climate change is having on our weather,” the county executive added.

Stony Brook

In Stony Brook village, Harbor Road was split in half, and the pond at Avalon Nature Preserve ran off into nearby Stony Brook Harbor, taking dead fish and turtles with it.

“We have put drones up to document the before and after. We believe the damage will [amount to] $25 million, minimum. A minimum, between cleanup that’s required [not just here, but] other parts of the county, like Rocky Point,” Romaine said.

“We will document everything that we do, and all the expenditures that will be made, because we will be seeking some hope of state [and] federal reimbursement, because this is a huge hit on local government, on the town and on the villages along the North Shore,” he added.

At the press conference, Gloria Rocchio, president of The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, expressed her sadness and frustration, but was able to provide a small glint of hope.

“We did have a structural engineer come already, to check the [historic] Grist Mill … and it is, [fortunately] structurally sound. It was built in 1699. In 1750 the dam broke for the first time, and then once again in the 1800s, and the last time it broke was 1910,” she said.

Over at Stony Brook University, Judy Pittigher, an office administrator at the Renaissance School of Medicine, suffered an office full of water damage and a collapsed ceiling, forcing her to work from home for, at least, the remainder of the week.

“The squares of one doctor’s tile roof collapsed; the floor is disgusting, covered in mush. By the time I got there, half the rugs had already been pulled up … anything on them was destroyed, like boxes. One box had this past graduation’s programs, and someone picked it up and put it on my desk, and it was sopping wet,” she said.

Smithtown

In Smithtown, the Nissequogue River dam broke from the nearly 10 inches of rain. Two residents were saved by members of the Smithtown Fire Department, as they were trapped on the second floor of their home.

This is despite the town’s recent stormwater and drain infrastructure upgrades. However, Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said that Smithtown was lucky, in comparison to the nearby villages, as a result of these proactive measures.

Rocky Point

Rocky Point was extensively impacted, as well.

“I tried to take a tour of most of the damage this morning … and several catchment basins overflowed,” Romaine said. “I went down Hagerman Landing Road, and the tops of all the cars in sight had mud. The mudslide that came down Hagerman Landing Road was, easily, 7 to 9 feet. It left its mark on the trees, and the houses, right up to the windows. We had to rescue someone down there from their rooftop.”

Port Jefferson

At about 3 a.m., Monday, a rush of stormwater cascaded down Main Street, past CVS, affecting local property and flooding the Port Jefferson fire station.

According to Fire Commissioner Thomas Meehan, the flooding rose to about 36 inches in the station, bringing sewage and other debris into the building.

“We were just recovering from the flooding we had three years ago,” he said.

Port Jefferson village officials assisted the fire station in the initial cleanup in the early hours of Monday morning.

Several businesses along the Main Street corridor were impacted, including Theatre Three [see editorial].

Huntington

According to a Town of Huntington press release, “The Highway Department took to the roads at the early onset of the storm. After surveying the town, they reported approximately 10 sink holes and minimal trees down. Flooding, however, was the predominant issue, with the town reporting heavy flooding in a few areas.”

All areas will be rebuilt

The Town of Brookhaven’s superintendent of highways, Dan Losquadro (R), explained how the topography of the North Shore created a disastrous alignment of storm conditions.

“Water picks up velocity, as it travels down into these natural drainage points,” he said. “Many of these areas were built a very long time ago. They just have catch basins, and do not have sumps recharge basins, as we call them. [Even so] recharge basins, optimally, can only store 8 inches of water, and a catch basin, no more than 2 to 3.”

“This exceeded even the capacity of a modern sump. So, we saw our systems completely overwhelmed by this volume of water in such a short period of time,” he elaborated.

As for what’s next, Losquadro said, “We will get into the engineering and estimating phase, throughout the day, and, probably, for days to come. We have, unfortunately, been through this process with FEMA, and the state before, even back to the recovery from [Hurricane] Sandy. We will do our best to secure funding, from the higher levels of government, to ease the burden on our local taxpayers because as the county executive and the supervisor [Dan Panico (R)] rightly pointed out, many of these projects are beyond our ability to fund on a local level.”

