clean water

Trump's Second Term Threatens Environmental Progress

Trump's Second Term Threatens Environmental Progress

Concerns rise as Lee Zeldin leads EPA with pro-fossil fuel agenda

Donald Trump’s recent appointments for key environmental positions during his second term as president are causing quite the stir among environmentalists and policy experts. The names spotlighted, particularly former Congressman Lee Zeldin, have raised concerns about the potential rollback of regulations aimed at protecting the environment. Zeldin has been nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and many local activists have expressed skepticism about his commitment to environmental issues.

EPA nominee Lee Zeldin has backed environmental causes, but not all are convinced

EPA nominee Lee Zeldin has backed environmental causes, but not all are convinced

WASHINGTON — Six years ago, more than 300 Long Islanders showed up on short notice during a nor’easter for a Friday afternoon hearing in Brookhaven to tell Trump administration officials they opposed plans to allow drilling for oil in the Atlantic Ocean.

Lee Zeldin's appointment as EPA head brings a mixed reaction from Long Island environmental leaders

Lee Zeldin's appointment as EPA head brings a mixed reaction from Long Island environmental leaders

LONG ISLAND -- Leaders in Nassau and Suffolk counties say they're hopeful that former Congressman Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for head of the Environmental Protection Agency, will in fact protect the environment.

Many have worked with him for years.

Governor Hochul Announces More Than $435 Million in State Grants for Local Water Infrastructure Improvements

Governor Hochul Announces More Than $435 Million in State Grants for Local Water Infrastructure Improvements

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that more than $435 million is being awarded to 102 critical water infrastructure projects across New York State through the Water Infrastructure Improvement and Intermunicipal Grant programs. The grants awarded by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) deliver on Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024 State of the State to help small, rural and disadvantaged communities with their water infrastructure needs. With critical financial support for local governments across New York, Governor Hochul is laying the foundation for a healthier, more resilient future, ensuring every New Yorker has access to safe and clean water, while creating jobs and boosting the economy.

Suffolk County's Proposition 2 aims to improve water quality by funding sewers

Suffolk County's Proposition 2 aims to improve water quality by funding sewers

Proposition 2 asks voters to approve a small new sales tax to protect drinking water and waterways. 

Suffolk County voters are reminded and urged to turn their ballots over, where they'll find Proposition 2. It aims to set up a new sales tax fund to clean up Suffolk's waterways and drinking water by expanding public sewers and providing grants to homeowners to replace polluting cesspools. 

Record number of water quality problems in Long Island bays this summer, report finds

Record number of water quality problems in Long Island bays this summer, report finds

Fish kills, algal blooms and oxygen-deprived “dead zones” affected almost all of Long Island’s bays and estuaries this summer, according to scientists who monitor water quality at Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Congressional Candidates Talk Climate

Congressional Candidates Talk Climate

When it comes to climate change, “if ever there was a Ground Zero for Long Island, it’s really the First Congressional District,” says Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, of the district that encompasses the entire East End. “It’s very critical to hold our congressional leaders accountable for climate change. People still actually don’t believe in climate change, as if it’s a faith based system. You can’t believe or not believe in gravity. You have to understand it is real.”

2024 Long Island Business Influencers

2024 Long Island Business Influencers

Adrienne Esposito
Executive Director
Citizens Campaign for the Environment

As executive director and a co-founder of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Adrienne Esposito has worked on numerous environmental campaigns for more than 35 years.  

Rain garden at Huntington Beach helps divert pollutants from stormwater

Rain garden at Huntington Beach helps divert pollutants from stormwater

A rain garden designed to keep Huntington Harbor free of pollutants from stormwater runoff has been installed at a known flooding area near Gold Star Battalion Beach.

Algae blooms threaten Long Island wildlife and waterways

Algae blooms threaten Long Island wildlife and waterways

Harmful algae blooms spread across LI waters

Harmful algae blooms are popping up in multiple bodies of water across Long Island. FOX 5 NY’s Jodi Goldberg explains what’s causing this and the impact it's having on fish and other animals.

