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Water Quality

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By Emma Gutmann

For World Water Day on March 22, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R) announced the start of the 2024 funding cycle for the county’s Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program. Under this annual program, grants are provided to eligible projects designed to protect and restore the county’s groundwater and surface water resources.

The Drinking Water Protection Program was originally approved by the electorate in 1987 and has been modified over time to bring in other issues such as land stewardship. WQPRP funding is drawn from revenues generated by the 0.25% sales tax, as detailed in Article XII of the Suffolk County Charter. This article is designated to the program for environmental protection, property tax mitigation and sewer district tax rate stabilization. 

With 11.75% of the total revenues generated each year under the 1/4% Drinking Water Protection Program, WQPRP grants funding to municipalities and nonprofit organizations for projects that fit under one of the following umbrella categories: (1) habitat restoration, reclamation and connectivity (2) non-point-source abatement and control and pollution prevention initiatives (3) no-discharge zone implementation (4) land stewardship initiatives or (5) education and outreach. 

Proposers have until June 7 to apply for an award, ranging from $50,000 to $250,000, toward planning, engineering and construction costs. Applications from last year will roll over without further action. 

According to the Suffolk County Press Office, 10 to 15 projects are approved every year, each serving to “maintain the ecosystem services that our natural aquatic environment provides.” This perennial attention to water quality is essential considering the county is enveloped by the South Shore Estuary Reserve, the Peconic Estuary and the Long Island Sound and replete with rivers, streams, tributaries, lakes and ponds.

One notable 2022 grant recipient was the Town of Brookhaven Cedar Beach Habitat Restoration. With the help of WQPRP funding, invasive plants were removed from coastal dunes and forest areas and replaced with a native plant species. This undertaking set out to harmonize the ecosystem through reduced erosion and improved nutrient/pollutant removal. The blueprint also proposed underground wildlife tunnels to provide diamondback terrapin turtles with a safer passage to their nesting grounds than treacherous Harbor Beach Road in Mount Sinai.

The WQPRP Review Committee evaluates projects with a mix of multiple choice and written responses, and also takes into account whether the project is of present priority and/or involves construction or site improvement components.

Online attendance at the Proposers Conference at 11 a.m. on April 16 will garner candidates points toward the scoring of their application. The standout projects will be recommended to the county Legislature for approval.

Although there is a wide range of eligible applicants, the priority project types for this year include wastewater treatment improvements, green stormwater infrastructure implementation, nature/nature-based infrastructure for coastal resilience, fertilizer use mitigation and habitat restoration, reclamation and connectivity. 

Projects must have a thorough work plan and budget, as well as proof of the funds that Suffolk County would be matching. The project also must be ready to commence within a year of assuming the grant and completed within three years of the agreement between the applicant and the county.

“This program is an effective tool in our ongoing work to clean and protect Suffolk County waters,” Romaine said. “It is unique in the way it brings towns, villages and the not-for-profit environmental community together with the county to work on projects that make an impact locally and regionally.”

The Suffolk County Press Office adds that everyone’s small contribution toward protecting and restoring our local fresh and saltwater systems is “crucial for preserving and benefiting the environmental, economic, aesthetic and recreational advantages afforded to our community by our unique aquatic environment.”

Information on policies, eligibility and classifying water bodies and their quality can be found by searching “WQPRP” at www.suffolkcountyny.gov, along with an application. 

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Assemblyman Keith Brown (R,C-Northport) congratulates Board of Greenlawn Water District on receiving grant funding through the NYS Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA) on Jan. 10, 2024.

Assemblyman Keith Brown’s (R,C-Northport) office attended a ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 10, to help congratulate the Board of Greenlawn Water District on being awarded a $1.4 million grant through the NYS Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA) to complete Drinking Water (DW) Project No. 19713, which will include wellhead treatment for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at Well No. 6.

Through the WIIA grant, the board has been awarded $1,392,300, including total estimated eligible project costs. The Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) will determine the actual amount of the grant when the project is complete and final project costs have been confirmed.