“This process will take a great deal of time,” Romaine said. “[This damage behind me] will require permitting, not only from D.C., but from the EPA, and from the Army Corps of Engineers as well.”

Both Losquadro and Romaine expressed that the parts of the county hit by this storm will be built back “stronger and better.”

“We will clean this up, whatever it takes. These are our communities, these are our friends, our neighbors. We’re one county, one people and we will work together,” Romaine said.

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Port Jefferson Free Library, where the meeting was held. File photo

By Peter Sloniewsky

Port Jefferson Civic Association met Monday, Aug. 12, to discuss the flooding issue in the area, specifically regarding ongoing projects undertaken by the United States Geological Survey, and, also, by Campani and Schwarting Architects.

First, Kristina Masterson, supervisory hydrologist for the Water Resources Integrated Modeling and Analysis Section in the New York Water Science Center, presented an ongoing study run by the USGS that will help to accurately model floods in the Port Jefferson area.

Kristina Masterson.
Courtesy USGS.gov

The study, titled “Assessment of compound flood risk from the combined effects of sea level rise on storm surge, tidal and groundwater flooding, and stormwater,” specifically examines compound floods. Locally, there are a variety of flood drivers such as the harbor, stormwater runoff from the underlying 2-square-mile watershed and the area’s high groundwater table.

The project will be in two phases. Phase one, set to be completed in this fall, is described as a “spatial analysis of vulnerability to flooding associated with individual and co-occurring flood drivers.” The conclusion of this phase will be an online interactive map which will allow users to check which relevant factors are most pertinent to flooding in any subsection of the mapped area.

In the second phase, planned for a completion date in winter 2025, USGS will create a “compound flood modeling framework” that will help researchers to better simulate the effects of flooding not only in Port Jefferson, but also in other areas which have been mapped in a similar way. With a more generalized compound flooding model, Masterson expressed hope that scientists and policymakers could better plan infrastructure around simulated flood patterns.

This USGS study is a part of the Long Island Sound Study, which was established in 1985 by Congress to focus on water quality. Since then, it has transformed largely into a focused effort toward resiliency. The current study is funded through the Sustainable and Resilient Communities Work Group, representing a state/federal partnership. USGS is nonregulatory, and the data gathered throughout this project will be publicly accessible after its publication.

The second project, presented by Michael Schwarting and Frances Campani, involved modeling the “steep streets” of Port Jefferson which converge on the harbor to better map out the placement of future damage-mitigation infrastructure projects.

The meeting concluded with a question-and-answer segment. One major theme was concerns about the pragmatism of both projects, asking why money was not spent on infrastructure directly.

Masterson explained, “Our study was funded by the Long Island Sound Study and the EPA. We have to follow through with the purview of the study. Second, we’re not design engineers. We’re trying to introduce foundational work, so that folks will be able to take a look at, and better understand, what the flood risks are, in their respective locations.”

Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow clarified at the meeting that the village has grants from both FEMA and the county, and is already in contact with engineering firms to work toward more directly pragmatic endeavors.

The civic association’s next meeting will be held Sept. 9 at the Port Jefferson Free Library.

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Firefighting foam erupts from fire hose a product that is a regular host of PFAS chemicals, resistant to oil and water. Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Forever is wonderful when it comes to love, but not so much when it comes to chemicals that don’t break down and stay in the human body, accumulating over time and threatening people’s health.

In a move applauded by environmental advocates and health officials, the Environmental Protection Agency last week set a limit on the amount of so-called forever chemicals, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, called PFAS, of four parts per trillion in drinking water.

Water companies have until 2027 to complete initial monitoring to reduce chemicals that have been linked to damage to the kidney, testes, liver, thyroid, reproductive and immune system, according to the new regulations. Found in a host of products including fireman’s foam, carpets, clothing, food packaging and nonstick cookware, PFAS are resistant to oil and water.

