Highlights & Happenings

Highlights and Happenings: October 2024

 

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Highlights

A Milestone Victory for the Great Lakes: Rochester Embayment Cleanup 
The most toxic hot spots in the Great Lakes, known as Areas of Concern (AOCs), were identified as such way back in 1987. Due to restoration efforts over decades—and largely supported by recent investments of $14 million from the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)—the Rochester Embayment was finally taken off the AOC list in October! This is yet another demonstration showing that we can reverse the environmental harm caused by decades of pollution, if we invest in solutions. In November, we’ll be heading to Washington DC to advocate for continued investments in the GLRI, which is necessary to finish clean ups in the Buffalo River, Eighteenmile Creek, Niagara River, St Lawrence River, and more!

Vote Yes for Clean Water in Suffolk County: Flip your Ballot and Vote YES on Prop 2! 
With early voting in full swing, and Election Day on November 5, we are in the home stretch of our public outreach and education campaign to ensure Suffolk County residents know to vote on the Clean Water ballot referendum. The initiative would allow sales tax to be increased by 1/8 of one penny to create a reliable funding stream dedicated to protecting water resources by expanding and upgrading sewers and installing upgraded nitrogen-removing septic systems. Voting on this initiative is critical to restoring Suffolk County’s drinking water, beaches, bays, lakes, and rivers! 

In October, we joined our environmental, labor, business, and community partners for a 100+ person rally in support of Prop 2 in Babylon, LI. If you missed the event, you can watch it here. We also did presentations around the county on this ballot initiative, including a great community meeting with Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and Suffolk County Legislator Dominick Thorne, as well as presentations for the Retired Teachers Association, NAACP, Rocky Point Civic Association, Setauket Civic Association and a call in radio show with 103.9! Thank you to everyone who came out to these events and everyone working to educate your communities on this crucial program. Also, a giant thank you to the dozen advocates working with us to distribute 10,000 door knockers to Suffolk homes. We need Suffolk residents to turn out to vote on clean water this year, so if you live in Suffolk, remember to flip your ballot and vote YES on Prop 2! 

Time is Ticking to Save the Horseshoe Crabs! 
Horseshoe crabs have existed for over 350 million years, having shared this planet with the dinosaurs. Sadly, the species is now vulnerable to local extinction unless action is taken soon. Horseshoe crab populations are being depleted and a major contributing factor is the commercial fishermen who catch them and chop them up for use as bait. Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web. In order to save the horseshoe crab, and the species that depend upon them, the New York State Legislature passed a bill to ban harvesting of horseshoe crabs. We can’t afford to wait any longer—Governor Hochul must sign the bill into law before the end of the year. Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into law! 

Happenings

Developing a Statewide Platform for Clean Water in NYS 
In October, we reconvened the NY Clean Water Coalition for the 8th annual Clean Water Roundtable. At the event, the coalition received updates from the Governor’s Office, NYS Department of Health, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation on the top clean water challenges and priorities for the state. We worked with our coalition members—environmental groups, drinking water suppliers, and wastewater treatment operators—to develop a shared priorities agenda for the coming legislative session. The continued collaboration of this diverse group of stakeholders has yielded unprecedented results for New York’s water resources (a nation-leading $5.5 billion invested in clean water in NYS since 2017, among other victories) and we will continue to work together to further our common clean water goals in the coming year. 


Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
As usual, we were busy with our work to advance offshore wind. Here’s the latest from October: 

  • Visiting South Fork Wind – We went on an incredible trip out to see South Fork Wind, NY’s first offshore wind farm located 35 miles off the coast of Montauk. The project is now supplying clean, renewable energy to 70,000 homes on the south fork of Long Island. In fact, it is generating more power than expected! Sunrise Wind, which will power 600,000 homes in Suffolk County, and Empire Wind, which will power 500,000 homes in NYC, are both under construction and will be the next two offshore wind projects that allow our transition off fossil fuels in downstate NY. 

  • Fighting for Battery Energy Storage - As part of NY’s transition to renewable energy, especially offshore wind, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). BESS systems store energy from renewable energy sources and deliver it when electricity demand is greatest, helping to create a more reliable grid. Here’s the latest on our work to support BESS: 

    • In October, we urged Town of Southampton to allow a small 5MW battery storage project by NineDot to move ahead, as it would provide clean power to an area where the grid needs more energy and offset the need for fossil fuel peaker plants. They are due to make the decision in the next month. 

    • In November, we expect Town of Babylon to hold a public hearing on extending their moratorium on battery storage and we will be heading to the hearing to oppose the extension. Several other Long Island towns have moratoriums or extensions to existing moratoriums up for vote in the coming months, so stayed tuned for more info on how you can help support BESS. 

Congressional Climate Chats 
In the next Congress, our representatives from Suffolk and Nassau will have an important role to play in ensuring protections for our coastal communities, local economy, emerging industries, and environmental resources. We joined our partners at Students for Climate Action, Renewable Energy Long Island, and Citizens Climate Lobby New York to virtually host Climate Chats 2024 last month. This event featured short, 15-minute “chats” with candidates running for Congress in NY-01, NY-02, NY-03 to answer questions on climate change, energy, and sustainability from a panel of experienced environmental leaders. Thank you to candidates Congressman Garbarino, Rob Lubin, Congressman LaLota, John Avlon, Congressman Suozzi, and Mike LiPetri for participating. You can watch Climate Chats here. 

Long Island Water Quality Summer 2024 
We joined Stony Brook University’s Dr. Christopher Gobler in October to announce the water quality results of Long Island’s surface waters this summer. The news was not good! The 2024 Assessment of Water Quality Impairments for Long Island found more toxic tides and a record-setting season for harmful algal blooms this past summer. Excessive nitrogen from sewage and septic systems has caused water quality impairments across Long Island and the problem is only going to get worse. This data highlights the need for a recurring revenue stream and significant investments to upgrade our wastewater infrastructure, making it so important for Suffolk residents to vote yes on Prop 2 for clean water this year. 

The Problems with Artificial Turf 
Across New York, artificial turf fields are replacing natural grass at parks, schools, sports fields, and in landscaping. There is growing concern and research connecting artificial turf to a variety of adverse health, safety, and environmental impacts. Exposure to toxic chemicals, water contamination, increase in injuries, PFAS pollution, and plastic pollution are all problems associated with artificial turf. We will be launching a series of educational materials and will be hosting virtual lunch and learn about the various problems associated with artificial turf—stay tuned to learn more about the growing threats from artificial turf. Check out our first educational factsheet here! 

Planting a Rain Garden in Northport 
We are working with Village of Northport on Long Island to install new rain gardens on Bluff Rd and James Street. Rain gardens prevent polluted stormwater runoff from reaching local waterways. They capture, store, and filter contaminants while protecting the shoreline and prevent pollution from entering Northport Harbor. We joined community members to plant a rain garden last month and we are very excited to see how it continues to thrive and protect Northport Harbor. We will be planting another rain garden on November 9th from 10:30am - 12:30pm and are looking for volunteers. If you live in Northport and are interested in helping with the planting, email Maureen Murphy for more details.

Highlights and Happenings: September 2024

 

Photo by Vlada Karpovich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-walking-on-the-sidewalk-at-the-park-9968508/

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Celebrating our Equinox Gala 

We had a great night celebrating 39 years and our special honorees at our annual Equinox gala in September. We honored Ørsted to celebrate New York’s first offshore wind farm and Assemblyman Fred Thiele for a lifetime achievement award. Thank you to everyone that attended and helped to make this night a success. Stay tuned for more pictures and video of our fabulous event! 

Now is the time—Governor Hochul must protect horseshoe crabs! 
Horseshoe crabs have existed for over 350 million years, having shared this planet with the dinosaurs. Sadly, the species is now vulnerable to local extinction unless action is taken soon. Horseshoe crab populations are being depleted and one contributing factor is the commercial fishermen who catch them and chop them up for use as bait. Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web. In order to save the horseshoe crab, and the species that depend upon them, the New York State Legislature passed a bill to ban harvesting of horseshoe crabs. We can’t afford to wait any longer—Governor Hochul must act to sign the bill into law before the end of the year. Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into law! 

ACE NY Clean Energy Award! 
A heartfelt thank you to the Alliance for Clean Energy New York for awarding us the 2024 Energy Advocate Award! We are proud of our work to bolster renewable energy in NY and are grateful for the recognition. Thanks for hosting a great panel discussion last month with other key energy leaders. Let’s keep working together to transition away from dirty polluting fossil fuels to clean renewable energy! 

Happenings

Suffolk County Clean Water Ballot Referendum 
We have launched a public outreach campaign to ensure Suffolk County residents know to vote on a Clean Water Ballot Referendum this November. The initiative would allow sales tax to be increased by 1/8 of one penny to create a reliable funding stream dedicated to protecting water resources by expanding and upgrading sewers and installing upgraded nitrogen-removing septic systems. Now we need Suffolk residents to turn out to vote on clean water this year, so if you live in Suffolk—remember to flip your ballot and vote on Prop 2! 

We will be hosting a free community meeting on October 8th at 7:00pm at South County Ambulance in Bellport. We will be joined by Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and Suffolk County Legislator Dominick Thorne to discuss this important program. Make sure to register today if you would like to attend and learn more about Prop 2. 


Traveling to Chicago to Collaborate on Great Lakes Protection 
As one of the state leaders in New York State for the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, we work closely with partners from all eight Great Lakes states to collaborate on efforts to advance federal protections of our lakes. In September, we headed to Chicago for the coalition’s annual conference—developing a plan to advance restoration in 2025! At the top of our priority list is a campaign to get Congress to extend the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative—email your Senators and U.S. House representatives in support of this critical legislation today! 

New Long Island Drinking Water Report 
In September, we launched a drinking water report that provides a comprehensive evaluation of the presence of emerging contaminants 1,4-dioxane and PFAS chemicals in drinking water across Long Island. We reviewed existing data from 2024 Annual Water Quality Reports from Long Island public water suppliers. These reports provide a summary of data from 2023. We also created interactive online maps that depict the maximum level detected of 1,4-dioxane and PFAS contamination in each water district. You can check out the new report and interactive maps of 1,4-dioxane and PFAS here. 


Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
Here’s what was happening with offshore wind in NY in September: 

  • NYSERDA Offshore Wind Solicitation – New York is currently in its fifth solicitation for offshore wind projects. Companies recently submitted their projects for consideration, which will allow New York to pick the next round of offshore wind farms. Continuing to move forward with project selections is crucial to achieving our climate mandates and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. Stay tuned for information on the next round of offshore wind projects. 

  • Fighting for Battery Energy Storage - As part of NY’s transition to renewable energy, especially offshore wind, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems provide capacity that will reduce our reliance on fossil fuel based generated power, thereby providing significant environmental and public health benefits. In August, we urged the Town of North Hempstead Town Board not to approve a 12-month moratorium on battery storage systems. Fortunately, the moratorium did not pass at the August meeting, but the fight is not over as the Board may still pass it in October. The Town of Babylon will also be holding a public hearing on extending their moratorium on battery storage on October 8th and we will be heading to the hearing to oppose the extension. Several other Long Island towns have moratoriums or extensions to existing moratoriums up for vote in the coming months, so stayed tuned for more info on how you can help support BESS.

Environmental Roundtable with NYS Senators 
Thanks to Senator Pete Harckham and Senator Monica Martinez for joining us last month for our environmental roundtable. We had a robust discussion on what our leaders in the Senate can do during the next legislative session to protect Long Island’s water for future generations. Thanks to all who participated and thanks again to the Senators for being environmental champions! 

Upcoming: Congressional Climate Chats 
In the next Congress, our representatives from Suffolk and Nassau will have an important role to play in ensuring protections for our coastal communities, local economy, emerging industries, and environmental resources. We’ll be joining our partners at Students for Climate Action, Renewable Energy Long Island, and Citizens Climate Lobby New York to virtually host Climate Chats 2024 on October 17th at 7:00pm. This event will feature short, 15-minute “chats” with candidates running for Congress in NY-01, NY-02, NY-03, and NY-04 to answer questions on climate change, energy, and sustainability from a panel of experienced environmental leaders. Register here for the zoom link. 

Highlights and Happenings: August 2024

 

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Calling on Governor Hochul to Protect Horseshoe Crabs 
Horseshoe crabs have existed for over 350 million years, having shared this planet with the dinosaurs. Sadly, the species is now vulnerable to local extinction unless action is taken soon. Horseshoe crab populations are being depleted and one contributing factor is the commercial fishermen who catch them and chop them up for use as bait. Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web. In order to save the horseshoe crab, and the species that depend upon them, the New York State Legislature passed a bill to ban harvesting of horseshoe crabs. We can’t afford to wait any longer—Governor Hochul must act now. Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into law! 

Suffolk County Residents to Vote on Clean Water (Prop 2) this November! 
We have launched a public outreach campaign to ensure Suffolk County residents know to vote on a Clean Water ballot referendum this November. The initiative would allow sales tax to be increased by 1/8 of one penny to create a reliable funding stream dedicated to protecting water resources by expanding and upgrading sewers and installing upgraded nitrogen-removing septic systems. This is a victory 10 years in the making. Now we need Suffolk residents to turn out to vote on clean water this year—if you live in Suffolk remember to flip your ballot and vote on Prop 2!