“I am very excited to see the board put this grant funding to good use to protect the drinking water for our Greenlawn residents,” said Brown. “Thank you and congratulations to the Greenlawn Water District Board of Commissioners, Chairman John H. Clark, Treasurer John T. McLaughlin, Secretary James M. Logan, Superintendent Robert Santoriello and Chief Plant Operator Frank DeMayo on this grant—I will be on the lookout for future updates on this project and others you intend to take on to continue to improve water quality for our residents.”

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Speakers at the October 31, press conference, from left to right, Adriene Esposito, Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Chris Gobler, Professor at Stony Brook University, and Peter Scully, Deputy Executive of Suffolk County.

New 2023 Map Shows Record Number of Harmful Algal Blooms and Dead Zones Across Long Island

Scientists at Stony Brook University have completed their assessment of water quality in Long Island’s surface waters for 2023 and the news was not good –the announcement was made today at a press conference on the shores of Great South Bay. During the months of April through September, every major bay and estuary across Long Island was afflicted by harmful algal blooms (HABs), oxygen-starved, dead zones, and fish and turtles kills.  Excessive delivery of nitrogen from onsite wastewater has been cited as the root cause of these disturbing events.

“Some aspects of 2023 were the ‘new normal’ for Long Island, but there were disturbing, unexpected outcomes as well” said Dr. Christopher Gobler, Professor of Stony Brook University.  “This was the worse year for harmful algal blooms on Long Island, ever.”

Gobler explained that there was a record-setting five shellfish bed closures in five locations covering thousands of acres across Long Island due to the occurrence of blooms of the saxitoxin-synthesizing alga, Alexandrium. Saxitoxin causes the human health syndrome, paralytic shellfish poisoning.  These five closures in April and May were following by an additional closure that began in May and extended into the summer that was caused by a bloom of Dinophysis in Moriches Bay that reached record densities.Dinophysis contains okadaic acid, a gastrointestinal toxin and the 2023 bloom was record-setting.

“While a Dinophysis bloom in the Flanders Bay region in 2011 had been globally deemed the most intense Dinophysis HAB ever recorded at two million cells per liter, the event in Moriches Bay exceeded 100 million cells per liter, and sustained densities in the millions for over a month.”, commented Gobler.

On the heels of these spring events came something new for Long Island, namely a HAB called Pseudo-nitzschia that contains a neurotoxin known as domoic acid that causes amnesic shellfish poisoning.  The bloom covered south shore regions from Islip through Quogue across much of Great South Bay, all of Moriches Bay, and western Shinnecock Bay.  Beyond detecting tens of millions of cells per liter, this bloom was also producing the toxin domoic acid, representing a new public health threat.

“This algal toxin has never been seen in Long Island waters and has had significant mortality effects on marine mammal on the west coast.  Its high density in regions that had been previously flushed by the New Inlet that closed in 2023 suggests that, in addition, to excessive nitrogen loads, poor flushing contributed to this event.”, said Gobler.

And the HABs did not stop there.  In mid-July, a rust tide began on the east end of Long Island, starting in Shinnecock Bay and ultimately spreading through all of the Peconic Estuary.  Rust tide is caused by the alga, Cochlodinum, that is ichthyotoxic, meaning it can kill fish and has been responsible for fish and shellfish kills on Long Island.  The 2023 rust tide was the earliest start ever for a Rust Tide, and this was also the longest lasting rust tide as the event extended into early October.  In 2012, the Gobler lab published an article in an international, peer-reviewed journal identifying the ability of excessive nitrogen to intensify these HABs, and in a 2019 publication, they identified the increase in summer water temperatures since the 20th century as a factor allowing these blooms to occur all summer in NY waters.

The HABs also extended inland in 2023 as there were more than were two-dozen lakes and pind that experienced outbreaks of blue-green algal blooms, a serious concern for both human and animal health.  The south fork of Long Island was called out for hosting the ‘Dirty Baker’s Dozen’ as 13 water bodies in this region experienced these toxic blooms in 2023.   For the past seven years, Suffolk County has had more lakes with blue-green algal blooms than any other of the 64 counties in New York State, a distinction that is likely to be repeated in 2023.  Blue-green algae make toxins that can be harmful to humans and animals and have been linked to dog illnesses and dog deaths across the US and on Long Island.