LONG ISLAND - Harmful algae blooms are popping up in multiple bodies of water across Long Island.

New York First to Ban Harmful Chemical Found in Shampoo, Cleaning Products

New York First to Ban Harmful Chemical Found in Shampoo, Cleaning Products

On September 18th, new regulations were announced, adopting new regulations to reduce the presence of 1,4-dioxane in household cleaning, personal care, and cosmetic products.

According to Sean Mahar, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar, New York State is the first in the country to adopt regulations that reduce 1,4-dioxane in these product categories to help protect consumers and natural resources and create healthier communities.

Dozens of Manorville homes will be connected to public water in $11 million project

Dozens of Manorville homes will be connected to public water in $11 million project

Soon after Ron Martz built his home on River Road in Manorville in 1993, tests of his private well water revealed high levels of iron.

Riverhead Town officials rejected his requests to connect to public water, he said. "We were told, ‘You will never get public water here,' " Martz, 71, recalled in a recent interview. "Never."

Long Island water quality continues to improve. Here's what a new report says.

Long Island water quality continues to improve. Here's what a new report says.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- A new report released on Thursday says drinking water is slowly getting safer on Long Island.

The findings credit stringent state and federal guidelines and mandatory chemical filtering from water suppliers. As CBS News New York's Jennifer McLogan reports, although multiple water districts exceed limits, there is overall growing improvement.

Drinking water source 'under stress': Study underscores burden on Long Island's aquifer

Drinking water source 'under stress': Study underscores burden on Long Island's aquifer

For years, conservationists have warned that too much drinkable water is being extracted from the aquifer — a critical repository deep below Long Island — but there wasn't a lot of recent data to define the extent of the problem.

That was until an eight-year study released in August found the aquifer is "under stress," leading to saltwater intrusion, draining of some groundwater-fed streams and abandonment of degraded public wells. The authors of the study, a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, note some of these problems date back decades and have been exacerbated by climate change. 

Riverhead officials told Manorville residents they’d never have public water. It took a decade, but yesterday, residents proved them wrong.

Riverhead officials told Manorville residents they’d never have public water. It took a decade, but yesterday, residents proved them wrong.

It was a sight to behold. And one that was a long time coming.

Suffolk County Water Authority contractors who are installing mains that will carry clean drinking water to homes in a remote section of Manorville crossed into Riverhead Town from Brookhaven yesterday.

Four residents who were instrumental in the years-long fight for access to public water gathered midday on Wading River Manor Road and River Road to witness what was for them a momentous occasion.

Manorville Water Project Hits Next Phase

Manorville Water Project Hits Next Phase

The last batch of homes with private wells believed to be polluted by subterranean toxins are expected to soon be connected to the Suffolk County Water Authority system, officials said.

Suffolk County Water Authority breaks ground on water main extension

Suffolk County Water Authority breaks ground on water main extension

The Suffolk County Water Authority began work Monday on a major water main extension to bring public water to 64 homes in the Riverhead Town sections of Manorville and Calverton, taking them off private wells that have been shown to be contaminated by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. 

Northwell Health dismissal request a new wrinkle in contamination lawsuit

Northwell Health dismissal request a new wrinkle in contamination lawsuit

A motion this month by Northwell Health to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the hospital system’s air conditioners contaminated groundwater represented another twist in a nearly six-month-old court battle.

Water quality advocates pushing Navy to test for chemical drums at former Grumman site

Water quality advocates pushing Navy to test for chemical drums at former Grumman site

Water quality advocates in Calverton, prompted by recent discoveries of chemical drums at Bethpage Community Park, are calling on the U.S. Navy to investigate whether similar barrels also are buried in the hamlet, where Northrop Grumman once operated an aerospace facility.

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