Victory! Clean Water for Calverton on Long Island 
There were 128 homes in Calverton drinking from private wells, some with confirmed toxic levels of PFAS and others with a high probability of being contaminated with toxic chemicals—possibly from a local Navy Grumman toxic plume. In 2019, we joined community members to seek support for hooking up these homes to public water. We brought together town, county, state, and federal officials to craft a plan to extend water mains to these homes and to seek funding for the project. The funding came through and the first 64 homes were connected last year. Now construction begins for the final 64 homes to be connected to public water. Congrats to all the community members on this hard-won victory for clean water! 

Happenings

Pushing to Continue Successful Efforts to Restore the Great Lakes 
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which started back in 2010, has been a resounding success. Congress has provided billions of dollars to support thousands of restoration projects through the GLRI—including efforts to clean up toxic hot spots in the Buffalo River, Rochester Embayment, and the Niagara River in NYS. While progress has been made, we have much more work to do to protect and restore our lakes. Congress is considering legislation to extend this successful GLRI program through 2031—please take a moment to urge your federal representatives to pass this critical legislation well before the GLRI program expires.   


New York’s Transition to Offshore Wind 
Here’s a look at the biggest developments with offshore wind from August: 

  • NYSERDA Offshore Wind Solicitation – New York is currently in its fifth solicitation for offshore wind projects, with companies submitting their projects for consideration this month. This will allow New York to pick the next round of offshore wind farms, which will then go through robust environmental review. Continuing to move forward with project selections is crucial to achieving our climate mandates and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. 

  • Community Education on Offshore Wind – This summer we had five fantastic interns who went to parks, beaches, events and festivals and spoke to thousands of Long Islanders on the importance of offshore wind. They got thousands of petition signatures and answered countless questions about offshore wind and the emerging “wind-ustry”. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign our petition to grow offshore wind today! One great event in August was the Offshore Wind Industry Open House and Union Apprenticeship Awareness Day at Stony Brook, which offered a unique opportunity to learn about career prospects in this growing field. It was great to talk to high school and college students about our renewable energy future. 

  • Fighting for Battery Energy Storage - As part of NY’s transition to renewable energy, especially offshore wind, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems provide capacity that will reduce our reliance on fossil fuel based generated power, thereby providing significant environmental and public health benefits. In August, we went to Town of North Hempstead to urge the Town Board not to approve a 12-month moratorium on battery storage systems. We pushed the town to update zoning codes to properly site projects without a moratorium. Fortunately, the moratorium did not pass at the August meeting, but the fight may not be over. Several other Long Island towns have moratoriums or extensions to existing moratoriums up for vote in the coming months, so stayed tuned for more info on how you can help support BESS. 


The Problems with Artificial Turf 
Across New York, Connecticut, and the nation artificial turf fields are replacing natural grass at parks, schools, sports fields, and in landscaping. There is growing concern and research connecting artificial turf to a variety of adverse health, safety, and environmental impacts. Exposure to toxic chemicals, water contamination, increase in injuries, PFAS pollution, and plastic pollution are all problems associated with artificial turf. We will be launching a series of educational materials and will be hosting virtual lunch and learn about the various problems associated with artificial turf—stay tuned to learn more about the growing threats from artificial turf. Check out our first educational factsheet here! 

Restoring the Western Bays on Long Island 
We have been working with our partners at The Nature Conservancy & Operation SPLASH for the last decade to restore water quality in the Western Bays of the South Shore Estuary Reserve. Environmentalists fought long and hard for significant upgrades to the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant to reduce excessive, polluting nitrogen in the Western Bays and it’s working. We took a tour of the Bay Park plant in August and are very excited to see all this great progress. Upgrades to the Bay Park Treatment plant resulted in a yearly average reduction of 63% in nitrogen discharge (and 75% in the summer months). The Bay Park Conveyance Project is also underway, which will redirect treated effluent to the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant’s Ocean outfall pipe, moving the effluent out of the Western Bays. 

Upcoming: Our Annual Equinox Gala 
On September 26th we will be celebrating 39 years of grassroots accomplishments with our partners, supporters, and friends at our annual Equinox Gala. This year we will be honoring Ørsted to celebrate New York’s first offshore wind farm and Assemblyman Fred Thiele for a lifetime achievement award. It will be an incredible night, so make sure to secure your tickets and/or sponsorships if you haven’t yet. 

Highlights and Happenings: July 2024

 

Image by Heiko Stein from Pixabay

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Horseshoe Crab Protection Bill Passes, Awaits Governor’s Signature 
Horseshoe crabs have existed for over 350 million years, having shared this planet with the dinosaurs. Sadly, the species is now vulnerable to local extinction unless action is taken soon. Horseshoe crab populations have been depleted largely due to commercial fishermen who catch them and chop them up for use as bait. Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web—if they are not protected, threatened species, such as the Red Knot, may go extinct. In order to save the horseshoe crab and the species that depend upon them, CCE championed legislation to ban harvesting of horseshoe crabs in NY. The bill was passed by the state legislature! Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into law! 

Suffolk County Clean Water Ballot Referendum Will Be on November Ballot! 
The Suffolk County Legislature passed critical legislation that will allow Suffolk County residents to vote on a Clean Water ballot referendum this November. In July, we joined County Executive Romaine, Assemblyman Fred Thiele, Suffolk legislators, and our environmental and labor partners to celebrate the bill being signed into law. Check out CCE Executive Director Adrienne Esposito’s comments here. The initiative would create a unified wastewater management district and allow sales tax to be increased by 1/8 of one penny to create a reliable funding stream dedicated to protecting water resources by expanding and upgrading sewers and installing upgraded nitrogen-removing septic systems. This is a victory 10 years in the making. Now we need Suffolk residents to turn out to vote on clean water this year! 

Happenings

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
As always, there is lots going on with offshore wind. Here are the big developments from July: 

  • Sunrise Wind Groundbreaking – We joined NYSERDA, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, and many of our Wind Works NY partners for the groundbreaking on Ørsted ‘s Sunrise Wind project. This is a historical milestone for the future of renewable energy on Long Island. Sunrise Wind will soon power 600,000 Long Island homes with clean energy and help us transition off polluting fossil fuels. 

  • Fighting for Battery Energy Storage - As part of NY’s transition to renewable energy, especially offshore wind, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems provide capacity that will reduce our reliance on fossil fuel based generated power, thereby providing significant environmental and public health benefits. In July, we went to the Town of Southampton to urge the Town Council not to approve a second moratorium on battery storage systems. It has been a year since the Town placed a moratorium on BESS with the intention of updating zoning codes to properly site projects. Unfortunately, the Town chose to extend the moratorium another six months. Several other Long Island towns have moratoriums or extensions to existing moratoriums up for vote in the coming months, so stayed tuned for more info on how you can help support BESS. 

  • Sign the Offshore Wind Petition – Take action today to show your support for offshore wind! As New York’s offshore power kicks into action, it’s a critical time to come out strong for a clean energy future. Join us in urging Governor Hochul's administration to grow New York's renewable energy, including offshore wind! Sign the petition today! 

New Report: Random, Restrictive Recycling on Long Island 
Each year, Long Island generates more than 2.9 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), with approximately 40% of that waste being packaging and paper products, such as plastic containers, metal cans, plastic film, glass bottles, paper products, and cardboard. Unfortunately, only about 20% MSW is being recycled properly. We released a report last month entitled “Random, Restrictive Recycling: The Chaotic System on Long Island and the Policy Solution Needed to Fix It”. This report analyzes municipal recycling programs and the options available for residents, discusses the complications in our recycling system that prevent Long Islanders from recycling properly, and outlines a policy solution to tackle Long Island’s recycling crisis. The report details an overcomplicated, confusing, and often misleading municipal recycling system that makes it very difficult for individuals to recycle properly. You can check out the report here and watch our press conference where we discuss our key findings here. 

Heading to D.C. to Protect Long Island Sound 
Each year, we head down to DC for our Long Island Sound Education Day with our coalition partners to talk about the issues facing this Estuary of National Significance. We had great meetings with our U.S. Senate and House members from New York and Connecticut on the importance of investing in LI Sound. Cleaner waters, robust fish populations, opening shellfish beds, and reduced hypoxia all demonstrate our success so far, but far more needs to be done to address climate change and combat nitrogen pollution. In July, we were thrilled when the U.S. House passed the LI Sound Restoration and Stewardship Reauthorization Act, and are urging the Senate to follow suit! 


Tackling Plastic Pollution for Plastic Free July 
The Long Island Sound Coastal Watershed network hosted our webinar “Tackling Long Island Sound Plastic Pollution: Plastic Free July”. We heard from expert Rachael Miller, who told us about her latest research on microplastics in the Sound, and CCE’s Adrienne Esposito, who discussed the solutions to the plastic crisis. It was a great event – thanks to the 100+ people to joined us for the presentation and Q &A. If you missed it, you can check it out here. 

Talking Protecting Horseshoe Crabs on Fire Island
We participated in Saltaire’s annual Sea & Sand Festival, a weekend of kids' activities focused on the environment. We spent the day on Fire Island talking to kids and their parents on the importance of protecting horseshoe crabs. The children were excited to color and send letters to Governor Hochul urging her to sign The Horseshoe Crab Protection Act. Thank you to Kathryn Morlet and the Saltaire Sustainability Committee for putting together this great event. 


Be on the Watch for Harmful Algal Blooms 
As we start enjoying summer here in New York, it is important to be aware of dangerous harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs pose an immense threat to our communities’ drinking water, public health, outdoor recreation and wildlife. HABs are erupting across NY more frequently and more aggressively in NY waterbodies. To learn more about HABs and efforts taken to combat them on Cayuga Lake check out our short video. If you see a HAB in a lake or waterbody (looks like spilled green paint or pea soup), be sure to avoid it and report it using the DEC Suspicious Algal Bloom Report Form! 

Highlights and Happenings: June 2024

 

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

2024 NY Legislative Session Wraps Up 
In June we celebrated major victories. Thanks to your support, we led successful efforts to protect clean water, safeguard the public from toxic chemicals, save vulnerable species, fight climate change, save taxpayers money, and more. Bills that passed the legislature include (most still need a signature from the Governor to become law): 

  • Horseshoe Crab Protection Act: While horseshoe crabs have been around for over 350 million years, having survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, their numbers are now dwindling in New York State due to overharvesting. We led efforts to get legislation passed that will ban harvesting of these crabs for commercial and biomedical purposes. Now, we need to urge Governor Hochul to sign this bill into law! 

  • Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, which will allow a Suffolk County ballot referendum to allow the creation of a fund to upgrade sewers and septic systems to protect clean water, is a priority bill that passed and was already signed into law by the Governor. 

  • Climate Superfund Act: Holds corporations accountable by requiring fossil fuel companies to pay into a fund that will help New York adapt to climate change. It would generate about $3 billion annually to fund projects to keep communities safe from flooding, protect vulnerable infrastructure, pay for damage from extreme weather, and much more. This bill still needs to be signed by the Governor. 

  • Ban on Fracking with CO2: While we fought to ban dangerous fracking that uses water to extract gas (hydraulic fracking) years ago, there was interest in circumventing the ban by extracting gas using carbon dioxide instead. Since this would be just as dirty and dangerous as hydraulic fracking, we supported legislation to ban CO2 fracking. This bill still needs to be signed by the Governor. 

After major campaigns with our coalition partners, bills banning PFAS in household chemicals and the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act passed overwhelmingly in the NYS Senate. While we secured more than enough votes to pass the bills in the Assembly, Assembly leadership failed to allow the bills to come up for a vote. We’ll work to get these bills passed as soon as possible:

Victory! Suffolk County Approves Clean Water Ballot Referendum 
The Suffolk County Legislature passed critical legislation that will allow Suffolk County residents to vote on a Clean Water ballot referendum this November. The initiative would create a unified wastewater management district and allow sales tax to be increased by 1/8 of one penny to create a reliable funding stream dedicated to protecting water resources by expanding and upgrading sewers and installing upgraded nitrogen-removing septic systems. This is a victory 10 years in the making! Now we need Suffolk residents to turn out to vote on clean water this year! As Newsday editorial board stated, “The stars finally are aligning for clean water in Suffolk.” 

Welcome CCE’s Summer Interns
Summer is finally here! We were very excited to welcome Damaris, Jordan, Jacob, Kathleen, Omi, and Tenley, who will be interning with us this summer. In June, they headed out to several Long Island beaches and street festivals to conduct education on offshore wind. Stop by our tent for environmental updates, plus fun games and prizes all summer! See you in the sun! 

Happenings

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
These were some of the big developments in June related to offshore wind development: 

  • South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Groundbreaking – We joined NYSERDA, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and many of our Wind Works NY partners for the ground breaking on Equinor‘s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Offshore Wind Port. This is a historic milestone for the future of renewable energy in New York City. This 73-acre project will allow us to bring offshore wind energy to the NYC grid. It will provide energy to 500,000 homes and create a thousand green jobs for New Yorkers. 