New York State already had one of the toughest regulations in the country, as the Empire State set maximum contaminant levels of 10 parts per trillion for these chemicals in 2020.

Charles Lefkowitz, chairman of the Suffolk County Water Authority applauded the EPA for this new national standard.

The SCWA has been “preparing for this and we are well on our way to meeting all regulatory requirements within the time frame laid out by EPA,” Lefkowitz said in a statement. “Since 2020, when New York enacted its own PFAS rules, SCWA has been meeting or surpassing all standards. It has given us a great head start on the new rules, but there is still work to be done.”

Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott noted that the state’s water standards for emerging contaminants are among the most protective in the country.

“The new federal measures will have the greatest impact nationwide and will also further protect our drinking water on Long Island,” Dr. Pigott explained in an email.

Environmental groups recognized the ongoing work at the SCWA to meet these standards and appreciated the authority’s public disclosure of its testing results.

Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, described the SCWA as “ready” for this rule change and “poised for action.”

Since 2016, the SCWA installed 27 new Granular Activated Carbon treatment systems that remove PFAS from drinking water, The authority expects to install as many as 80 new GAC systems to meet the new regulations.

“We are well within our way to achieving that within the timeframe set by the EPA,” Jeff Szabo, Chief Executive Officer of SCWA, explained in an email. 

Each new system costs about $1.5 million to install. SCWA had already instituted a $20 per quarter water quality treatment charge to customers in 2020, when New York State established its PFAS limits.

SCWA has also secured $9 million from New York State for GAC treatment, which, Szabo explained, would help reduce the cost to customers.

Rates won’t be increasing in the next fiscal year. The rates, which are based on the budget, may change in future years, depending on the operating budget, a spokesman said.

SCWA tests all of its wells at least semi-annually for PFAS. If the authority finds a well with these chemicals, it retests the well at least quarterly and, in some cases will test it every month or every two weeks.

Private  wells

Esposito urged people with private wells to test their water regularly.

“People think when they have a private well, it comes from a mysteriously clean spring,” said Esposito. “They must get their wells tested. Ignorance is not bliss. If there are PFAS, they must call and report it and see if they’re eligible to get federal funds for filtration.”

Esposito estimates the cost of testing for private well water could be $200 to $250.

Carbon filtration, using a process called reverse osmosis, can remove PFAS.

The cost of installing filters depends on the home and the type of filter. Several online providers estimate a cost between $800 and $3,000, although specific costs from different providers may vary.

Residents can call the Department of Health Services Office of Water Resources at (631) 852-5810 for information on testing by either the health department or a local contract laboratory. Health department staff are also available to provide treatment recommendations.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has provided alternate water supplies to a limited number of private well owners on a case-by-case basis over the last several years.

The New York State legislature is considering proposed legislation to provide grant funding to private well owners with impacted wells to connect to public water or install treatment.

The county health department coordinates with the DEC and the state Department of Health when they receive information regarding water that exceeds PFAS containment levels.

People interested in further information about the health effects of the PFAS are urged to reach out to the New York State Department of Health.

Jaymie Meliker, Professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine in the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University, added that private wells have numerous potential contaminants in part because Long Island has so many septic systems.

These wastewater systems are a source of nitrogen for waterways, leading to fish kills and can also add contaminants to drinking water.

Wastewater treatment is “vastly under resourced,” said Meliker. The county and the state need infrastructure investments.

As for PFAS, they can vary from one neighborhood to the next.

On the manufacturing side, companies are working to lower the toxins of PFAS, creating shorter chains that provide the same benefits without the negative effect on health.

Meliker was pleased that the EPA had established low level limits for these chemicals that accumulate in the human body.

The studies and concerns have been “going on for a couple of decades,” he said. “There’s enough evidence to suggest it’s prudent to do something.

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Brookhaven’s current pump-out boats are showing signs of wear and will be replaced. Photo by Kyle Barr

If you’ve ever seen a boat with a built-in toilet, the next question is inevitable: Where does that waste inevitably go?