The 2023 water quality impairment map also documented more than 30 distinct low oxygen ‘dead zones’ across the north shore, south shore, and east end of Long Island.  All life in the ocean outside of some bacteria require oxygen to persist, a fact motivating the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to strive for all water bodies at all times to have no less than 3 milligrams of dissolved oxygen.  All 30 dead zones failed to meet this standard.  While fish kills were not widespread in 2023, a lack of oxygen did contributed fish kills in locations on the south shore.

Over the years, the occurrence of harmful algal blooms and dead zones has contributed to the collapse of critical marine habitats such as seagrass, major fisheries on Long Island such as bay scallops and hard clams, and coastal wetlands that help protect waterfront communities from the damaging impacts of storms.  Groups such as The Nature Conservancy have been working for more than a decade to revive and restore these habitats and shellfish but have been challenged by events such as those witnessed during the summer of 2023.

Excessive nitrogen coming from household sewage that seeps into groundwater and ultimately, into bays, harbors, and estuaries or, in some cases, is directly discharged into surface waters, is a root cause of the maladies of 2023. Excessive nitrogen stimulates algal blooms that can, in turn, remove oxygen from bottom waters as they decay.  Suffolk County and Nassau County recently completed ‘subwatershed studies’ that identified wastewater as the largest source of nitrogen to surface waters and set goals for reducing nitrogen loading from septic systems as a defense against these impairments.

Despite the gloomy news, there were some signs of hope in the data.

“In Long Island Sound, the western dead zone in 2023 was significantly smaller than it was 20 year ago thanks to sewage treatment plants removing 60% more nitrogen and reducing the flow of nitrogen into the western Sound”, said Gobler. “This proves that reductions in nitrogen loading does improve water quality.”

Counterbalancing this high note was the growth of a second dead zone in central Long Island Sound emanating from Smithtown Bay suggesting this region now needs significant reduction in nitrogen loading.

The report on the summer of 2023 was compiled by the Gobler Laboratory of Stony Brook University that has been monitoring and sampling Long Island’s waters on a weekly basis every summer since 2014.  Data was also generated by the Long Island Sound Study which is funded by US Environmental Protection Agency.  The data was reported weekly on News 12 and Newsday as part of their weekly Water Quality Index.

The study was supported by the Chicago Community Trust and an anonymous donor.

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'Kayaks at Bay' by Holly Gordon

Contestants will be eligible to receive prizes, including a free Family Event aboard the historic Oyster Sloop Priscilla. Additional prizes provided by Long Island Aquarium, Long Island Ducks & Splish Splash

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced April 29 the launch of the 2022 Reclaim Our Water Poster Contest, for fifth grade students in the County, to encourage artistic expression and increase awareness of our most treasured natural resource — water. As a part of Reclaim Our Water (ROW), the County’s over-arching water quality improvement initiative, poster contest entrants are to create original artwork depicting their favorite water-related activities in Suffolk County with family and friends, such as swimming, kayaking, fishing, gardening and more, by May 20.

Oyster Sloop Priscilla

Contestants are encouraged to use their creativity, making posters that are humorous or serious, as long as they focus on the contest theme and direct viewers to the Reclaim Our Water website, www.ReclaimOurWater.info. Prizes will be awarded for first place, as well as for up to four other finalists. The first place winner will receive a free afternoon with family aboard the historic sailboat, Oyster Sloop Priscilla, of the Long Island Maritime Museum. Additional prizes will be provided by the Long Island Aquarium, the Long Island Ducks and Splish Splash. For more information, including rules, guidelines, and entry forms , please visit www.ReclaimOurWater.info.

“It is so important to involve our students in the work that we are doing now to create a cleaner, safer environment for them and future generations,”  said County Executive Bellone. “Coupling art with environmental awareness does that, in a unique way, to not only achieve our goal of increasing water quality awareness today, but also to pique their interest in protecting water quality for decades to come.”

To stop and reverse nitrogen pollution from cesspools and septic systems, improve water quality and protect natural storm barriers, County Executive Bellone launched the Reclaim Our Water initiative in 2017, which includes connection to sewers in some areas, and the installation of Innovative Alternative Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (IAOWTS) where sewers are not a practical or cost-effective solution. A featured aspect of the program includes the provision of up to $30,000 in state and county grants to eligible homeowners for the installation of Innovative and Alternatively nitrogen removal septic systems. As of March 2022, more than 1,030 Suffolk homeowners have utilized the program to install such systems.