  • Learning More About Battery Energy Storage - As part of NY’s transition to renewable energy, especially offshore wind, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems provide capacity that will reduce our reliance on fossil fuel based generated power, thereby providing significant environmental and public health benefits. We joined our partners for a community meeting in Babylon, on Long Isand, to discuss how battery storage works and the role it plays in our renewable energy transition. We plan on having more community meetings on Long Island, so stay tuned for more info. 

  • Global Wind Day – For Global Wind Day on June 18th, we headed down to the Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center for an educational open house on offshore wind. It was great to see many of our Wind Works NY partners and energy experts to answer the public’s questions on NY’s offshore wind projects and the benefits of offshore wind for our communities.

Sewage Solutions for Fire Island 
Our Executive Director, Adrienne Esposito, presented with Cameron Engineering to the Suffolk County Legislature last month on the new Fire Island Sewage Solutions Plan. This is the first comprehensive, community-led plan that brought together federal, state, and local leaders and stakeholder organizations. We worked for the past 6 years to assess the wastewater management needs of Fire Island. Thank you to Steve Flotteron for sponsoring the project and to Suzy Lawrence Goldhirsch and the Fire Island Association for all their input, time, and expertise to create this holistic plan.

PFAS in Everyday Products 
Last month we presented at the Association of Educational Safety & Health Professionals Conference on the threats of PFAS in everyday products and drinking water. PFAS is unnecessarily present in common products such as cookware, dental floss, children’s products, personal care products, ski wax and so much more. The ubiquitous use of these toxic chemicals has led to a variety of adverse human health impacts and drinking water contamination. We work to educate the public about the threats of PFAS exposure and continue to fight to ban these chemicals from the products we use every day. This remains one of our top legislative priorities. 

Paying the Price: Long Island’s Stormy Future 
In June, Newsday hosted “Paying the Price: Long Island’s Stormy Future” — a conversation about the status of Long Island’s shorelines and the challenges we face as a result of climate change and sea level rise. Adrienne Esposito was among the four speakers in this discussion, along with Dr Chris Gobler, Supervisor Dan Panico and Robert Larocca. Stay tuned for when the show is posted and click here for more information. 

Conserving Water in the Summer Heat Wave 
While facing record high temperatures around New York this June, we joined the Long Island Commission for Aquifer Protection for an event on how to conserve water to protect Long Island’s sole source aquifer and protect public health. It’s likely to be a hot summer, so check out the video to learn more. 

Upcoming: Tackling Plastic Pollution for Plastic-Free July 
The Long Island Sound Coastal Watershed network will be hosting our webinar “Tackling Long Island Sound Plastic Pollution: Plastic Free July”. Join us on July 16th from 12:30p.m-1:30p.m as we hear from expert Rachael Miller as she tells us more about Microplastics in the Sound. Smithtown High School Students Nicole Gullason and Natasha Mishra will discuss their research findings on Microplastics and Algal Blooms in Long Island Sound and Adrienne Esposito will discuss solutions to the plastic crisis. Register now. 

Highlights and Happenings: May 2024

 

Image by Ulrich Hummel from Pixabay

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Highlights

Victory! Governor Hochul Signs Suffolk County Clean Water Bill 
We were excited to join Governor Kathy Hochul as she signed the Suffolk County Clean Water Referendum Bill. This bill would allow Suffolk County residents to vote on a ballot referendum this November. The initiative would create a unified wastewater management district and allow sales tax to be increased by 1/8 of one penny to create a reliable funding stream dedicated to protecting water resources by expanding and upgrading sewers and installing upgraded nitrogen-removing septic systems. The next step is passing it through the Suffolk County Legislature, which is holding a public hearing on the bill on June 4th. As Newsday editorial board stated, “The stars finally are aligning for clean water in Suffolk.” 

Fighting to hold manufacturers—not taxpayers—responsible for their waste 
We have been spending lots of time in Albany working to pass one of our top NYS priorities, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. We have been fighting for a strong policy that will reduce product packaging, eliminate toxins in packaging, increase packaging recyclability, prevent plastic pollution, and save taxpayers money—it is estimated the policy would save local governments across the state $420 million annually! We will continue to fight to pass this critical legislation this year, but with just a few session days left we need your help in urging the NYS Legislature to pass the bill. Please send an email urging your representatives to support this bill. 

Turn Off the Tap to Dangerous PFAS Chemicals Now!
Toxic PFAS chemicals can be found in many of the products that we use every day. As a result, drinking water sources across NYS have been contaminated by these chemicals. PFAS are referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are very persistent, meaning they build up in our bodies and don’t break down in the environment. New science indicates that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS in our drinking water and we must do more to protect public health from this growing threat. In May, we joined our partners in Albany for a press conference and lobby day in support of legislation that will ban the use of PFAS chemicals in a host of everyday products. Take action today and urge your elected representatives to support passage of this critical legislation today! 

Happenings

Weighing in on the Future of Great Lakes Restoration 
EPA recently released a draft five-year plan (2025-2029) to oversee federal investments to restore and protect the Great Lakes. In comments submitted to the EPA with our partners at the Healing Our Waters Coalition, we applauded the agency for the plan’s focus on community health and ecological health; commitment to community engagement; solutions that confront climate impacts; importance of local workforce development and economic revitalization; actions to benefit communities hardest hit by pollution and environmental harm; and equitable access to restoration benefits. The plan is expected to be finalized by the start of the federal government’s next fiscal year, which begins October 1. 

Long Island Sound High School Summit 
At the 2024 Long Island Sound High School Summit, which was held in May, high school students from around Long Island showcased their projects and research focused on protecting Long Island Sound. The topics the students covered include stormwater runoff, water quality, marine life, and plastic pollution. It was great seeing the next generation of Long Island Sound stewards come together to share their research and discuss solutions. We were impressed! Thanks to our partners at the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Friends of the Bay for co-hosting for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation for hosting us and giving us a tour of their fish lab. 

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
As always, lots going with offshore wind in NY. Here’s what was happening in May: 

  • Building Support for Offshore Wind—Sign the Petition – Take action today to show your support for offshore wind! As New York’s offshore power kicks into action, it’s a critical time to come out strong for a clean energy future. Join us in urging Governor Hochul's administration to grow New York's renewable energy, including offshore wind! Sign the petition today!

  • What’s Brewin’ Offshore – We joined the NY League of Conservation Voters, Climate Jobs NY, and Community Offshore Wind for the latest installment of “What’s Brewin’ Offshore” to discuss the importance of offshore wind and transitioning off fossil fuels. We had a fun educational evening networking and discussion at Strong Rope Brewery in Red Hook, Brooklyn. 

  • Vineyard Wind Open House – We headed to Long Beach for an open house by Vineyard Wind last month, who is proposing an offshore wind project approximately 24 miles off the coast of Long Island. We had some great discussions on the potential project, thanks to all who joined. 

  • Oyster Shore Energy Storage Open House – As part of our transition off of fossil fuels, we will need renewable energy including offshore wind, solar, and hydropower—as well as battery storage. Battery storage will allow these renewable technologies to deliver clean, renewable energy when it is needed most, especially in high energy demand areas like New York City and Long Island. Last month we attended an open house for the proposed Oyster Shore Energy Storage project in Glenwood Landing on the north shore of Long Island, which will convert and remediate a former petroleum terminal to a battery storage facility. To learn more about battery energy storage and the role it plays in transitioning NY to renewable energy, check out our webinar here. 

Clean Water Symposium: Global Challenges and Local Solutions.
We joined the North Shore Land Alliance and The Nature Conservancy to co-host a conference bringing together leaders in the field of water science in May. Leading experts updated attendees about the condition of local water, including surface water and drinking water. There was also robust panel discussion focused on solutions that both municipalities and homeowners can use to address the protection of Long Island’s critical natural resources. The event was a huge success, thanks to all who came out. 


Skip the Stuff in Suffolk County 
Last year New York City’s Skip the Stuff law successfully went into effect, which requires restaurants to provide plastic utensils, condiments, napkins and other single-use foodware to take-out and delivery customers upon request. Suffolk County is now considering similar legislation to reduce plastic pollution in our waterways and reduce solid waste on Long Island. Last month, we testified in support of the bill with many of our environmental partners. We are fighting to get this common-sense legislation to combat single-use plastics passed in Suffolk this summer. 


Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. Last year, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. The Yale Superfund Center will be contacting potential participants in the next few weeks to participate in the study over the summer, so stay tuned. 

Highlights and Happenings: March 2024

 

Image by Joshua Choate via Pixabay

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Highlights

Fighting for Clean Water Infrastructure 
Since 2017, New York has invested $5 billion in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, and this funding has produced significant results for clean water from the Great Lakes to Long Island Sound. But there is still work to be done to address New York’s $80 billion drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs. In her Executive Budget, Governor Hochul proposed to slash this critical funding in half. We are calling for $600 million for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act in the SFY 2024-25 budget. Last month, we joined Assemblymembers Michaelle Solages and Keith Brown for a bi-partisan press conference highlighting the need for this funding. The good news is that both the Assembly and Senate have restored the funding in their one-house budgets, but the fight continues to make sure clean water funding makes it into the final budget. Now is not the time to turn off the tap for clean water infrastructure funding, we need to increase state investments in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. If you haven’t yet, take action today!

Victory! Construction of NY’s First Offshore Wind Farm is Complete 
We were thrilled to join Governor Kathy Hochul and U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to flip the switch on South Fork Wind. This is NY’s first offshore wind farm, with 12 turbines now powering 70,000 homes on the south fork of Long Island. New York is officially receiving clean renewable energy from offshore wind power. Thank you to all the leaders, civics, environmentalists, and labor organizations working together to forge a clean energy path! 

Happenings

Fighting for the Great Lakes in Washington, D.C. 
We led a team of Great Lakes advocates—students, business leaders, and environmental advocates—to meet with New York’s Congressional delegation in D.C. on Great Lakes Day. Our group shared stories of successful restoration projects from Buffalo to the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and called for continued investment in Great Lakes protection. Specifically, we are calling on Congress to reauthorize the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which would provide the program with $500 million annually over 5 years to continue cleaning up toxic hot spots, restoring habitat, protecting drinking water, and more!

Advocating for our Ocean, Estuaries and Great Lakes in Albany 
New York’s environment, economy, and public health are dependent upon the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). From Buffalo to Long Island, all New Yorkers benefit from the numerous programs and projects in the EPF. One important line item in the EPF is the state’s primary source of funding to initiate projects to protect and restore our Ocean, Estuaries, and Great Lakes. We joined advocates from across the state fighting to support $25 million for crucial work to protect and restore our ocean, estuaries, and Great Lakes, within a $400 million EPF. 

Charging Ahead with Route Zero 
In March, we were proud to stand with New York League of Conservation Voters, Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages, Assemblymember Charles Lavine, and Nurses Alliance for Healthy Environments to urge the EPA and the Biden Administration to move forward with Route Zero vehicle pollution standards. These standards would reduce emissions from heavy trucks and buses, which will provide significant environmental and public health benefits to our communities!

Talking Waste at UBS Arena 
Last month, we had a great time participating in the first ever Sustainability Conference at UBS Arena on Long Island. We participated in the waste panel to talk about Long Island’s recycling crisis, how we can reduce waste and improve recycling locally, and how the NY Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act will ensure manufacturers, not municipalities, are responsible for dealing with the waste they produce. Thanks to UBS Arena for inviting us and for a lively event. 

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
In addition to the major announcement on the completion of the South Fork Wind Farm, there are other important announcements on offshore wind: 

  • Sign the Offshore Wind Petition – Take action today to show your support for offshore wind! As New York’s offshore power kicks into action, it’s a critical time to come out strong for a clean energy future. Join us in urging Governor Hochul's administration to grow New York's renewable energy, including offshore wind! Sign the petition today! 

  • BOEM approves Sunrise Wind - The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued a Record of Decision approving Sunrise Wind. This project will be built off the coast of Montauk and provide 924MW of renewable energy to Long Island homes via a cable connection to the Holbrook substation. Sunrise Wind is now the next offshore wind project moving forward for NY and gets us closer to meeting our climate mandates, including 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035. The project developers, Orsted and Eversource, have also taken a Final Investment Decision on Sunrise Wind. This is another huge step forward for offshore wind in NY. 

  • Lunch and Learn: Battery Storage Basics - As part of our transition to offshore wind, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems provide capacity that will reduce our reliance on fossil fuel based generated power, thereby providing significant environmental and public health benefits. They will also help stabilize the energy grid as we move towards achieving our state energy mandates, powering thousands of homes and bringing significant economic benefits to our region. In March we hosted a virtual event with our partners at the NY League of Conservation Voters. Check it out here. 

  • Upcoming Lunch and Learn: Propel NY - We will join our partners at the New York League of Conservation Voters for a webinar on Propel NY Energy. The Propel team will be giving updates on their proposed project to bolster the electric transmission network through parts of Long Island, New York City and Westchester County and create clean energy pathways to deliver clean energy, including offshore wind. Wind - developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and National Grid Ventures. Join us on April 9th at noon, register today. 