Either the waste goes straight into the Long Island Sound or surrounding harbors or boaters call the Town of Brookhaven’s pump-out boats, a service provided by the town for free, to suck out the waste, according to Karl Guyer, a senior bay constable for Brookhaven.

At Brookhaven town’s Sept. 13 meeting the board voted unanimously to purchase two new pump-out boats — one for Mount Sinai Harbor and one for Port Jefferson Harbor. The total cost for both boats is $92,500 with $60,000 of that amount coming from state aid in grant funding from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation. The town is supplying $32,500 in matching funds from serial bonds, according to town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point).

The town operates four pump-out boats, including two on the South Shore and two on the North Shore, which are located in Port Jeff and Mount Sinai harbors. All these boats were purchased in 2006, and Guyer said it was time all of them were replaced. The two on the South Shore were replaced this year, and the North Shore boats will be replaced early in 2019, according to Guyer.

“They’ve been in service for quite a number of years and they’re at the end of their life span,” Guyer said.

The pump-out boat in Port Jeff Harbor is showing signs of long use. The paint on the boat’s deck has been worn down by years of work, and there are cracks showing in some of the plastic hatches around the boat. William Demorest, the bay constable for Port Jeff Harbor, said the new boats will be made from aluminum, which should give them a longer life span.

The pump-out boat service is widely used by the boaters in both harbors, and on a busy day town employees operating the boats can service hundreds of boats in a single day. People can call for a pump out by radioing the constable’s office on channel 73.

There is a manual boat waste pump in a barge inside Port Jeff Harbor, though the constable said 75 percent of the over 700 boats that come to port on summer weekends use the pump-out boat service. After the pump-out boats are docked for the winter, all North Shore boaters are required to manually pump out their own waste.

Bonner said these boats do a major service in cleaning out the tanks of many boaters, because dumping the waste into the coastal waters only adds to the islands growing water pollution problem.

“Not only would there be waste in the water but the nitrogen load would be crazy,” Bonner said. “It would take several tides to flush that out.”

All the water from Conscience Bay through Port Jefferson Harbor as well as the entire Long Island Sound is within mandated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency No-Discharge Zones, meaning it is illegal to dump any boat waste into the surrounding waters.

While Demorest said he hasn’t seen people dumping their waste into the water himself, he has heard reports of it being done. He said he believed the vast majority use the free pump-out service.

“If we don’t see it, there’s nothing we can do about it,” he said.

Many areas of the North Shore are experiencing waves of hypoxia, an increase of nitrogen in the water that deprives sea life, both plants and animals, of oxygen. During a press conference Sept. 25, co-director of the Center for Clean Water Technology Christopher Gobler and other researchers from the Long Island Clean Water Partnership concluded there were cases of harmful algae blooms in harbors from Mount Sinai all the way to Huntington, another symptom of excess nitrogen in the water. Most of that nitrogen has come from cesspools and septic tanks from people’s homes slowly leaking into the surrounding waters.

The boats usually operate Friday, Saturday and Sunday mostly by high school and college-aged summer employees, according to Guyer. The pump-out boat service ends on Columbus Day, Oct. 8.

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A few concerned local citizens are taking the health of the Long Island Sound into their own hands.

The 10 locations in Port Jeff Harbor being tested by the Setauket Harbor Task Force. Image from the task force

From May through October, nonprofit Save the Sound, an organization dedicated to the health of the body of water, will continue its Unified Water Study: Long Island Sound Embayment Research program for a second year, testing the water conditions in the Sound’s bays and harbors. The program operates through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency and using a corps of trained testers, called Sound Sleuths, who volunteered to measure dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, temperature, salinity and water clarity out on the water at dawn twice monthly during the six-month period. Port Jefferson Harbor will be tested by members of Setauket Harbor Task Force, a nonprofit group founded in 2014 to monitor and advocate for the health of the harbor, who volunteered to serve as Sound Sleuths. Setauket Harbor lies within the greater Port Jefferson Harbor Complex.

