Mike Hastings, 41, has lived in Western New York his entire life. His home, which he shares with his wife and three children, is situated on 170 acres of forested land near the town of Allegany. The property is home to a winding creek and a diverse range of wildlife, including bears, coyotes and foxes. It also contains 80 abandoned oil wells, remnants of a 19th-century drilling boom in the region.
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.
The state finalized regulations this week to limit a chemical classified as a likely human carcinogen in certain household products sold in New York, making it clear no products will be able to get waivers starting in 2026.
But more than 1,000 products with higher levels of the chemical 1,4-dioxane manufactured by various companies — mostly shampoos, shower gels and body washes — are still allowed to be sold due to waivers issued from the state that expire at the end of the year.
Measure Protects Public Health and Environment by Reducing Harmful Emerging Contaminant in Cleaning, Personal Care, and Cosmetic Products
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar today announced the adoption of new regulations to reduce the presence of 1,4-dioxane in household cleansing, personal care, and cosmetic products. New York is the first state in the nation to adopt regulations that reduce 1,4-dioxane in these product categories to help protect consumers and natural resources and create healthier communities.
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."
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.
Long Island water shows decline in toxic chemicals
Despite concerns about Long Island’s drinking water, a Citizens Campaign for the Environment report shows levels of two toxic chemicals have decreased since the nonprofit's 2016 analysis. FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg breaks down the findings and if residents should be concerned.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Environmental Facilities Corporation's Financial Assistance is Making Projects Affordable for New Yorkers, Safeguarding Drinking Water, and Improving Water Quality in Support of Nation-Leading Clean Water Goals
EFC Investments Highlighted in the Corporation’s Annual Program Metrics Report
New Project Impact Dashboard Enables the Public to Track Project Investments Statewide
As communities across the country decide how they will remove perfluorinated compounds from drinking water and contaminated soils, a cleanup surrounding the Hampton Bays Fire Department headquarters on Montauk Highway highlights the complex layers of bureaucracy underlying the removal of so-called “forever chemicals.”
An amendment to the law that allows Suffolk County to increase its sales tax rate by 1/8 of a cent to finance the installation of sewer and advanced septic systems was signed into law today by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The governor’s signature on the amendment, negotiated by state and county lawmakers, sets the stage for the county to put a referendum on ballot in this year’s general election seeking voter approval of the sales tax increase.