Upcoming; Earth Day Advocacy Day 
Join us and our environmental partners in Albany on April 16th to make your voice heard in support of key bills to protect New Yorkers and our environment. Urge legislators to pass bills that protect drinking water quality, reduce solid waste, prevent lead poisoning, promote clean energy and environmental justice, and much more! Register today and we will see you in Albany! 

Upcoming: Clean Water Symposium: Global Challenges and Local Solutions.
We are joining North Shore Land Alliance to co-host a conference that will bring together leaders in the field of water science. Leading experts will update attendees about the condition of local water, including surface water and drinking water. There will also be a robust panel discussion that will focus on solutions that both municipalities and homeowners can use to address the protection of Long Island’s critical natural resources. The symposium will be held on Thursday, May 16th, 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm at the Gold Coast Cinema at the LIU Campus in Brookville. Register here. 


Upcoming: Protecting Northport Harbor 
We are working with Village of Northport, LI to install 2 new rain gardens on Bluff Rd and James Street. Rain gardens prevent polluted stormwater runoff from reaching local waterways. They capture, store, and filter contaminants while protecting the shoreline and harbor. Join us April 10th at 7pm at Northport Village Hall for a presentation and to offer your feedback on this beneficial new project and learn more about the importance of protecting Northport Harbor from polluted runoff. Register here. 


Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. Last year, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. Later this month, we will hosting a free community forum at the Hicksville Library so residents can learn more about this groundbreaking study and how they can participate. Join us on April 22nd from 7:00-8:30pm. Register today. 

Highlights and Happenings: February 2024

 

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Highlights

Fighting Back Against a Major Funding Cut for Clean Water 
Since 2017, New York has invested $5 billion in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. From the Great Lakes to Long Island, this funding has helped to reduce sewage overflows, remove emerging contaminants from drinking water, replace lead pipes, and more. But there is still work to be done to address New York’s $80 billion drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs. This year, Governor Hochul proposed to slash this critical funding by 50%, but we are fighting back. We are calling for $600 million for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act in the SFY 2024-25 budget. Now is not the time to turn off the tap for clean water infrastructure funding; we need to increase state investments in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. If you haven’t yet, please take action today! 

Great News: NY’s 1,4-Dioxane Law is Working! 
NY’s law, which limits the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane in products, went into full effect at the beginning of this year. Last month, we released a report that included independent testing of laundry detergents—revealing that companies are complying with the law and members of the public are being exposed to significantly less 1,4-dioxane than they were just a few short years ago. We were delighted to learn that not only are New Yorkers benefiting, but products, including all those made by Proctor & Gamble, have reformulated and significantly reduced 1,4-dioxane for all of North America. You can find out more by watching our press conference revealing the testing results or reading the new report. This is a huge win for our drinking water and our health!

Happenings

Supporting a Fully Funded Environmental Protection Fund 
New York’s environment, economy, and public health are dependent upon the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). From Buffalo to Long Island, all New Yorkers benefit from the numerous programs and projects in the EPF. EPF projects improve water quality, protect clean air, conserve open space, save family farms, bolster recycling programs, revitalize waterfronts, build community parks, and support zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens. We joined advocates from across the state to maintain the $400 million EPF and prevent those funds from being raided for agency staff costs! Offloading agency staff costs into the EPF would limit communities’ ability to protect and restore our precious environment in every region of the state. 

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
There were a lot of big developments on offshore wind in February; here’s a rundown: 

  • Offshore Wind Petition Launched – Take action today to show your support for offshore wind! As New York’s offshore wind power kicks into action, it’s a critical time to come out strong for a clean energy future. Join us in urging Governor Hochul's administration to grow New York's renewable energy, including offshore wind! Sign the petition today! 

  • Empire and Sunrise Wind Rebid – Both the Sunrise Wind Farm, which will power 600,000 Long Island homes via a connection in Holbrook, and Empire Wind 1, which will power 500,000 NYC homes via a connection in Brooklyn, submitted rebids with NYS for their projects to continue to move forward. Great news: In February, these projects were both selected and are now continuing along towards final approval and construction. They are expected to be completed in 2026! 

  • Why Wind Works: NY’s New Offshore Wind Projects – We joined our partners at the New York League of Conservation Voters for a webinar on the new offshore wind projects coming to New York. These three projects will power over 2 million homes. Check out the webinar to find out more about Attentive Energy (developed by TotalEnergies), Rise Light & Power, Corio Generation, and Excelsior Wind (developed by Vineyard Offshore), and Community Offshore Wind (developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and National Grid Ventures). 

  • Projects in the NY Bight – The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has released a draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the offshore wind leases in the NY Bight (the area available for offshore wind between NY and NJ). Three projects—Community Wind, Excelsior Wind, and Attentive Energy—have already been selected by NY and will power millions of homes with clean power. This PEIS will help streamline the review process for offshore wind projects in this area, ensuring that projects are not repeating the same studies and moving us one step closer to a transition off fossil fuels. We testified in support and submitted comments last month. 

Long Island Lobby Coalition Goes to Albany 
Last month we headed up to Albany for our annual Long Island Lobby Day. We had great meetings with our Senators and Assemblymembers about funding for clean water, sewers, transportation, social services, renewables, waste reduction and more. Our 100+ member coalition is fighting to make sure this year's budget includes funding for critical programs to protect LI's water, health, and quality of life. Thanks to all who joined us for a very productive trip. 

Suffolk County Clean Water Referendum 
Nitrogen pollution impacts every waterway in Suffolk County. We are fighting for state legislation that would allow residents to vote on a clean water ballot initiative this November and need the Suffolk County Legislature to put the issue on the ballot and let the public decide if an increase of 1/8 cent in the county sales tax should be dedicated to protecting water resources by fixing sewer and septic infrastructure. Last month, we were thrilled to join Suffolk County Executive Romaine, Suffolk legislators, organized labor, and environmentalists for a good news announcement about the clean water referendum. We are extremely encouraged that a referendum for clean water funding can be on the ballot this November in Suffolk County. 

Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. Last year, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. 

Climate Reality Project 
CCE’s Francine Gordon has been accepted to attend Climate Reality Leadership Training in NYC this Spring! The event will feature former Vice President Al Gore and an all-star lineup of thought leaders, climate experts, and organizers for a training that explores the climate crisis today and the road to a sustainable tomorrow. Congratulations to Francine on being selected for this great opportunity! 

Save the Date: Western Bays Community Meeting 
We’ll be joining our friends at Operation SPLASH to host a community meeting on restoring our Western Bays on the south shore of Long Island. The forum will review the importance of diverting sewage from the Western Bays, update residents on the proposal to connect the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility and Long Beach Sewage Treatment Plant to an existing ocean outfall pipe at the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant, and provide an overview of upgrades that have been made so far. Join us April 2nd at 7:30pm at Operation SPLASH, 202 Woodcleft Ave, Freeport. 

Save the Date: Clean Water Symposium: Global Challenges and Local Solutions. 
We are joining North Shore Land Alliance to co-host a conference that will bring together leaders in the field of water science. Leading experts will update attendees about the condition of local water, including surface water and drinking water. There will also be a robust panel discussion that will focus on solutions that both municipalities and homeowners can use to address the protection of Long Island’s critical natural resources. The symposium will be held on Thursday, May 16th, 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm at the Gold Coast Cinema at the LIU Campus in Brookville. Register here. 

Save the Date: Protecting Northport Harbor 
We are working with Village of Northport, LI to install 2 new rain gardens on Bluff Rd and James Street. Rain gardens prevent polluted stormwater runoff from reaching local waterways. They capture, store, and filter contaminants while protecting the shoreline and harbor. Join us April 10th at 7pm at Northport Village Hall for a presentation and to offer your feedback on this beneficial new project and learn more about the importance of protecting Northport Harbor from polluted runoff. Register here. 

Highlights and Happenings: December 2023

 

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Highlights

Victory! Governor Hochul Signs Birds and Bees Protection Act!
Bees are one of the most important species on the planet. Unfortunately, they are dying at an alarming rate. This loss of our bees and other pollinators has been largely linked to the excessive use of neonic pesticides. The Birds and Bees Protection Act was resoundingly passed by the NYS Legislature in June and was signed into law by the Governor in December. This critical law bans the most harmful and unnecessary use of toxic neonic pesticides. This is a huge victory for our pollinators, environment, and public health. Thank you to all our partners and everyone who urged the Governor to sign this crucial bill into law. And thank you to Governor Hochul for signing this landmark legislation into law!

Victory! Clean Water for New Yorkers
New York communities received a gift for the holidays this December—clean water! We joined Governor Hochul as she announced $479 million for clean water projects across the state. These projects included treatment technology to remove toxic PFAS and 1,4 dioxane from drinking water, funding to replace antiquated polluting septic systems, and funding to fix sewage infrastructure. Thank you to Governor Hochul for investing in clean water on Long Island and throughout NYS.

Happenings

Transitioning to Offshore Wind
There were some big developments on offshore wind in December:

  • Victory! NY’s First Offshore Wind Turbine is Generating Power South Fork Wind, NY’s first offshore wind farm, will soon power 70,000 homes on the east end of Long Island. Last month, we traveled 35 miles offshore to witness the construction of South Fork Wind, where two of the turbines are completed and one is already generating power. It was an incredible experience to see our clean renewable energy future up close. We also joined our partners for a press conference and celebration in East Hampton, where the cable connection will bring power onshore to the local substation. This is a major step forward for offshore wind in NY and the US!

  • Offshore Wind Legislative Breakfast We joined NY League of Conservation Voters and our offshore wind partners to host Our Offshore Wind Future: An Offshore Wind Legislative Breakfast in West Saville, Long Island. We were joined by elected officials from the local, state and federal level to talk about offshore wind. We heard updates from Orsted and Equinor, who are currently building the first offshore wind projects in NY. We also got presentations from Vineyard Offshore, Community Offshore Wind, and Attentive Energies about their offshore wind projects, which were selected by New York this fall and will generate over 4,000MW of power. It was a very informative event. Thanks to all who attended and to our great presenters.

  • Upcoming: NYSERDA Open Houses Throughout January, the NY State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is hosting offshore wind educational open houses in several locations. Join NYSERDA, New York State agencies, offshore wind project developers, and other industry partners to learn about the state’s work to responsibly develop offshore wind to advance the critical clean energy targets of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. You can find more information on the open houses here.


Protecting Long Island Sound
Last month, we were awarded grant funding from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund to continue our collaboration with the Village of Northport to install two new rain gardens. These new rain gardens will enhance access to the Long Island Sound and filter harmful pollutants out of stormwater to protect water quality in the harbor. The project will prevent 75.2 lbs. of nitrogen, 15.9 lbs. of phosphorus and 4,456 lbs. of suspended solids flowing annually into Northport Harbor and Long Island Sound. Thanks to the LIS Futures Fund for their continued support.


Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. This spring, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. We will also be hosting an in-person meeting with Assemblywoman Taylor Darling in Hempstead Village on January 25th, so stay tuned for more info. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here.

Highlights and Happenings: November 2023

 

Image by Tracey O'Brien from Pixabay

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Highlights

Telling Governor Hochul to Save the Bees!
Bees are one of the most important species on the planet. Unfortunately, they are dying at an alarming rate. This loss of our bees and other pollinators has been largely linked to the excessive use of neonic pesticides. The Birds and Bees Protection Act was resoundingly passed by the NYS Legislature and is now waiting to be signed by Governor Hochul. This bill would ban the most harmful and unnecessary uses of toxic neonic pesticides. In November, we held a press conference on Long Island with our partners urging the Governor to sign this crucial bill into law, which you can watch here. Several of our partner groups also held a big rally in NYC. There was also a great op-ed in Newsday, check it out if you missed it. Help us fight the pesticide industry and protect our pollinators by sending an email to Governor Hochul and tell her it is time to save the bees and to sign the Birds and Bees Protection Act!

Happenings

Transitioning to Offshore Wind. There were a lot of big developments for offshore wind in November:

  • NY Announces New Bidding for Offshore Wind Projects. Due to the pandemic, supply chain issues and inflation, the offshore wind developers for the projects already selected in NY (Sunrise, Empire, & Beacon Wind) requested subsidies from NYS to ensure they could viably move forward with their projects. In October, their request was rejected. We joined many of our Wind Works NY partners in supporting the subsidies and have been pushing for an expedited rebidding process so that projects can move forward to meet our climate change mandate of 70% renewables by 2030. In November, New York State announced they will be holding the rebidding process with a very quick turnaround timeline (bids due in January, selection of winners in February) and that the existing contracts will not be canceled. This will allow early projects, if re-selected, to move forward on a reasonable timeline. This is very good news!

    New York State also announced plans to hold a fourth solicitation for additional offshore wind projects. Last month, we joined Governor Hochul as she announced three projects (Excelsior Wind, Community Offshore Wind, and Attentive) that will power over two million homes as a result of the third offshore wind solicitation. Another round of projects, in addition to the re-bidding process, is a huge step in moving offshore wind forward and achieving 9,000 mw of offshore wind by 2035.