Task force members George and Maria Hoffman, Laurie Vetere and volunteer Tom Lyon set out in a roughly 15-foot-long motorboat May 25 at 6:30 a.m. to test 10 randomly preselected specific locations in Port Jeff Harbor, with testing equipment provided by Save the Sound, for the second round of research set to take place this spring and summer. The testing needs to be completed within three hours of sunrise in order to ascertain the most valid data possible, according to George Hoffman.

George Hoffman of Setauket Harbor Task Force tests water chemistry in Port Jefferson Harbor. Photo by Alex Petroski

“I know a lot of people are familiar with water testing, but it’s usually about pathogens,” Hoffman said, which often is examined to determine the safety of swimming or eating shellfish. Testing for water chemistry will reveal more about the health of marine life in the harbor. Hoffman discussed the task force’s plans for testing during a May 6 meeting of the Port Jefferson Harbor advisory commission, a group overseen by the Town of Brookhaven that includes representation from all nearby municipalities and also takes up the responsibility of monitoring harbor health.

“We’re not testing for pathogens,” he said. “This is really about harbor health and chemistry.”

Hoffman said while out on the boat May 25 the group tested each of the 10 sites twice — once about a half a meter off the bottom of the harbor and once a half a meter from the surface of the water, using an instrument called a sonde, which is attached to a long cable and submerged in the water. Hoffman said the instrument costs about $30,000.

“That gives us a pretty good idea of what’s happening in the water column,” he said.

Save the Sound explained the importance of testing the chemistry of bays and harbors within the Sound in a May 16 press release announcing the year 2 testing kickoff.

Laurie Vetere reads data that’s tracked by Maria Hoffman as the Setauket Harbor Task Force tests Port Jeff Harbor’s water chemistry. Photo by Alex Petroski

“More than a decade of federally funded monitoring of the open Sound has documented the destructive impact of nitrogen pollution — including algae blooms, red tides, loss of tidal marshes and fish die-offs — and the incremental improvements brought about by wastewater treatment plant upgrades,” the release said. “Conditions in the bays and harbors — where much of the public comes into contact with the Sound — can be different from conditions in the open waters. More testing on bays and harbors is needed to judge the effect of nitrogen on these waterways and what action is needed to restore them to vibrant life.”

Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), who also chairs the county’s Environment, Planning and Agriculture committee, said while the county has taken up the fight in finding ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen in Long Island’s waters, having dedicated citizens also keeping an eye is an asset.

“That’s critical, these kind of community efforts to protect water bodies,” she said. “It’s special.”

Results of the study will be published in future editions of Save the Sound’s Long Island Sound Report Card.

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Cedar Beach waters in Mount Sinai run into the Long Island Sound. File photo by Elana Glowatz

Suffolk County has signed off on joining New York State in suing the Environmental Protection Agency for dumping dredged materials in Long Island Sound.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) announced last summer the state would be taking legal action against the EPA after in 2016 the agency moved to increase the number of open water dumping sites in the Sound from two to three, despite a call from state government leaders of both New York and Connecticut in 2005 to reduce and eventually eliminate the practice of dumping in the Sound.

The Eastern Long Island Sound Disposal Site, now a permanent open water site for the disposal of dredged materials, is midway between Connecticut and New York, and less than 1.5 nautical miles from Fishers Island, which is part of Southold Town and Suffolk County, despite technically being in Connecticut’s waters. The disposal site is in an area that had never before been used for open water disposal.

Legislator Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue), who represents Southold, Riverhead and communities in eastern Brookhaven, initiated the legislation directing Suffolk County to join the action against the EPA.

“This is another step in a decades-long fight to try and get the EPA to play by the rules,” Krupski said. “The Long Island Sound is threatened by pollution, warming waters and acidification, and the last thing that should be done is to dump potentially toxic substances into the estuary.”