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Photo from the county executive

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) announced at a press conference on April 22 at Lake Ronkonkoma a $100 million in funding to eliminate outdated cesspools and septic systems identified by scientists as the primary source of excess nutrients that have fouled local bays, contributing to harmful algae blooms, beach closures and fish kills.

The funding from a combination of federal, state and county sources, will be used to complete long-awaited sewer projects along south shore river corridors, and to boost funding for the landmark county program that provides grants to homeowners who choose to upgrade to new nitrogen reducing septic systems.

“With the help and support of our colleagues in state government, the business and environmental communities, and our friends in the building trades and organized labor, Suffolk County has made more progress over the past five years than had been made in the prior four decades in efforts to address the lack of wastewater infrastructure that has harmed water quality and been a drag on our economy,” Bellone said. “This new investment will allow us to take significant next steps in implementing a long term plan to improve water quality.”

Under the funding plan, a total of $30 million in funding would be invested in the County’s grant program for homeowners, including $10 million recently awarded by the State Septic System Replacement Fund, and $20 million from the County’s Drinking Water Protection Program.

An additional $70 million would be invested to complete two long awaited sewer projects along south shore river corridors that comprise the Suffolk County Coastal Resiliency Initiative, which will eliminate nearly 6,000 cesspools and septic systems by connecting parcels to sewers.

The new funding includes $24 million from a county reserve fund to connect homes in Sewer District #3 Southwest to the existing sewer system, and $46 million from the county’s allocation under the $1.9 trillion American Recovery Plan to address the increased cost of projects to connect parcels along the Carlls River (Babylon) and Forge River (Brookhaven). 

The sewer projects are being funded primarily with Post-Sandy resiliency funding, but constructions bids received during the COVID pandemic were significantly higher than pre-bid construction estimates.

Bellone thanked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) for making sure that the American Rescue Plan funding can be used for sewer infrastructure. “We are hopeful that there will be a separate federal infrastructure bill, but the timetable for Congress to act is not clear yet, and these historic sewer projects are ready to begin now,”  he added.. “Thanks to the leadership of Senator Schumer, the County has the ability to use a portion of its ARP funds to address the cost increases driven in large part by the uncertainties of the COVID pandemic.”

Suffolk County’s Septic Improvement Program, the first of its kind, was established in 2017 and provides grants of up to $30,000 in State and County funding to homeowners who choose to replace their existing non-performing cesspool or septic system with a new Innovative/Alternative Onsite Wastewater Treatment System.

The program was recognized earlier this month by New York State as the winner of an Environmental Excellence Award, and has twice been awarded 70% of a $15 million statewide allocation of funding from the New York State Septic System Replacement Program.

To date, more than 2,300 homeowners have applied for grants under the program. County funding for the program was originally established at $2 million per year, but increasing interest on the part of the public prompted the County Legislature to approve $3.7 million in additional water quality funding last July because the pace of applications exceeded the amount of funding available.

 “The high level of interest in the program, even during the COVID 19 pandemic, shows just how strongly the people of Suffolk County feel about the need to improve water quality,” Bellone said. “This additional funding will help make sure that the amount of grant funding keeps pace with the number of applications we are receiving.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer added, “I worked hard to deliver over $10.8 billion in aid directly to New York’s counties, towns, and villages as part of the American Rescue Plan, in addition to the $300 million I secured for this project after Sandy. I’m glad to see County Executive Bellone use a portion of this aid to help fill the funding gap and advance these long-awaited sewer infrastructure improvements. These projects are vital to the health and well-being of Suffolk residents, and are essential to improving the quality of life in the county for years to come.”

John Cameron, Chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Council said that water is the life blood of Long Island.

“County Executive Bellone’s initiatives protect our sole source aquifer-the drinking water supply for more than 2.8 million Long Islanders,” he said. “These investments will also help reverse the negative impacts that nitrogen pollution has had on coastal wetlands, coastal resiliency and the overall quality of life in Suffolk County and all of Long Island. They will additionally create numerous economic development opportunities by strengthening our downtowns, increasing tourism and recreation.”

Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment added that the announcement brings Long Islanders closer than ever to restoring clean water in Suffolk County.

“Year after year, we witness water quality impairments and harmful algal blooms from nitrogen pollution plaguing nearly every bay, lake, river and estuary in our county. However, we are now seeing growing success of the county’s program to combat nitrogen pollution from sewage and replace these antiquated septic systems,” she said. “This infusing of critical funding will ensure we are well on our way to once again seeing healthy waterways and productive ecosystems throughout Suffolk County.  We applaud our county and state leaders for working to add funding for this crucial clean water program and we cannot think of a better Earth Day present!”

 

 

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Incumbent Tom Muratore is being challenged for his county legislator seat in the 4th District by Holbrook resident David Bligh. Photo of Muratore from his campaign site; photo of Bligh from candidate

In Suffolk County’s 4th District, Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma) is seeking his sixth term and is being challenged by Democrat David Bligh, an environmental engineer from Holbrook. We reached out to both candidates via email to allow them the opportunity to fill us in on what is on their minds as they campaign.

Incumbent Tom Muratore

We asked Muratore what he was most proud of during his tenure as a county legislator. One was working with multiple government agencies as well as community groups to purchase land for a 24-acre park. The future Selden Park Complex will include multipurpose fields, a walking trail and more.

“This allows for more field space and places for our children to play baseball, field hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer and softball right here in our district,” he said. “The state-of-the-art facility is also a great place to host children with specials needs learning new sports through challenges and inclusive sports offerings.”

The county legislator also counted securing funds for a feasibility study for sewers in his district among his accomplishments.

“The availability of sanitary sewers has the potential to increase business investment, improve water quality and provide greater environmental protection in the Selden/Centereach communities,” Muratore said.

The legislator also has secured $6.6 million for road improvements on County Road 16, Horseblock Road. He said in addition to the road being repaved, handicapped-accessible sidewalks were installed and there were improvements to several crosswalks.

Among the issues facing the county, Muratore cites Suffolk’s financial crisis as one of the biggest issues.

“We must budget responsibly, hold the line on taxes and eliminate the outrageous fees, such as the red-light camera fee,” he said. “We must also reduce our capital borrowing. In the next term, I support a 5-10 percent reduction in capital borrowing.”

Other issues he said are protecting the environment and open spaces; supporting law enforcement and first responders for tackling the opioid crisis; and growing the economy by investing in our energy and transportation infrastructure and revitalizing downtowns.

Challenger David Bligh

Bligh said he feels the biggest issues facing Suffolk County currently are affordability, government accountability and responsiveness. The county’s deteriorating water quality he views as a crisis.

Bligh, who grew up in Ronkonkoma, said he hopes his three children will be able to afford to live on the Island when they grow up.

“We have to make Long Island affordable, especially here in Suffolk County, so that our young people and elderly can afford to stay here, and this county doesn’t simply become a place for the wealthy to dwell in their summer homes,” he said.

Bligh said he considers the deteriorating water quality in the county a crisis as it recently had the highest rate of emerging contaminants in New York State, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group May 2019 report entitled “What’s in My Water?: Emerging Contaminants in New York’s Drinking Water Systems.” He said “every elected official’s number one priority must be the safety of the constituents they serve.”

“If people cannot drink water without fearing toxins such as 1,4-dioxane, PFAS [polyfluoroalkyl substances], and other carcinogens, then we have failed as a government,” he said.

When it comes to government accountability and responsiveness, he said his team knocked on more than 14,000 doors while campaigning, and they repeatedly heard about “constituents calling their local officials about concerns in the community and being largely ignored.” He said too many times elected officials will say that an issue cannot be dealt with on their level of government or it’s outside of their jurisdiction.

He said if a legislator cannot handle an issue, they should call those who can and connect the constituent with them.

“We work for the people, not the other way around,” Bligh said.

If elected, Bligh said he would introduce a comprehensive package of ethics and good government reforms, and implement legislation that allows for the development of affordable housing units.