  • BOEM NY & NJ Environmental Justice Forum. We attended an excellent NY and NJ Environmental Justice Forum at UPROSE in Brooklyn last month. We toured Equinor’s facility at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, a large offshore wind port that will house operations and maintenance for several large offshore wind farms. It was a great discussion and was very exciting to tour the facility and see that an abandoned industrial facility will be transformed into a productive offshore wind terminal.

  • Lunch and Learn: Why Wind Works. We joined our partners at the NY League of Conservation Voters to host a virtual presentation on Why Wind Works last month, featuring expert panelists from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, and US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. We want to provide the facts on why offshore wind works, why it is needed in our state, and what benefits it brings to several regions throughout New York. Thanks to the almost 200 people who joined. If you missed it, check it out here.

Fighting to protect the Great Lakes in Washington
We joined with NY partners from the Healing our Waters Great Lakes Coalition for a trip to Washington DC last month. We had very productive meetings with our US Senators and Representatives from NYS—calling for continued investment in the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and programs to upgrade our drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. We need Congress to support clean water in the final 2024 budget!

South Shore Estuary Reserve Stewardship Awards
We joined Deputy Secretary of State Kisha Santiago-Martinez to host the South Shore Estuary Reserve 2023 Stewardship Awards. The SSER Stewardship Award program is designed to recognize citizens and organizations that have made significant contributions to the improvement of the estuary. Congratulations to Richard Groh, Chief Environmental Analyst at the Town of Babylon and Dr. Artie Kopelman, President of the Coastal Research & Education Society of Long Island (CRESLI), who won awards for their dedication in protecting and restoring the Reserve!

Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. This spring, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here.

UBS Arena Sustainability
We joined UBS Arena for their launch of new sustainability goals—100% renewable energy and zero waste! UBS Arena, located in Belmont, Long Island, is a certified LEED building and is now going further with their sustainability goals. The venue will make its own renewable energy and meet a zero waste goal, which includes donating and composting excess food. We applaud these efforts by UBS Arena and thank you for a terrific event.

Talking Pollinators at REI
REI held a grand opening for the new location in Huntington Station, Long Island, and we were there to talk about bees! We spent the day at the store opening, educating shoppers about the Birds & Bees Protection Act and the importance of banning neonic pesticides. Shoppers were eager to sign on and urge Gov Hochul to sign the Birds & Bees Protection Act!

Celebrating Board Member Richard Olsen-Harbich
We were honored to attend the book signing of our longtime board member Richard Olsen-Harbich at Bedell Cellars. Check out his great book, “Sun, Sea, Soil, Wine” available for purchase here. Congrats Rich!

Highlights and Happenings: October 2023

 

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Highlights

Tell Governor Hochul to Save the Bees! 
Bees are one of the most important species on the planet. Unfortunately, they are dying at an alarming rate. This loss of our bees and other pollinators has been largely linked to the excessive use of neonic pesticides. The Birds and Bees Protection Act was resoundingly passed by the NYS Legislature and is now waiting to be signed by Governor Hochul. This bill would ban the most harmful and unnecessary uses of toxic neonic pesticides. Help us fight the pesticide industry and protect our pollinators by sending an email to Governor Hochul and tell her it is time to save the bees and to sign the Birds and Bees Protection Act! Then, join us and our partners on November 15th for a rally in front of Governor Hochul’s NYC office to call on her to sign the Birds and Bees Protection Act into law. We will be hosting a press event on Long Island too, so stay tuned for more news! 

NY Selects 4,000MW of Offshore Wind!
Despite some setbacks for offshore wind last month, there was one HUGE step forward. We joined Governor Kathy Hochul and many of our Wind Works partners as she announced the state’s largest ever investment in renewable energy. The state has selected three offshore wind projects, plus 22 land-based renewable energy projects, which will power a total of 2.6 million homes. This is a massive investment in offshore wind, with these three projects making nearly half of the state’s offshore wind goal of 9,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035. Congratulations to the awarded projects: Attentive Energy, Community Offshore Wind, and Excelsior Wind! 

Happenings

Testifying in Support of Waste Reduction in Albany 
One of our priority bills in NY is the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which would hold manufacturers—not taxpayers—responsible for their waste. We were in Albany last month to testify to the Senate and Assembly in support of this bill to reduce plastic packaging, improve recycling, and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually! Many thanks to Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Deborah Glick for their leadership on this issue. NY must get the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure act passed in 2024! 

Heading to D.C. to Protect Long Island Sound 
Our annual Long Island Sound Study Education Day was an absolute success! We met with our NY and CT Representatives to update them on all the progress the coalition made over the last year to restore Long Island Sound, and to push for increased federal funding to further these LIS protection programs. Thank you to all our coalition partners who joined us on the trip, and thanks to all our Representatives and Senators who met with us and who continue to be champions for protecting Long Island Sound. 

The Problems with Artificial Turf 
Throughout the nation, natural grass playgrounds and athletic fields are being replaced with “artificial” or “synthetic” turf. The use of artificial turf raises significant environmental, health, and safety concerns that parents, schools, and policymakers must be made aware of. Last month, we joined the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) to co-host a virtual educational presentation to discuss the significant problems associated with artificial turf, including water quality impacts, PFAS contamination, microplastic pollution, and more. If you missed it, check it out here. 

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with a mandate of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. In addition to the announcement on 4,000 MW of offshore wind mentioned above, there were other important developments in October: 

  • Empire Wind 2 Public Hearings and Wind Rally 
    In October, the NY Public Service Commission held public hearings in Long Beach on the Empire 2 project, which would power 600,000 Long Island homes via a cable connection through Long Beach to a substation in Island Park. We had a huge rally ahead of the hearing in support of offshore wind, particularly about the need to move forward with the existing projects and grant needed subsidies for offshore wind so we can hit our Climate Law targets. It was a fantastic rally with our environmental and labor partners. 

    At the hearings, hundreds of people were in attendance and City Hall was packed. One thing is clear – NYS must move the cable route instead of taking their planned route through Long Beach. The Governor recently vetoed a bill alienating parkland to allow for the planned Long Beach cable route, so stay tuned for updates on what is happening Empire Wind 2 and the cable connection! 

  • NY Denies Subsidies for Offshore Wind 
    Due to Covid, supply chain issues and inflation, the offshore wind developers for the projects already selected in NY (Sunrise, Empire, & Beacon Wind) requested subsidies from New York State to ensure they could viably move forward with their projects. In October, their request was rejected. We had joined many of our Wind Works NY partners in supporting the subsidies, without which we could see years-long delays in bringing these projects online, particularly for the early projects that are nearly through the approval process and have already made massive financial investments in the community. This was a major setback to our ability to reach our climate change mandate of 70% renewables by 2030. We are now urging New York to move forward quickly with a rebidding process to keep these early projects on track and ensure we do not lose four years of work! 

  • Our Offshore Wind Future, Part 2.
    Back in July, we placed an 8-page educational piece, “Our Offshore Wind Future”, in the Long Island Herald. It was a big hit, so we’ve created another piece with even more great educational info about offshore wind. It just ran in local papers all along the south shore. Check out the new factsheet here.

Long Island Water Quality Summer 2023 
We joined Stony Brook University’s Dr. Christopher Gobler in October to announce the water quality results for Long Island’s surface waters this summer. The news was not good! The 2023 Assessment of Water Quality Impairments for Long Island found more dead zones, toxic tides, fish kills, and a record-setting season for harmful algal blooms this past summer. Excessive nitrogen from sewage and septic systems has caused water quality impairments across Long Island and the problem is only going to get worse. This data highlights the need for a recurring revenue stream and significant investments to upgrade our wastewater infrastructure. 

Fighting Contamination at the Brookhaven Landfill 
Last month, a Newsday investigation found that Brookhaven Town had ignored whistleblower concerns about contaminated and improperly handled ash from local waste incinerators that was sent to the Brookhaven Landfill for disposal. This went on for years, and the Town sided with incinerator despite potential health risks to the local community. We joined the NAACP, Brookhaven Chapter for a press conference to call for an independent investigation into the dumping of potentially hazardous waste at the Brookhaven Landfill. This is just the latest in a long history of health concerns and environmental hazards associated with the Brookhaven Landfill. The community deserves better! 


Working Together to Protect and Restore our Great Lakes 
In October, we headed to Cleveland for the annual Healing Our Waters (HOW) Great Lakes Coalition Conference. The conference brings together advocates from all eight Great Lakes states to share information, visit successful restoration projects in Cleveland, and develop joint strategies to advance Great Lakes restoration. CCE serves as a state lead for the HOW coalition in New York State, and will continue working with our partners to advance Great Lakes restoration priorities in 2024, including addressing the impacts of climate change, fighting for environmental justice in Great Lakes communities, and more! 


Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. This spring, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. 

Highlights and Happenings: August 2023

 

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Highlights

Governor Hochul: It’s Time to Save the Bees! 
In August, we joined NYS Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, environmental advocates, and farmers for a virtual press conference calling on Governor Hochul to sign the Birds and Bees Protection Act into law! This bill would ban the most harmful and unnecessary uses of toxic neonic pesticides that have been decimating bee and pollinator populations, contaminating water resources, and threatening public health. Neonics are likely the most ecologically destructive pesticides since DDT. Help us fight the pesticide industry and protect our pollinators by sending an email to Governor Hochul and tell her it is time to save the bees! You can also watch a recording of the press conference here. 

Taking a Major Step Forward in Protecting Long Island’s Water from Forever Chemicals! 
Unfortunately, carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane and PFAS “forever chemicals” have been detected in wells throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties. In August, we attended the site for a new Suffolk County Water Authority AOP System that will remove PFAS and 1,4-dioxane from our drinking water. Our work fighting for state clean water funding is paying off! We got a great tour of the facility and had a press conference celebrating the eight new AOP systems in total that will ensure Suffolk’s water meets state drinking water standards for these toxic chemicals. Thank you to Suffolk County Water Authority, Senator Mario R. Mattera, and Assemblyman Steve Stern for your work to provide clean water to Suffolk residents.

Happenings

Weighing in on NY’s Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act 
The $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act was approved overwhelming by New York State voters last November. This funding will allow our state to undertake urgently needed environmental improvement projects that are vital to New York’s future and provide necessary and overdue investments to solve pressing public health and environmental problems. Throughout July and August state agencies hosted listening sessions across NY to get ideas for projects from local communities. We attended listening sessions from Buffalo to Long Island and will be submitting a list of potential projects to improve water quality, fight climate change, preserve open space, and create green jobs. You can submit your ideas as well! 

Fighting to Preserve Plum Island 
We had a fantastic trip to Orient Point, overlooking Plum Island, with the Preserve Plum Island Coalition and Congressman Nick LaLota in August. Plum Island is an 840- acre island located 10 miles from Connecticut in the heart of Long Island Sound. Approximately 90% of the island is undeveloped, allowing pristine wetlands and grassland areas to flourish and giving the island tremendous ecological value. We are fighting to preserve Plum Island for future generations. 


Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. August saw some more big milestones for offshore wind: 

  • Sunrise Wind Virtual Open House: We joined a virtual open house to hear about progress on the onshore construction work for Sunrise Wind. The Sunrise Wind Farm will be located off the coast of Montauk and will power 600,000 Long Island homes via a cable connection in Town of Brookhaven. The first phase of onshore construction activities is under way, with additional phases occurring later this year and into next year. If you missed the open house, you can check out the info here. 

  • South Fork Wind: The South Fork Wind Farm will be NY’s first offshore wind, powering 70,000 homes on the east end of Long Island. The construction is under way and the project is expected to be online at the end of the year. As of last month, the foundations are now installed – Next step is installing the turbines! 

Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. This spring, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. Last month we had a great meeting with NYS Senator Anthony Palumbo and Yale Superfund Research Center in Riverhead to spread the word and educate the public about this 1,4-dioxane health study. 

Be on the Watch for Harmful Algal Blooms
As we start enjoying summer here in New York, it is important to be aware of dangerous harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs pose an immense threat to our communities’ drinking water, public health, outdoor recreation and wildlife. HABs are erupting across NY more frequently and more aggressively in NY waterbodies. To learn more about HABs and efforts taken to combat them on Cayuga Lake check out our short video. If you see a HAB in a lake or waterbody (looks like spilled green paint or pea soup), be sure to avoid it and report it using the DEC Suspicious Algal Bloom Report Form! 

Highlights and Happenings: July 2023

 

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Tell Governor Hochul to Save the Bees! 
After years of hard work and advocacy, the NYS Legislature recently passed the Birds and Bees Protection Act! If signed into law, it would ban the most harmful and unnecessary uses of toxic neonicotinoid (“neonic”) pesticides. Neonic pesticides not only kill bees at an alarming rate, but they also pollute our water, kill wildlife, and threaten public health. Our Executive Director released this brief statement in support of the bill. Now we need YOUR help to urge Governor Hochul to sign this monumental legislation into law! Join us in calling on the Governor to sign the bill by sending an email today! 