Legislators Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) and Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset) joined Krupski in sponsoring the legislation authorizing the county to join the lawsuit.

“For more than the 30 years, leaders from both shores of the Long Island Sound have invested heavily on a cooperative effort to restore its life and majesty,” said Hahn, the chairwoman of the Legislature’s Environment, Planning & Agriculture Committee. “As such, the decision by our neighbor to the north to dump potentially toxic pesticides, heavy metals and industrial by-products into the Sound is nearly as dumbfounding as the Environmental Protection Agency’s willingness to allow it.”

Cuomo made the case against expanded dumping when the lawsuit was announced.

“We will continue to do everything in our power to protect New York’s environment, and with the EPA’s unfathomable and destructive decision to turn the eastern Long Island Sound into a dumping ground — now is the time for action,” Cuomo said in 2016. “We will establish that this designation not only poses a major threat to a significant commercial and recreational resource, but that it also undermines New York’s long-standing efforts to end dumping in our treasured waters.”

Last year, Brookhaven and Southold towns joined the lawsuit, which contends the EPA failed to adequately investigate alternatives to open water disposal and overestimated the need for the new site. It also alleges the Long Island Sound Dredged Material Management Plan, which was approved by the EPA, violates the Ocean Dumping Act and Coastal Zone Management Act, and cited a “failure to address environmental impacts on the Long Island Sound.” The body of water was designated an Estuary of National Significance by the EPA in 1988 and is recognized as an important economic engine for Suffolk County and all of Long Island, supporting both recreational and commercial businesses and contributing billions of dollars to the regional economy.

“We’re here to send a very strong message — that we are opposed to dumping in the Sound,” Romaine said during a press conference Aug. 28 at Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai. “The State of New York and this governor, Andrew Cuomo, has done a great service to this state and to the residents of Long Island by working to enjoin, in the court, the EPA from allowing continued dumping in the Sound.”

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When I was a child, my parents would sometimes take me out of the city and to the Catskill Mountains where my father was raised. There, in rustic accommodation, we would spend some weeks during the summer, happy to be out of the heat and humidity. But for a child used to the protective shield of tall urban buildings, I would be fearful when a summer storm, with high gusts, thunder and lightning would rage across the country horizon and pelt the windows and roof of our cabin.

Seeing my fright, my mother would leap into action. “Oh good,” she would say. “It’s a perfect day for pancakes.” As I would watch, she would whip eggs and milk from the antiquated refrigerator, then heat some cooking oil in a pan. She would ask me to beat the eggs while she measured out the flour and in short order the divine smell of frying pancakes would fill the kitchen. The storm outside now merely made the feast inside more cozy and safe, and by the time my mother, sister and I finished eating and looked up from the table, the summer squall would be gone.

Security, thy name was silver dollar pancakes.

In these unsettled times of postpresidential election, how I wish I could cook up some pancakes to help calm the people around me. My neighbors, my friends, our readers, many of them seem anxious, even afraid. Whether they voted for Clinton or Trump, they don’t like what they are hearing about bullying, demonstrations that can turn violent and slurs that seem to have been unleashed by the election. With each possible pick for the new administration, from chief strategist to possible EPA chief to a trial balloon for secretary of state, a shudder goes through the minds of many. Our outgoing president urges us to give some space to the incoming one, and then leaves the country for his last overseas trip. He has already visited Greece with Germany and Peru to follow, undoubtedly to try and calm those unsettled by the election in distant capitals. Anxiety, it seems, is global, but not entirely.

The stock markets are celebrating. The prospect of government spending on infrastructure and tax cuts that will stimulate the economy has sent the markets around the world on a tear as they hit all-time highs. Monetary policy is out — fiscal stimulus is in. At least that is the presumption at this first blush of transition to a new administration.

Meanwhile we have a country that is equally divided. What could be better proof than to have the razor-thin popular vote go one way and the Electoral College go the other way. How do we deal with that?