Also, he said as an environmental engineer for the past 15 years, his job entails remediating contaminated sites, and he looks forward to passing further legislation to protect the water quality and to safeguard Long Island from the effects of climate change.

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Incumbent Kevin LaValle faces challenger Talat Hamdani for the District 3 seat in the Town of Brookhaven. Photo of LaValle by Kyle Barr; photo of Hamdani from her campaign website

On Oct. 28 Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) sat down with the TBR editorial board to talk about his run for a fourth term in District 3. His opponent Talat Hamdani did not attend the debate and did not respond to voicemails and emails asking for an interview, but we summarized points posted on her campaign website at the end of this article.

Incumbent Kevin LaValle

LaValle said he has spent the last few years in office ensuring that his district, which is the smallest geographically in the county, receives its fair share of funds. He said he is out in the community regularly meeting with constituents and addressing quality of life issues such as zombie homes and illegal apartments.

“Six years ago, people were like, ‘What about us in the community?’” he said. “Now people are asking, ‘What are you going to do next?’”

The councilman said when he first took office, he drove down Middle Country Road and found more than 30 buildings had graffiti on them and over 45 had illegal signs. His staff sent notices to clean up the graffiti and get rid of the signs to owners and tenants, and most complied. With thousands of cars traveling daily along Middle Country Road, he said, the clean sites encourage others to open businesses.

LaValle prides himself on his work with the business community, citing bringing brands such as Rite Aid, Five Guys and Guitar Center to Independence Plaza in Selden, and Panera Bread to nearby College Plaza. The councilman said he will sit with owners and developers to hear their needs about zoning and has them work with the town’s Building Division and Law Department to ensure the businesses know what is required of them with codes. He said representatives from larger corporations such as Target travel to Brookhaven to discuss their needs with him.

He said it’s important to build relationships and foster trust.

“A lot of people don’t trust government,” he said. “[They say,] ‘This guy is all right. He’s going to work with us. If he gives us his word that he’s going to do something, he’ll do it.’”

He said building those business relationships has led to many of them participating in events that he organizes such as the annual National Night Out, where residents can interact with police officers and other first responders at the Centereach Pool Complex.

When it comes to water quality issues, while he said his district does not include much shoreline — just a small piece of Lake Ronkonkoma — he supports the initiatives of Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) whom he called “the most fervent advocate of the environment” that he knows. One of the programs LaValle supported was the requirement that new construction within 500 feet of water be required to install a new nitrogen-reducing septic system.

He also supports legislation spearheaded by Suffolk County Legislator Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma) for a study to create a sewer district along Middle Country Road. He said it may take eight to 10 years for the district to be included in the sewer program, but he believes it will attract more businesses to the area.

He added a sewer district, in turn, attracts developers who want to buy a few lots together instead of one, which means one entrance for several stores, instead of one for each business, creating a better flow of traffic. 

“It’s so crucial that sewer district, on so many different levels, that we get that,” he said.

LaValle also recognizes the opioid problem in the town. He said Brookhaven has two social workers who will talk to teenagers and families for free about drug addiction problems. When the social workers came to him and said it would be beneficial to raise the age they can treat people from 18 to 24, he sponsored a bill to make it happen.

He said many young people who may have overcome addiction can relapse, especially on returning to Long Island from college while having to deal with multiple stresses.

“I can tell you that’s a great key to be able to give that education, to be able to have that outreach,” he said.

LaValle also said he believes that the state needs to push insurance carriers to provide coverage for those battling addiction and has approached both state senators, Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) and John Flanagan (R-East Northport).

He said the Island currently doesn’t have enough beds for treatment in hospitals and clinics, and patients may be not covered unless they have fought addiction multiple times.

“I think it’s a fight that should be fought,” he said.

He also has worked with Muratore to purchase property behind Hawkins Path Elementary School. An agreement between the county and town allowed the county to buy the property if the town would develop. LaValle said the park, called Selden Park Complex, will have two multipurpose fields with a walking trail, playground and ice-skating rink. Flanagan recently secured $1 million to fund phase 3 of the park, which includes the construction of two baseball fields and a playground.

“It’s great because growing up here, we had the worst fields,” LaValle said.