Weighing in on the Future of the Great Lakes  
The EPA is currently developing a plan to guide Great Lakes restoration efforts over the next five years—helping determine how billions of dollars in federal investments will be allocated. At an engagement session held in Rochester in July, we urged the EPA to continue progress on existing priorities (cleaning up toxic hot spots, restoring habitat, and more) while also focusing on protecting coastal communities from climate change and supporting restoration projects in underserved communities. Please take a moment and use our template to submit a comment to the EPA via email! 

Happenings

Pushing for Stronger PFAS Standards 
Last year, the EPA proposed new federal drinking water standards of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for the toxic “forever chemicals” PFOA and PFOS, which is significantly stronger than the NYS standard of 10 ppt. EPA has found that there is virtually no safe level of PFAS exposure, making stronger standards essential. While these standards are a necessary step to tackle existing water contamination, we must also prevent additional PFAS chemicals from entering our waterways. In July, we joined U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to call for passage of the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act of 2023, which would prevent manufacturing facilities from discharging PFAS chemicals into our waterways in the first place. 

Fighting for Clean Water in Suffolk County 
Nitrogen pollution impacts every waterway in Suffolk County. We fought for state legislation that would allow Suffolk residents to vote on a clean water ballot initiative this November. We needed the Suffolk County Legislature to put the issue on the ballot and let the public decide if an increase of 1/8 cent in the county sales tax should be dedicated to protecting water resources by fixing sewer and septic infrastructure. Despite years of work to get here and a large coalition of environmentalists, labor unions, chambers of commerce, civic organizations, and local businesses coming together in support, the Suffolk Majority voted no in July. The public was denied the right to vote on clean water this year. This was a huge disappointment, but we’re never done fighting for clean water. 

LI Water Quality at an All-Time Low 
Bad news for water quality on Long Island. We joined Dr. Gobler from Stony Brook University and The Nature Conservancy to unveil new data showing that the summer of 2023 is tracking as the worst water quality on record for Long Island. Excessive nitrogen from sewage is the main culprit—causing declining water quality, toxic algal blooms, fish kills, and turtle kills. Some of our harmful algal blooms are not only the worst in Long Island’s history but some of the most intense on record in the world. If you missed it, you can watch the press conference here. Suffolk’s clean water referendum would have helped leverage state and federal funding and solve some of our nitrogen pollution issues, which is why we and our partners are continuing to fight for funding to upgrade our sewage and septic systems. 

Restoration Project Spotlight: Using Rain Gardens to Protect Lake Erie 
Rain gardens play an important role in capturing polluted runoff, reducing flooding, preventing sewage overflows, and supporting biodiversity. In July, we joined with the Erie County Water Quality Committee to tour rain gardens in the Town of Evans, NY. These rain gardens in Evans Town Park not only look beautiful and support numerous pollinators, but they also prevent contaminated water from urban and rural roadway runoff from reaching Lake Erie (located just across the street)! 


Suffolk County Executive Candidate Forum 
Last month, we co-hosted the Suffolk County Executive Environmental Candidate Forum with the NY League of Conservation Voters Environmental Fund at Stony Brook University. There were hundreds of people in attendance to hear from candidates Ed Romaine (R) and Dave Calone (D) about their plan to protect our environment, public health, and our communities if they are elected. Thanks to NYLCV for organizing this important and very informative event. 

Celebrating Solar Energy 
The Calverton Solar Energy Center on Long Island celebrated its one-year anniversary in July. The 23 megawatt facility is currently providing clean, renewable solar energy to 4,000 homes. We joined National Grid US Ventures, the Long Island Power Authority, and NextEra Energy for a press conference and visit to the solar farm, which is helping NY meet its ambitious climate goals and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Suffolk County.

Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. This spring, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. We will also be joining Senator Palumbo on August 9th at Riverhead Library for a community meeting to discuss the impacts of 1,4-dioxane on Long Island and this important health study. Register for the meeting here. 

Sea Turtle Release 
In July our team attended the sea turtle release of eight turtles that were being taken care of by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society. It was an exciting evening as we watched these creatures return to their ocean homes. We had the pleasure of releasing one of the eight sea turtles. Thanks to AMSEAS for this incredible experience! Watch a video of the turtle release here. 

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. This will not only bring environmental and health benefits to our communities but will also create thousands of jobs and make NY a hub of offshore wind development. In July, we continued our work to support offshore wind: 

  • What’s Brewin’ Offshore. We had a fun educational evening networking and discussing offshore wind at Six Harbors Brewing Company in Huntington, LI with New York League of Conservation Voters, Climate Jobs NY, the Long Island Association and many of our Wind Works LI partners. Thanks to Anabaric for sponsoring the event! 

  • Our Offshore Wind Future, LI Herald. In July we continued to educate the public on the south shore of Nassau County, where the Empire Wind 2 cable connection will be powering 600,000 homes. We placed an 8-page educational piece, “Our Offshore Wind Future,” in the Long Island Herald – if you missed it you can check out the piece here.

Highlights and Happenings: June 2023

 

Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
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Highlights

New York Legislative Session Wrap Up 
The NY legislative session wrapped up in June, and there are some significant achievements to celebrate! We want to congratulate and thank the new Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, Senator Harckham, and the new Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, for their hard work! Thank you also to our coalition partners and everyone who contacted their legislators to get these crucial bills passed this session. Some of our priority bills passed by the state legislature (still need to be signed by the Governor): 

  • Birds and Bees Protection Act: Bans the most harmful and unnecessary uses of neonic pesticides, eliminating 85%-90% of all neonics used in NY. This will protect our pollinators, water quality and human health. Now we need Governor Hochul to sign the bill into law! 

  • Expanding Stream Protections: Protects an additional 41,000 miles of streams across the state, which will help protect drinking water quality and habitat for fish and wildlife. 

  • Lead Pipes Right to Know: Creates an inventory of lead pipes throughout the state and makes this information public, giving residents the right to know if they are drinking water that may be contaminated with lead. 

  • Offshore Wind Transmission: Requires NYSERDA to lead a transmission planning process for offshore wind and authorizes temporary parkland alienation in City of Long Beach for the offshore wind cable connection for Empire Wind 2, which will power 600,000 homes on Long Island.

Let’s not forget the major victories from the state budget that was passed earlier in the session, including matching an all-time high of $400 million for the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and $500 million to upgrade sewer and drinking water infrastructure. Unfortunately, one of our big priority bills, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which would reduce plastic packaging pollution and save local governments hundreds of millions of dollars annually, didn’t pass this session. We’re already gearing up for the fight next year to pass this necessary legislation. 

South Shore Estuary Reserve Program Celebrates 30th Anniversary! 
We partnered with the New York Department of State to host the first South Shore Estuary Reserve (SSER) Conference. The conference celebrated 30 years of progress to restore this estuary and assessed restoration needs still needed in the future. Speakers included New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez and Dr. Chris Gobler from Stony Brook University. Thank you to all our great speakers and everyone who joined—it was a fantastic event! 

Happenings

Pushing for Stronger PFAS Drinking Water Standards 
New York had been a leader in its efforts to protect public health from PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water, having adopted some of the nation’s strictest drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS in 2020. Last year, the EPA proposed new federal drinking water standards of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS, which is significantly stronger than the NYS standard of 10 ppt. However, New York is pushing back against this new low standard and is rebuking the Biden Administration on several aspects of its proposed regulations. We attended the NYS Drinking Water Quality Council meeting in June to demand NY remain a leader in the fight to protect public health and ensure our state’s drinking water standards are reflective of the latest science, which indicates that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS in drinking water. Reducing the standards from 10ppt to 4ppt would protect millions more New Yorkers from harmful PFAS. 

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. This will not only bring environmental and health benefits to our communities but will also create thousands of jobs and make NY a hub of offshore wind development. We kept up our work on advancing offshore wind in June: 

  • Talking Offshore Wind with Uniondale High School. In June, we officially concluded our “Transitioning to Renewable Energy” series with Uniondale High School and Community Wind for this school year. CCE staff gave climate change and offshore presentations to 45 classes with over 1100 students! We had an amazing time bringing the students to the Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center—the students learned about renewable energy, participated in taking wind readings, and saw a real wind turbine blade. 

  • Open House on Empire Wind 2. Equinor hosted meetings this spring on Empire Wind 2, which will power over 600,000 homes in Nassau County via a cable connection to Island Park. We attended a productive June meeting in Long Beach—thanks to everyone who came out to talk about wind.   

Fighting for Clean Water in Suffolk County 
Nitrogen pollution impacts every waterway in Suffolk County. We successfully fought for state legislation that would allow Suffolk residents to vote on a clean water ballot initiative this November. Next, we needed the Suffolk County Legislature to put the issue on the ballot and let the public decide if an increase of 1/8 cent in the county sales tax should be dedicated to protecting water resources by fixing sewer and septic infrastructure. Despite years of work to get here and a large coalition of environmentalists, labor, chambers of commerce, civic organizations, and local businesses coming together in support, the Suffolk Majority voted no. This was a huge step backwards, but we’re not done fighting for clean water in Suffolk. 


Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. This spring, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. 

Welcome to our Summer Interns! 
We’re excited to welcome our summer interns! Belen Gonzalez and Malvika Shrimali are part of the Yale Conservation Scholars Program. Belen attends Fordham University and Malvika attends College of William and Mary. Adrianna Gardocki is also joining our team for the summer—Adrianna is entering her senior year studying Environmental Economics at Binghamton University. 


Be on the Watch for Harmful Algal Blooms
As we start enjoying summer here in New York, it is important to be aware of dangerous harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs pose an immense threat to our communities’ drinking water, public health, outdoor recreation and wildlife. HABs are erupting across NY more frequently and more aggressively in NY waterbodies. To learn more about HABs and efforts taken to combat them on Cayuga Lake check out our short video. If you see a HAB in a lake or waterbody (looks like spilled green paint or pea soup), be sure to avoid it and report it using the DEC Suspicious Algal Bloom Report Form! 

Announcing our New Board Member 
CCE would like to introduce our newest board member, Lauren Sternberg. Lauren is the Communications Manager with Veolia North America. We have worked with Lauren for years to protect Long Island’s water quality and we’re excited to continue working with you as the newest members of our Board! 

Upcoming: Suffolk County Executive Candidate Forum 
We’ll be co-hosting the Suffolk County Executive Environmental Candidate Forum with the NY League of Conservation Voters Environmental Fund on July 17th at 6pm at Stony Brook University. Find out what candidates Ed Romaine (R) and Dave Calone (D) plan to do to protect our environment, public health, and our communities if they are elected. This is a free event but space is limited, so make sure to RSVP early! 

Highlights and Happenings: April 2023

 

Photo by Xavi Cabrera on Unsplash

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Highlights

Victory! NYS Final Budget has Big Gains for the Environment
The final NYS budget includes funding for critical programs to restore our waterways, fight climate change, and protect public health. A huge thank you to Governor Kathy Hochul and our Senate and Assembly champions for fighting for crucial environmental victories this year. Highlights include:

  • $500 million for clean water infrastructure, which helps to stop sewage overflows, remove emerging contaminants from drinking water, and more;

  • $400 million Environmental Protection Fund, which supports environmental programs to protect our land, air, and water in every community across the state;

  • $22.5 million to protect and restore our Ocean, Estuaries, and Great Lakes;

  • A record $2 million to support restoration of the South Shore Estuary Reserve; and

  • Authorization for Suffolk County to create a unified water district and hold a clean water ballot referendum this November.

NYS Assembly Passes Birds and Bees Protection Act!
One of our key priorities in Albany this year is the Birds and Bees Protection Act. This bill would limit unnecessary uses of toxic neonicotinoid pesticides (A.K.A neonics), which have decimated bee populations, polluted drinking water, and have been linked to adverse human health impacts. In April, the NYS Assembly passed this legislation to ban the sale of neonic treated corn, soybean, and wheat seeds; and cosmetic uses on lawns, gardens, and golf courses. By banning just these few uses, we could eliminate 85-90% of all neonics used in NY. A big thank you to Assemblywoman Glick for your leadership! Now, we are working to ensure the NYS Senate also passes this crucial bill this year.

Victory! Manorville Residents Will Get Clean Water
We were thrilled to join Manorville residents on Long Island for a celebration last month to announce there is now full funding to connect 64 homes to public water. These residents are drinking from private wells contaminated with toxic PFAS chemicals and VOCs and have been demanding #cleanwaternow for the last four years. Thank you to our local, state, and federal policy makers who got this critical funding, and most of all, thank you to the residents who never stopped fighting!

Happenings

Celebrating Earth Day 2023
To celebrate Earth Day, we joined advocates from across New York to voice our support for a comprehensive legislative agenda to protect our water, land, and pollinators; improve recycling, reduce toxins, and fight climate change. We had a very productive time in Albany and were successful in passing several important bills through the Assembly and Senate, which protect pollinators, reduce PFAS pollution, reduce food waste, and much more. A huge thank you to everyone involved in a great Earth Day Advocacy Day.