Despite the closeness of the election, the fact remains that the GOP won and won across the board: senators, representatives and governors. At least the next two years of political party leadership have been determined, and there is no further contest for now. But we also, as a democracy, are obligated to protect the rights of the minority — all minorities. That’s the part of the definition that some majorities don’t get. If we could all acknowledge and teach that point, those who feel threatened because they are in the minority could stop being afraid.

Further, the GOP is not a monolithic bloc — there is not just one shade of red. Nor are the Dems just one color blue. There is enough potential for bipartisanship as long as neither side digs in and vows to prevent cooperation between the parties. We Americans want our elected leaders to work actively on our behalf, not just to abdicate and coast in office. It will take the best of both sides to steer our nation through these challenging times. And by the way, the times have always been challenging.

We, on Long Island, have set a pretty good example with our state, county and town legislators often working together for the regional good, regardless of party. So there is hope. That’s my impression — and I’m not just serving up pancakes.

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File photo by Elana Glowatz

After the highly publicized discovery of lead in drinking water in Flint, Michigan, Port Jefferson School District decided not to leave the safety of its students and staff to chance.

The district employed Ronkonkoma-based environmental consulting firm Enviroscience Consultants Inc. to conduct a district-wide test for lead in drinking water this summer. The firm released results of the testing in a report dated June 28.

A total of 126 water fixtures were tested across Edna Louise Spear Elementary, Port Jefferson Middle School and Earl L. Vandermeulen High School. Traces of lead large enough to require action were found in nine locations, according to the report.

“We wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t a reaction starting essentially with Flint, Michigan. But our response to it is going to be proactive. We have to make sure that there isn’t any danger while [students are] at school.” — Paul Casciano

At the middle school, a first-floor water fountain, two sinks in science labs and a kitchen sink had lead levels exceeding 15 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency’s “action level” threshold for lead in water is 20 parts per billion, as listed in in its 2006 guide entitled “3T’s for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools.” At the high school, sinks in the third-floor faculty bathroom, an athletic coaching office and a science lab, as well as a spigot in an athletic office and a water fountain in a wood shop, showed lead levels higher than 15 parts per billion. All nine fixtures have been removed and either replaced or will be replaced, according to District Facilities Administrator Fred Koelbel.

In water sources like sinks in science labs or bathrooms, school districts are permitted to note with a sign that the water shouldn’t be used for drinking, but Port Jefferson opted to remove such fixtures anyway.

“The district response here is at the top of the curve,” Enviroscience Consultants President Glenn Neuschwender said in an interview to the district’s choice to adhere to stricter standards than those laid out by the EPA, and their decision to opt for removal of the fixtures instead of signs. “This board has taken the highest level of conservatism when it comes to protecting the kids.”

Neuschwender stressed levels found in Port Jefferson are not remotely close to those found in places like Flint and fall below some action-required thresholds other than the EPA. Still, he suggested concerned parents take action.

“You have to have a discussion with your child,” he said. “Do you use that fountain? If they don’t, the discussion is kind of over. If they say ‘yeah, I use it from time to time,’ then the only sure way to find out if your child has been impacted is to have a blood-lead test.”

According to the report, lead can impact every organ of the human body, though it is most harmful for the central nervous system. Low levels can cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems, among other problems. High levels can result in neurological problems or even death.

Koelbel said a comprehensive test on this level had not been conducted in recent years though concerns in 1985 prompted the district to replace fixtures at the elementary school. None of the locations tested at Edna Louise Spear yielded results that required action.

Interim Superintendent of Schools Paul Casciano said he understands parents’ concerns, though the district plans to be upfront and forthright about its findings and subsequent action.

“We feel that we’re being more cautious, replacing sinks as opposed to putting up a sign,” he said. “Obviously all of the lead testing is a reaction so I won’t say we’re proactive. We wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t a reaction starting essentially with Flint, Michigan. But our response to it is going to be proactive. We have to make sure that there isn’t any danger while they’re at school.”

Casciano called the replacements an unanticipated but not prohibitive cost.