Challenger Talat Hamdani

Hamdani grew up in Pakistan and immigrated to New York in 1979. She is a retired English teacher, who in 2018 was appointed by County Executive Steve Bellone (D) to the Suffolk County Muslim-American Advisory Board. She is also a regular commentator on CNN, MSNBC, “Democracy Now!”and other media outlets.

The challenger’s family was a victim of Islamophobia when false media accusations linked her son to the 9/11 attacks, according to the challenger’s website. Mohammad Salman Hamdani, her son, worked at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Manhattan and went down to the World Trade Center to help victims. He, too, died in the aftermath of the attacks.

According to her website, she aims to end corruption “by stopping the endless waste, fraud and abuse in the Town of Brookhaven.” She said she will call out “pay-to-play politics and end the hold of special interests in town government and one-party rule.”

Currently, Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station) is the only Democrat on the Brookhaven Town Board.

Hamdani would also like to enhance residential recycling by implementing weekly pickup of plastic, paper, cardboard and aluminum/metals, as well as expand the types of plastics that get collected. She said this would make it easier for residents and not burdensome for taxpayers.

The challenger plans to work to enhance oversight for clean water to increase environmental safety and incentivize small businesses with economic development zones. Her website says she would look to provide rebates for startups and family businesses. She also wants to curb overdevelopment with plans to put a check on big developers and advance a sustainable affordable housing agenda.

“Today, I am passionately involved in social justice,” Hamdani posted on her website. “I want to serve my local community in addressing their issues and trying to resolve them. Like Salman, we need to transcend the barriers of race, faith and ethnicity and stand united for our democracy and our freedoms guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, with liberty and justice for all.”

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Centerport residents held a rally Feb. 9 seeking protection of the area's environment and speaking out on proposed developments. Photo from Facebook

Town of Huntington officials have decided to calm the fears of Centerport residents over potential water contamination that could harm and scare off local wildlife, particularly their beloved American bald eagles.

Dom Spada, deputy director of the town’s Maritime Services, said a 300-foot-long soft boom was installed Feb. 13 along the waterfront near the former Thatched Cottage site on Route 25A, which is currently under construction to become Water’s Edge.

“We did this at the request of the people from Centerport,” he said. “We’ll take a proactive approach and put the boom out to protect the water. We do not feel there’s contamination coming from the construction site.”

“We’ll take a proactive approach and put the boom out to protect the water. We do not feel there’s contamination coming from the construction site.” 

— Dom Spada

The barrier is an oil-absorbent sock made of cellular fiber, approximately 8-inches in diameter, and is usually used for containing and absorbing oil-based spills, according to Spada. It will float along the top of the water and soak in lubricants and fuels without absorbing any water. It cost the town approximately $2,000 plus labor for five men needed to install it.

Over the last three weeks, Centerport residents have filed a series of complaints with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the town expressing concerns that construction debris and stormwater runoff after heavy rains could be contaminating the harbor.

Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) sat down Feb. 8 with Centerport residents including Tom Knight, co-president of Centerport Harbor Civic Association, and Rob Schwartz, founder of Bald Eagles of Centerport Facebook group, to discuss and address these concerns and other proposed developments including a 7-Eleven.

“I am really happy, happily surprised,” Schwartz said. “I appreciate how much they took our concerns to heart.”

On Feb. 1, Huntington’s building division received a new complaint forwarded from Suffolk County’s Department of Health Services alleging that asbestos runoff was entering the pond, according to town spokeswoman Lauren Lembo. The town told residents in the Feb. 8 meeting the county had tested the water then informed Steve Kiewra, the town’s building permits coordinator, in a phone conversation there was no evidence of asbestos runoff.

“I appreciate how much they took our concerns to heart.

— Rob Schwartz

Grace Kelly-McGovern, spokeswoman for Suffolk’s DHS, said Division of Environmental Quality employees did visit the site Feb. 1 to collect water samples from Mill Pond directly behind the former Thatched Cottage. The water will be analyzed by the county’s Public & Environmental Health Laboratory for a number of chemicals and contaminants including pesticides, metals including lead, fecal coliform bacteria, inorganic compounds, nitrogen and phosphorus. The results may take up to six weeks.