Fighting to hold manufacturers—not taxpayers—responsible for their waste
One of our top NYS priorities this year is working to pass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act, which will hold producers, not taxpayers, responsible for their waste. We have been fighting for a strong policy that will reduce product packaging, eliminate toxins in packaging, increase packaging recyclability, prevent plastic pollution, and save taxpayers money—it is estimated the policy would save local governments across the state $420 million annually! We will continue to fight to pass this critical legislation this year and urge you to take action in support.

Transitioning to Offshore Wind
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035. This will not only bring environmental and health benefits to our communities but will also create thousands of jobs and make NY a hub of offshore wind development. Recent updates on our offshore wind work:

  • Open Houses on Empire Wind 2. Equinor is hosting meetings on Empire Wind 2, which will power over 600,000 homes in Nassau County via a cable connection to Island Park. We just attended the meeting in Island Park but there will be another in Long Beach on June 8, we’d love to see you there. Find more information and register here.

  • Talking Offshore Wind with Uniondale High School. We recently kicked off our partnership with Community Offshore Wind and Uniondale High School, with more than 800 students slated to participate. We will be in classrooms for several days talking with students about “Transitioning to Renewable Energy” - an educational program designed to inform and engage the next generation of Long Islanders on the clean energy future.

Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. This spring, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. In April, we hosted a Lunch and Learn with Yale to talk about:

  • The latest science on drinking water and health impacts of 1,4-dioxane

  • More information on the large quantities of 1,4-dioxane in popular products

  • The new partnership between Yale and CCE and the health study to begin this year for Long Islanders.

If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating in the study and finding out if you or the drinking water in your home have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here.

Whale Tales and Whale Facts
We had a great Lunch and Learn virtual webinar on the recent whale deaths off NY’s coast and discussed what we can do to protect whales. There has been concern that these whale deaths are the result of offshore wind development, despite evidence to the contrary. The truth is that offshore wind is crucial to fighting climate change and protecting marine species. We heard great presentations from the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, and Atlantic Marine Conservation Society about the real threats to whales off our coast. Thank you to the almost 400 people who joined and all who participated in the Q&A. If you missed it, check it out here.

Highlights and Happenings: March 2023

 

Image by Rebecca Matthews from Pixabay

Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Victory! Celebrating the Sunrise Wind Community Benefits Agreement
In March, Long Island celebrated another big step forward for offshore wind in NY! We joined elected leaders, labor groups, community representatives and environmentalists for a press conference to announce the communities benefit agreement for Sunrise Wind. Sunrise wind will be located approximately 30 miles off Montauk, will generate 924MW of electricity, and power nearly 600,000 Long Island homes. The energy will be brought to Suffolk County, in the Town of Brookhaven, via a cable connection to the Holbrook substation. This agreement between developers Orsted/Eversource and the municipalities means $700 million in investments going back to communities for green jobs, park improvements, sewers, schools and more!

Great News! EPA Proposes Limits on PFAS “Forever Chemicals” in Drinking Water
PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are being found in drinking water supplies in NY, CT, and across the nation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new enforceable drinking water standards, known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for two PFAS chemicals (PFOA and PFOS), as well as a combined standard for a mixture of four additional PFAS chemicals (PFNA, PFBS, PFHxS, and GenX). The MCLs for PFOA and PFOS are proposed at 4 parts per trillion (ppt), which is significantly stronger than New York State's existing MCLs of 10ppt for both PFOS and PFOA. CT does not have an enforceable standard for these chemicals. EPA has crafted a strong proposal that is needed to protect public health. Look for updates from us soon on how you can submit a comment to EPA in support of the proposed regulations during the public comment period!

Happenings

Fighting to Protect the Great Lakes in Washington D.C.
In March, advocates from all eight Great Lakes States traveled to Washington to attend Great Lakes Day. We led a team to meet with New York’s congressional delegation, calling for increased investments in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and clean water infrastructure, as well policies to protect our wetlands and small streams.


Fighting Climate Change in Nassau County
We joined Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan as he announced a new bill that will fight climate change, invest in energy efficiency and embrace renewable energy. The bill will make Nassau County municipal operations carbon neutral by 2035. New York’s climate law mandates a carbon neutral economy by 2050. We applaud Leg. Lafazan for working to make Nassau County a leader in fighting climate change!



Check out our Clean Water Video Series: Progress and Challenges in New York
To celebrate World Water Day, we released a series of six short videos on the progress and challenges associated with protecting NY’s water resources. These videos highlight what successful water quality protection projects look like in the Great Lakes, Finger Lakes, and Long Island. Learn more about the work that has been done to protect New York’s treasured waters, the work left to do, and why we need continued state and federal investments in protecting clean water in New York.


Transitioning to Offshore Wind
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. This will not only bring environmental and health benefits to our communities but will also create thousands of jobs and make NY a hub of offshore wind development. March saw some more big milestones for offshore wind:

  • NYS hearings on Empire Wind 2. NYS held a public comment period for the Empire Wind 2 project as part of their Article VII process. Empire Wind 2 will power over 600,000 homes in Nassau County via a cable connection to Island Park. We participated in very lively public hearings on the project last month.

  • City of Long Beach Votes on Empire Wind 2. City of Long Beach voted yes to maintain control of Ocean Beach where the cable for Empire Wind 2 plans to come onshore, which will allow the city to participate in the review process for the project. We testified at the hearing and are planning to do extensive outreach in Long Beach and Island Park this spring and summer, so stay tuned for more events.

  • We hosted a Lunch and Learn with Community Offshore Wind, a joint venture between RWE Renewables and National Grid. Community Offshore Wind was one of the six lease winners in the New York Bight and their awarded seabed is the largest parcel, with the potential to host three gigawatts (GW) of capacity and power over one million homes. Community Offshore Wind has submitted to NYSERDA's third offshore wind solicitation and provided an overview of the project including information from their fisheries, stakeholder engagement, permitting, and project development teams.

  • Wind Education at Uniondale High School. CCE is working with Uniondale High School to educate the students about Offshore Wind. We met with the faculty staff in March and presented to them about offshore wind. In the spring, we will be engaging the students in a three-part educational program about Offshore Wind, Renewable Energy and Climate Change which will end with fun and exciting discussions and adventures for the students. We look forward to this journey!

Protecting Our Pollinators
One of our top legislative priorities for 2023 is the Birds and Bees Protection Act. This bill would limit unnecessary uses of toxic neonicotinoid pesticides (A.K.A neonics), which have decimated bee populations, polluted drinking water, and have been linked to adverse human health impacts. Last month we continued to push for state legislation to ban the sale of neonic treated corn, soybean, and wheat seeds; and ornamental uses on lawns, gardens, and golf courses. By banning just these few uses, we could eliminate 85-90% of all neonics used in New York and protect our pollinators, water quality, and human health. Email your elected representatives today and urge them to pass the Birds and Bees Protection Act!

Pushing for Water Reuse on Long Island
We were proud to stand with Seatuck Environmental Association as they released their new Water Reuse Road Map & Action Plan for Long Island last month. Reusing water has the potential to reduce harmful nitrogen in coastal waterways while restoring the region’s aquifer resources. Water reuse is a crucial component of restoring water quality and protecting our sole-source aquifer for future generations, and this important plan provides guidance for important water reuse projects.

2023 Long Island Sound Summit
We partnered with The Nature Conservancy and Save the Sound to host the 2023 Long Island Sound Summit: Funding & Strategies to Tackle Local Water Pollution. This fantastic Long Island Sound clean water event brought together 100 Network members, policy makers, environmental advocates, and clean water professionals across the Sound to learn about resources for clean water project design and implementation and to discover new collaboration opportunities to advance key projects. Thanks to all who attended and made the event such a success!

Upcoming: Lunch and Learn with Yale - Impacts of 1,4-Dioxane Contamination on Long Island
1,4-Dioxane is an emerging contaminant of concern found in drinking water throughout the nation and was found in 80% of personal care products tested. New York has been a leader in the fight to combat 1,4-dioxane contamination, but there is still a lot of work to be done to protect our communities from this toxic chemical. We have partnered with the Yale Superfund Research Center to engage with Long Island communities to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island communities and ways to mitigate that impact. Join us on April 24th at noon. Register today for this free virtual Lunch and Learn.

Upcoming: Join Us for Earth Day Advocacy Day in Albany!
Earth Day is right around the corner and to celebrate CCE is joining advocates from across the state for a lobby day in Albany. Join us to show your support for healthy people and a healthy planet in an in-person Earth Day Advocacy Day with NYS policy leaders on Tuesday, April 25th. Talk to your legislators, urge them to pass key environmental bills to protect New Yorkers! Register TODAY and we will see you in Albany!

Highlights and Happenings: January 2023

 

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Highlights

Pushing for our Environmental Priorities in the NYS Budget
We were in Albany for Governor Hochul’s 2023 State of the State address and were thrilled to see some of our top priorities for the year highlighted and included in the Governor’s budget proposal. We’ll be in Albany for the next few months urging our Assembly and Senate members to include some of our key priorities in the final budget, including:

  • Waste Reduction and Recycling: Ensures that manufacturers, not taxpayers, pay for the cost of recycling product packaging. This will help to cut plastic pollution, increase recycling, and save local governments money.

  • PFAS Cleanup: Provides $60 million to local governments to clean up toxic “forever chemicals” and protect drinking water.

  • Environmental Protection Fund (EPF): We are pushing for at least $400 million in the EPF, including robust funding to support protection of our ocean, Great Lakes, and estuaries.

  • Clean Water Funding: We are pushing for a billion dollar investment in much-needed clean water infrastructure improvements, including upgrading sewer systems, treating drinking water for emerging contaminants, replacing lead pipes, and more.

Happenings

Transitioning to Offshore Wind
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. This will not only bring environmental and health benefits to our communities but will also create thousands of jobs and make NY a hub of offshore wind development. January saw some more big milestones for offshore wind:

  • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Sunrise Wind. This project, located approximately 30 miles off Montauk, will generate 924 MW of energy and power nearly 600,000 Long Island homes via a cable connection to the Holbrook substation. We attended a series of public hearings in January; thanks to all who joined and spoke up for wind!

  • BOEM hosted three public meetings on the DEIS for the Empire Wind project, which will power over a million homes throughout NYC and Nassau County. Thanks to all who joined and spoke up in favor of wind, and everyone who submitted written comments in January.

  • NYS hosted public meetings last month on the Beacon Wind project as part of their Article VII permitting process. The Beacon Wind project will be located approximately 60 miles off the coast of Montauk and will generate 1,230MW of energy, enough to power over 600,000 homes in NYC. If you missed it, you can submit written comments until February 17th.

Move School Away from the Brookhaven Landfill
Last month we stood with Javien Coleman’s mother as she announced a lawsuit against South Country Central School District and the Town of Brookhaven. Her son sadly passed away at age 13 from cancer after being exposed to toxics, such as TCE and benzene. Javien went to Frank P. Long Intermediate School, which is adjacent to the landfill and has a history of air quality and health issues in the community. We are strongly urging the school board to move the school in order to protect students and teachers. The school has been featured in the documentary “Sick School” on Netflix.


Protecting Pollinators from Toxic Pesticides
We are working to protect our pollinators from toxic neonicotinoid (neonics) pesticides throughout New York. Neonics decimate pollinator populations, contaminate water resources, and harm human health. In January, we joined our partners for a statewide virtual lobby day in support of the Birds and Bees Protection Act. We met with New York elected officials to discuss the importance of banning certain uses of neonics which pose the highest risks to pollinators. This is one of our top priorities for 2023 and we’ll be in Albany in the following months fighting to get this crucial bill passed this year.

Patchogue Gets a Living Shoreline
We had a great time with our partners at the Protecting the Environment in Patchogue (PEP) committee, Suffolk County Executive Bellone, and Secretary of State Rodriguez celebrating the groundbreaking of the largest “living shoreline” on the south shore of Long Island. This $5 million project will help to protect the coast from flooding as it acts as a buffer and reef for different species. We hope to see more projects like this on Long Island and across the state!

Kicking off the LI Sound High School Summit
We were busy in January providing presentations to participating students for this year’s Long Island Sound High School Summit. We have 8 Long Island schools participating and are currently developing projects that they will present at the Summit in May. Students’ projects aim to advance protection and restoration of Long Island Sound and this year include researching how light pollution impacts crabs, conducting water quality monitoring in local embayments, studying the impacts of plastic pollution on local beaches, and more. We are excited to see all the great projects! Thank you to the Long Island Sound Study and the Long Island Sound Futures Funding for their generous support of this program.

Highlights and Happenings: December 2022

 

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Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Victories! Governor Hochul Signs Key Environmental Legislation into Law in NY
We had a very productive 2022, with several critical bills to protect New York’s environment and public health being signed into law. Thank you to Governor Hochul for signing these important bills into law in December:

  • 30 by 30: Sets a state goal of conserving 30% of NY’s land and water by 2030

  • Carpet Recycling: Mandates that manufacturers, not taxpayers, fund recycling programs for carpets and bans dangerous PFAS chemicals in carpets

  • Making Polluters Pay: Requires companies that have contaminated drinking water with 1,4-dixoane, PFAS, and other toxic chemicals to pay the full cost of cleanup and installation of water treatment technologies.