“Anything that protects the safety of students is worth the expense,” he said.

Koelbel said the district is planning to test the replaced fixtures in the coming weeks, though no plans currently exist for a second comprehensive, districtwide test.

He added that the district is in the process of replacing a few drinking fountains each year with filtered water stations that contain a reservoir to chill water and are designed to make filling bottles easier. Four of the stations already exist in the district.

This version was updated to correct the EPA’s action-level threshold for lead in water.

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U.S. Rep urges to cease dumping waste into Long Island Sound

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin calls on EPA to keep commitment to permanently close Long Island Sound disposal sites. Photo from Lee Zeldin

The Long Island Sound shouldn’t be used as a “dumping ground.”

That’s what U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Long Island Sound Caucus, had to say while overlooking the Long Island Sound at Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai on July 29. While there, he called on the Environmental Protection Agency to keep its commitment to permanently close the Eastern Long Island Sound disposal sites. The congressman also called on the EPA to expedite the process to phase out the Western and Central Long Island Sound disposal sites.

“The Long Island Sound shouldn’t be a dumping ground, especially when there are many viable alternatives to open-water dumping, including recycling and safe disposal on land,” he said.

On April 27, the EPA issued a proposed rule, the “Ocean Disposal; Designation of a Dredged Material Disposal Site in Eastern Region of Long Island Sound; Connecticut (81 FR 24748),” which would continue open water dumping of dredge waste in the Eastern Long Island Sound for up to 30 years, despite the agency previously committing to close both disposal sites, Cornfield Shoals and New London, by Dec. 23 of this year. Last month, on June 30, Zeldin sent a letter to the administrator of the EPA opposing the proposed rule. On July 7, the EPA announced a final rule that continues open water dumping at the Central and Western Long Island Sound dump sites, while phasing these sites out over the next 30 years.

“The EPA should immediately reverse this proposal and honor their previous commitment to permanently close the Eastern Long Island Sound disposal sites by the end of this year.”

—Lee Zeldin

“This proposal is unacceptable,” Zeldin said. “The EPA should immediately reverse this proposal and honor their previous commitment to permanently close the Eastern Long Island Sound disposal sites by the end of this year. We need a much more aggressive path to phasing out open water dumping at these sites in the Long Island Sound.”

When the Eastern Long Island Sound disposal sites were created by the EPA in 2012, it was explicitly for “short-term, limited use,” but now the agency is moving to keep one or more of these sites open for up to 30 years. Zeldin expressed his support for phasing out open water dumping at these sites in the Long Island Sound over a period of five to 10 years, and expressed major concerns with ecological impacts on the Long Island Sound.

“The Long Island Sound, an EPA designated Estuary of National Significance and one of the nation’s most populated watersheds, is a cultural and natural treasure that provides a diverse ecosystem with more than 170 species of fish, over 1,200 invertebrates and many different species of migratory birds,” he said. “The Sound is also essential to the everyday economy and livelihood of millions of Long Islanders. Over the years, water quality on Long Island has suffered severely from issues such as pollution and overdevelopment.”

Congressman Zeldin was joined by local elected officials and environmental groups who backed up his argument and supported his proposals.

“I stand with New York’s state and federal elected officials and administrators in condemning this poor excuse of a document in the strongest terms,” said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. “Just in the last few years we have started to enjoy the benefits of a cleaner Long Island Sound. I cannot understand why the EPA would or should allow this plan to undo the hard and expensive work that has been done over the last two decades to restore the Long Island Sound. We simply must do better.”

Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) agreed.

“The Town of Brookhaven is doing so much to keep the Long Island Sound and our other waterways clean, and this disposal site expansion plan is a real threat to our progress,” she said.

Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Adrienne Esposito, said the Eastern Long Island Sound is the most biologically diverse portion of the nationally important estuary.

“Continuing the use of our Sound as a dump site stymies restoration efforts,” she said. “It prevents the advancement of a long-term program for beneficial reuse of dredged materials.”

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