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Highlights
NY Earth Day Victories
The NYS Senate and Assembly passed key CCE priority bills as part of an Earth Day legislative package. Thank you to all our legislative champions and our environmental partners who helped push for these important bills. The following passed both houses and will be sent to the Governor for his signature:
Ban on plastic toiletry bottles in hotels. NYC hotels alone use 27 million of these plastic bottles annually.
Ban on spreading fracking fluids on roads and fields. These fluids can contain toxic chemicals that put our water and health at risk.
100% Zero Emission Vehicles sold in NY by 2035. The transportation sector is NY’s largest source of climate pollution, making it critical for NY to switch to electric vehicles.
Victory! Breaking Ground at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant on Long Island
After 15 years of hard work, we were thrilled to celebrate Earth Day with Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Todd Kaminsky, The Nature Conservancy in New York, and Operation Splash at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Bay Park Conveyance Project. This transformative project will connect the Bay Park and Long Beach sewage treatment plants, which were discharging treated sewage into Reynolds Channel, to an ocean outfall pipe at the Cedar Creek plant. We are closer than ever to restoring the Western Bays. We also held a virtual Save the Western Bays Educational forum last month. Check it out to learn more about this crucial project and ongoing efforts to combat nitrogen pollution in the bays.
Celebrating Earth Day!
We celebrated with a virtual advocacy event joined by our environmental colleagues and advocates from across New York. This event highlighted many aspects of the environmental movement with a broad legislative agenda aimed at protecting our water, land and pollinators, as well as addressing solid waste, toxics, and environmental justice issues. CCE and over 100 advocates from across the State called on the New York State Legislature to take action on key environmental issues this Earth Day!
Happenings
Supporting New York Offshore Wind
New York State is advancing five offshore wind projects and working hard to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. After years of frustrating delays at the federal level, we are thrilled the Biden administration committed to moving forward with offshore wind. In March, the administration announced they aim to generate 30 gigawatts of wind by 2030, designated a new wind energy area in the NY Bight (allowing New York to move forward with additional offshore wind farms), and are investing in important offshore wind infrastructure. In April, we participated in public meetings on the new wind energy areas and submitted comments in support to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. This is just the beginning of a long process, so stay tuned for more opportunities to support offshore wind in NY.
Tackling NY’s Solid Waste Crisis
New York State is suffering from a growing solid waste and recycling crisis. Recycling markets in China and elsewhere closed their doors to the U.S., forcing us to start managing our long-standing solid waste problems. We are fighting for the Extended Producer Responsibility Act in NY, which will hold manufacturers, not taxpayers, responsible for their waste. This bill would minimize packaging waste, improve recycling, prevent plastic pollution, reduce toxins in products, and save municipalities money. In April, we had a great educational forum and discussion with our Long Island Assembly leaders and have continued to lobby in support of EPR, but we still need your help to make sure this bill passes this year. If you haven’t yet, send an email to your representatives in support of Extended Producer Responsibility in NY. To learn more about the EPR, also check out this great video from our Executive Director, Adrienne Esposito, during the 2021 Earth Day Lobby Day.
Rallying for the CT Bottle Bill on Earth Day
We were excited to join members of the State House of Representatives, coalition partners, and members of the public on Earth Day to highlight their work on the bottle bill and to call on members of the Senate to pass S.B. 1037 (the bill to modernize the CT bottle bill). At the rally, we presented a sign-on letter with more than 60 state & local organizations and 7 mayors/1st selectmen in support of expanding the container deposit to cover juices, teas, sports drinks and liquor ‘nips’, as well as to raise the deposit from $.05 to $.10 on covered containers.
Be on the Watch for Harmful Algal Blooms
As the weather begins to get warmer, and we start spending more time outside and lakeside, 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 2020, over 900 HABs were present in NY waterbodies. 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!
Combatting Nitrogen Pollution on Long Island
Degraded water quality, depleted oxygen, and harmful algal blooms plague nearly every waterway on Long Island, and excessive nitrogen from septic systems and cesspools is the primary culprit. The good news is that both Nassau and Suffolk Counties are making great progress helping homeowners upgrade to nitrogen-reducing septic systems. In April, Suffolk County announced $100 million in funding to upgrade septics and connect homes to sewers. In Nassau County, we celebrated the launch of Nassau County’s septic grants program with County Executive Curran. Grants are now available to homeowners in both counties to upgrade their old or failing septic tank to newer technology that combats nitrogen pollution on Long Island!
Advancing Wind & Protecting Wildlife
Last month, we hosted the third installment of our series of educational forums on offshore wind. Thank you to cohost NY League of Conservation Voters and expert panelists Dr. Howard Rosenbaum with Wildlife Conservation Society, Dr. Drew Carey with Inspire Environmental, and Catherine Bowes with National Wildlife Federation, who discussed impacts to marine mammals and fish species, potential “reef effects,” and more. If you missed it, you can check out a recording of the event here.
We Need the NYS Environmental
Bond Act
Governor Cuomo and the NY State Legislature included an historic $3 billion Environmental Bond Act as part of the 2021-2022 state budget. This funding, which will be voted on by the public in November 2022, will allow New York communities to improve coastal resiliency, protect open space, upgrade water infrastructure, restore habitat, and combat harmful pollution. Last month, we were proud to stand with Senator Kaminsky, Assemblyman Englebright, the Nassau and Suffolk County Executives, and our environmental and labor partners from across the state in celebrating the importance of the Environmental Bond Act for NY communities.
Upcoming - Long Island Sound: Driving Local Actions to Tackle Water Pollution
We will be hosting a collaborative workshop series with our partners at Save the Sound and The Nature Conservancy to advance local actions for cleaner waters and healthy watersheds in Long Island Sound. Hear from scientists and practitioners about approaches to combat pollution and clean up coastal waters in communities around Long Island Sound. This 3-week workshop series will bring folks from across the Sound together to learn about advancements in technology and policy that tackles our biggest water quality challenges—from fecal bacteria, nitrogen, and plastic pollution. Click here to register!
Tuesday, May 11 | 12:00pm-1:30pm | Fecal Bacteria Pollution
Wednesday May 19 | 12:00pm-1:30pm| Nitrogen Pollution
Tuesday, May 25 | 12:00pm-1:30pm | Marine Debris and Plastic Pollution
Upcoming - PFAS: Long Island’s Toxic “Forever Chemicals”
Join us on May 18th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm for a live webinar on the toxic chemical PFAS.
The webinar will feature expert panelists like Phil Brown, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences from Northeastern University; Tim Whitehouse, the Executive Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility; Adrienne Esposito, the Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment; and Kyla Bennett, the Science Policy Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The event will be moderated by Christopher Sellers, the Professor of History at Stony Brook University. Click here to register.