While county employees have been frequent contact with town staff in recent weeks, according to Kelly-McGovern, the results are still out as to whether or not Mill Pond has been contaminated from any source.

“Yes, our staff has been in touch with the town staff, but did not claim any testing results,” she said.

New York State DEC visited the site Feb. 5 and found the Water’s Edge in full compliance with state regulations.

Enrico Scarda, managing partner of The Crest Group constructing Water’s Edge, said his company, in full cooperation with state DEC guidelines, has sealed all manhole covers on the property and installed silt fencing with hay bales in an effort to prevent stormwater runoff from entering the pond. 

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Pete Lopez, the regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, speaks about funds. Photo by Kyle Barr

Local environmental groups are anticipating expanding Long Island Sound education and cleanup initiatives, thanks to both state and federal funds.

As part of the 14th annual National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund initiative, federal and New York State officials announced Dec. 3 that 36 new grants totaling $2.57 million will go to environmental groups in Connecticut and New York, and $586,000 of those funds will benefit New York organizations.

“The funding is seed money investment for launching additional resources, pulling people together and bringing people together in conversation,” said Pete Lopez, the regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

U.S Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) attended the event in the Port Jefferson Village Center and spoke about the grants. Photo by Kyle Barr

Lynn Dwyer, the program director of the fund, said the projects were selected by an unbiased, unaffiliated group of environmental experts. The money is reaching these groups as experts say the marine life in the sound has come under threat. In September the Long Island Clean Water Partnership, an advocacy collective supported by the Rauch Foundation, released its yearly report that showed dangerous amounts of poisonous algae blooms in coastal regions from Port Jefferson Harbor to Huntington Harbor. In addition, more and more areas are expressing hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen in water necessary to support marine life. Experts in the partnership said both of these are due to excess amounts of nitrogen in the water, mostly due to aging septic tanks and cesspools all across Long Island.

Several of the projects center on beach cleanup and environmental stewardship. The North Fork-based nonprofit Group for the East End will be receiving $67,542 to remove invasive plants and develop habitat restoration plans for the Hallock State Park Preserve in Riverhead.

Environmental advocacy group Citizens Campaign for the Environment received $45,000 in grants to conduct a public education campaign to reduce plastic pollution on local beaches in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. Adrienne Esposito, the director of CCE, said the project will gather 500 pledges to reduce throw-away plastic use and engage close to 200 volunteers in coastal cleanups on beaches across the North Shore. The group will be adding an additional $45,000 in matching funds from its own funds for the project.

“We will be distributing reusable metal straws, so people can use those in place of plastic straws,” Esposito said.

In addition to the public education campaign, which will start in January 2019, she said the advocacy group is commissioning a local artist to build a giant metal wire-mesh turtle to be placed in Sunken Meadow State Park. The turtle will be filled with all the plastic debris the volunteers pick-up during their beach cleanup to be viewable by the public. Esposito said she expects the beach cleanup and mesh turtle to be done during summer 2019.

“These birds depend on our Long Island beaches to safely nest, rest, forage and raise their young without the threat of disturbance.” — Sharon Bruce 

The New York chapter of the National Audubon Society is receiving $41,009 from the fund for its continuing Be a Good Egg environmental education program encouraging people to share the waterside with shorebirds. The society will be focusing its efforts on a number of beaches, including at Hallock State Park Preserve, Stony Brook Harbor and along Nissequogue River. Sharon Bruce, the communications manager for Audubon New York, said some of the birds they wish to protect include the piping plover, least tern and American oystercatcher, all of which nest directly on the sand.

“These birds depend on our Long Island beaches to safely nest, rest, forage and raise their young without the threat of disturbance,” Bruce said.

Other projects look to beautify and increase biodiversity in coastal areas. The Long Island Explorium, located in Port Jefferson Village, is receiving $43,626 in grant funds to install native plant rain gardens in high visibility areas such as in front of its building on East Broadway and the corner of East Broadway and Main Street.

“There’s a visual component to it and an educational component,” said Angeline Judex, Long Island Explorium executive director. “It will show to the 800,000 visitors to [Port Jefferson Village] how rain gardens improve the water quality of the harbor.”

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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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