  • Cumulative Impacts: Prevents the approval of environmental facilities, such as waste

    management facilities, that would pollute in already overburdened disadvantaged communities.

  • Ban on PFAS chemicals in clothing: New York joins California in being the first two states to ban PFAS “forever chemicals” in clothing

  • Green Cemeteries: Allows natural organic reduction facilities that decompose bodies into soil as an eco-friendly alternative to burial or cremation

Unfortunately, a bill that would increase protection for small streams was not signed this year, but we will keep pushing forward with streams protection and other priority legislation, including banning neonic pesticides and reducing waste & improving recycling in 2023!

Tackling PFAS Contamination
We were hard at work advocating for NYS to adopt more stringent drinking water standards for PFAS— highly toxic chemicals that persist in our environment and are found in waterways throughout the nation. Last month, we launched a new interactive map that shows widespread PFAS contamination on Long Island in drinking water.
This data was compiled using 2021 annual drinking water quality reports. Our interactive map has become a meaningful educational tool for the public with over 800,000 views! If you haven’t yet, check out the map to see if there is PFAS in your drinking water district and get involved in our campaign to require stricter state drinking water standards for these toxic “forever chemicals.”

Final Federal Budget a Victory for the Great Lakes!
Late in December, Congress passed the final FY2023 federal budget, which contained victories for programs critical to the health of the Great Lakes. Highlights include $368 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, $3 million to continue a study on how to make Great Lakes coastal communities more resilient to flooding and extreme weather, and $2.76 billion for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure programs.

Happenings

Transitioning to Offshore Wind
New York has become a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035. This will bring environmental and health benefits to our communities and will also create thousands of jobs and make NY a hub of offshore wind development. December saw some more big milestones for offshore wind:

  • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Sunrise Wind. This offshore wind project, located approximately 30 miles off Montauk, will generate 924 MW of energy and power nearly 600,000 Long Island homes via a cable connection to the Holbrook substation. There are a series of public hearings in January, we hope you can join and voice your support for wind.

  • BOEM hosted three public meetings on the DEIS for the Empire Wind project, which will power over a million homes throughout NYC and Nassau County. Thanks to all who joined and spoke up in favor of wind, and if you missed the opportunity to comment at the hearings, BOEM is still accepting comments through January 17th.

  • CCE and Equinor, the developer of the Empire Wind projects, co-hosted two well attended community meetings. The first one in Island Park in November, followed by Long Beach in December.

  • NYS announced plans to host public meetings on January 19th and 24th on the Beacon Wind project as part of their Article VII permitting process. The Beacon Wind project will be located approximately 60 miles off the coast of Montauk and will generate 1,230MW of energy, enough to power over 600,000 homes in NYC.

Protecting the South Shore Estuary Reserve
In December, we hosted the first South Shore Estuary Reserve (SSER) Legislative Breakfast in preparation for the 2023- 2024 NYS legislative session. The event brought together environmental experts and policy makers for presentations and discussions highlighting SSER program successes and to advance next steps needed to restore water quality in our bays, harbors, and estuary. This year, we will be in Albany fighting to increase funding for this crucial estuary, which spans from the Western Bays to Southampton along the south shore of Long Island.

Highlights and Happenings: October 2022

 

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Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act 
On November 8th, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to vote on Prop 1: The Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act. If enacted, the Bond Act will allocate $4.2 billion to a variety of critical environmental programs and projects that will protect drinking water and upgrade infrastructure, protect communities from extreme weathers, conserve open space, and fight climate change. We are working around the state to educate the public on the benefits of this important funding and reminding everyone to vote yes on Prop 1. In October, we joined our partners, community stakeholders, and environmentalists for a series of press conferences and rallies in support of the Bond Act. On Long Island, we joined Students for Climate Action, water suppliers, business owners, farmers and more for a great rally on Halloween. In Buffalo, we joined environmental partners and labor leaders for a rally at Canalside. We also hosted a Lunch and Learn on the importance of the Bond Act with The Nature Conservancy and NY League of Conservation Voters. This November, make sure you vote yes on Prop 1! 


Investing in Workforce Training and Education for Long Island’s Offshore Wind Future 
New York is poised to be a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms already selected and a mandate of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. This will not only bring environmental and health benefits to our communities but will also allow us to create thousands of jobs and make NY a hub of offshore wind development. To get ready for this new industry, a National Offshore Wind Training Center will be opening in Brentwood, Long Island. Last month, we stood with our union partners and Governor Kathy Hochul to announce the site of the $10 million National Offshore Wind Training Center and $9 million in grants for workforce training initiatives! 

Happenings

Congressional Candidate Climate Change Chats 
Long Island is on the front lines of climate change. Our Congressional representatives from Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4 have a crucial role to play in ensuring protections for our coastal communities, local economy, and environment. In October, we joined Students for Climate Action (S4CA) and the Citizens Climate Lobby to talk with several Long Island candidates running for Congress and learn how to plan to address climate change if they are elected. The event features interviews with Jackie Gordon, Andrew Garbarino, Laura Gillen, Robert Zimmerman, and Bridget Fleming, so make sure to check it out. 

Developing a Shared Vision for Clean Water in New York 
For the sixth year in a row, we convened a diverse group of stakeholders from around the state for our annual Clean Water Roundtable. This group of environmental leaders, water suppliers, wastewater treatment operators, environmental justice organizations, construction contractors, and other stakeholders work together to develop a list of shared priorities for clean water in New York State. Roundtable participants heard from agencies and experts who gave presentations on drinking and wastewater infrastructure needs, emerging contaminants, source water protection, and lead drinking water pipes. Based on the presentation and subsequent discussion, we will be creating a collaborative action plan our diverse group can work together to achieve in 2023, so stay tuned! 


Working with Advocates from around the Great Lakes to Advance Restoration 
We joined with hundreds of advocates from all the Great Lakes states for the annual Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Conference, held in Milwaukee. We celebrated our recent success of a billion dollar federal investment in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, but also planned ahead for 2023, when we will be fighting for additional GLRI funding, investments in upgrading water infrastructure, equitable investments that benefit disadvantaged communities, and more! 

How Was Long Island’s Water Quality for Summer 2022? 
Want to know more about the health of Long Island's waters this year? We joined Dr. Chris Gobler, The Nature Conservancy, and Friends of the Bay for the release of the summer 2022 water quality map. This summer, we saw an unprecedented number of fish kills and are seeing worse harmful algal blooms in our bays and estuaries due to the combo of nitrogen pollution and climate change. However, there is good news. In places like western LI Sound, we are once again seeing a much smaller dead zone and improved water quality due to upgrades to sewage treatment plants. We have a problem, but we have solutions too—we must reduce nitrogen from sewage and septics to restore our bays, lakes, and harbors. You can learn more about this summer’s water quality impairments and see the map here. 


Preserving Plum Island 
We have fought for years to preserve Plum Island; an 840 acre, largely undeveloped island in Long Island Sound that serves as a critical habitat for birds and has tremendous ecological value. We are urging the Biden administration to designate Plum Island as a National Monument, ensuring that wildlife is protected, cultural and historical values are maintained, and people are able to enjoy this unique ecosystem for generations to come. If you haven’t yet, send an email to the administration in support of permanently preserving Plum Island. 

Protecting Our Coastlines 
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, there will be upcoming opportunities for local municipalities to invest in coastal resiliency, shoreline restoration, and protection of local bays, harbors, and estuaries. We had a great press event last month with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Town of Hempstead, and Operation SPLASH to highlight the importance of these funding options for Long Island municipalities, particularly as we recognize the 10th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. 


Remembering Superstorm Sandy 
On the 10th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we joined Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and other key stakeholders to tour Smiths Point Marina on Long Island. This area was severely damaged during the storm, along with much of the coastline throughout the south shore. The county has just completed restoring 80 acres of marshland in this critical area, and overall has restored nearly 400 acres of wetlands and natural buffers along south shore Suffolk County. Projects like these, which bolster natural buffers against storms and sea level rise, are necessary to protect coastal homes, combat flooding, and reduce pollution to our local bays and harbors. 


Dedication of Crab Meadow Beach 
This summer, the Huntington Town Board unanimously accepted a plan 10 years in the making to protect the environmental asset known as the Crab Meadow Watershed. The Crab Meadow Watershed Hydrology Study and Stewardship Plan studied this unique and special area of glacially formed features that drains into Long Island Sound. The Crab Meadow Beach, in addition to be a crucial Long Island Sound Stewardship Area, is beloved by the local community. In October, Crab Meadow Beach was dedicated to former Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone for his commitment to environmental protection. It was a beautiful event – congratulations again to Supervisor Petrone. 

Highlights and Happenings: September 2022

 

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Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. 
Make a contribution today.

 

Highlights

Celebrating our Annual Equinox Gala 
We had an amazing night celebrating 37 years of grassroots accomplishments with our partners, supporters, and friends at our annual Equinox Gala. This year we were overjoyed to honor Matthew Aracich, President of the Long Island Building and Construction Trades, for his work promoting offshore wind and fighting climate change; and Charles Vigliotti, President of American Organic Energy, for his leadership in food waste recycling and his work to reduce solid waste in New York. A huge thank you to everyone who came out and made the night so unforgettable! 

Happenings

Prop 1: NY’s Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act 
On November 8th, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to vote on Prop 1: The Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act. If enacted, the Bond Act will allocate $4.2 billion to a variety of critical environmental programs and projects from Buffalo to Long Island that will protect drinking water and upgrade infrastructure, protect communities from flooding and extreme weather, conserve open space and family farms, and fight climate change. We are working around the state to educate the public on the benefits of this important funding and reminding everyone to flip your ballot in November and vote on Prop 1. In September, we joined our Senate and Assembly members, Long Island elected officials, labor leaders, community stakeholders, and environmentalists for a press conference and rally in support of the Bond Act. This month, we are also going to be hosting a Lunch and Learn on the importance of the Bond Act on October 18th from 12:00pm -1:00pm. Register for the zoom forum today. 

Combatting ‘Forever Chemicals’ in NY 
The EPA has indicated that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS chemicals in drinking water. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers live in communities that discovered PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS chemicals in their water, but at levels below NY's current and proposed standards—meaning that these communities are not required to clean up their water. In September, we joined environmental groups, public health advocates, and community leaders to call on the NYS Department of Health and Governor Hochul to strengthen standards for harmful PFAS chemicals in drinking water. 


Talking about Long Island’s Offshore Wind Future 
Last month we co-hosted the Offshore Wind Developers Meet and Greet Networking Forum with the NY League of Conservation Voters and the New York Offshore Wind Alliance. The event brought together 80 stakeholders—community leaders, labor, businesses, environmental groups, civic organizations, elected officials, and academics—with the wind developers that have projects and/or leases off the coast of New York. Updates were provided by Equinor on the Empire and Beacon Wind Projects, Ørsted on the Sunrise and South Fork projects, and each of the six companies that acquired offshore wind area leases in the New York Bight earlier this year. It was beneficial to have all the developers and so many key decision makers and wind advocates together in one room to get to know one another and to discuss the future of offshore wind for Long Island. Thank you everyone that joined us! 

Protecting Crab Meadow Watershed on Long Island 
This summer, the Huntington Town Board unanimously accepted a plan 10 years in the making to protect the environmental asset known as the Crab Meadow Watershed. The Crab Meadow Watershed Hydrology Study and Stewardship Plan studied this unique and special area of glacially formed features that drains into Long Island Sound. The Crab Meadow Watershed is designated as a “Long Island Sound Stewardship Area,” meaning that a high level of protection is needed. We stood with local residents to urge the Huntington Town Board to act now to protect this special coastal resource and not continue to approve development that will further degrade it. 

Restoring the South Shore Estuary Reserve 
Last month, New York released an updated Comprehensive Management Plan for the South Shore Estuary Reserve, which spans the Western Bays to Shinnecock Bay along the south shore of Long Island. This document will drive protection efforts to restore water quality in our bays and to combat nitrogen pollution, climate change, harmful algal blooms, and more. We joined New York Department of State Deputy Secretary of State Kisha Santiago Martinez and our friends at Seatuck, The Nature Conservancy, and Operation Splash for the release of this crucial plan and to take a boat tour of the beautiful SSER bays. 


Preserving the Long Pond Greenbelt 
PSEG has proposed to drill an underground 69kv transmission cable through Long Pond Greenbelt, a preserved ecologically diverse area which is home to critical vernal ponds, wetlands, and habitat. Millions of dollars have been spent to protect this important resource, which is considered a jewel of the community and a critical public resource. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for this proposal includes an alternate route, which would leave Long Pond Greenbelt preserved and untouched. In September, we joined community leaders and Southampton residents to urge PSEG to choose this alternate route and protecting the Long Pond Greenbelt. 

Educating Visitors at the New York Aquarium 
We were thrilled to join the Wildlife Conservation Society at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island for the Blue Beacon Dive into Hudson Canyon event. We had a great time visiting the aquarium and talking to visitors about our work on offshore wind, reducing plastic pollution, the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Bond Act and more. 

COMING UP ON OUR CALENDAR

 
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