Lunch and Learn: Join us to learn about the Clean Path NY project, which was recently selected by New York State

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NY Coutinues to Invest in Renewable Energy!

Join Citizens Campaign for the Environment and the New York League of Conservation Voters for an informational presentation on Clean Path NY. Along with Hydro-Québec, this project was recently selected by New York State to provide substantial supplemental renewable energy to the downstate grid. Clean Path NY will build a 1,300 MW transmission line that will bring renewable energy from upstate NY to downstate NY. The project would be able to deliver more than 7.9 million megawatt-hours of emissions-free energy every year. The transmission line will be entirely underground and will create approximately 2,000 MW of new on-shore wind power and 1,800 MW of new solar power. Join CCE, NYLCV, the New York Power Authority, and experts from developers EnergyRE and Invenergy to learn more about this project and the benefits of bringing upstate wind and solar power to downstate.

New York has advanced the most ambitious climate law in the country with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which requires us to achieve 70% renewable energy by 2030 and carbon-free electricity by 2040. One major obstacle our state faces is that there is a “tale of two grids,” with upstate New York using 88% zero-emission hydropower resources but only representing 1/3 of the state’s energy load, while downstate still relies primarily on fossil fuels while consuming 2/3 of the state’s total energy. 

Advancing offshore wind, solar, and energy storage downstate is critical, but we will also need to bring additional renewable energy into the New York City energy mix if we are going to reach our CLCPA goals. Join us to find out more about how transporting upstate wind and solar power to downstate can help us combat climate change and transition from polluting fossil fuel peaker plants to renewable energy in our communities.

Topic: Clean Path New York
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021
Time: 12:00PM - 1:00PM 
Where: Zoom - click here to register today! After registering, you will receive a zoom link to participate.

Speakers:

• Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment

• Julie Tighe, President, NY League of Conservation Voters

• New York Power Authority

• Invenergy, LLC

• EnergyRE, LLC

Thank you for joining us!

Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE

Highlights and Happenings: August 2021

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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.

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Highlights

U.S. Senate Passes Historic Infrastructure Bill! 

The bipartisan $1.2 trillion “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” passed the U.S. Senate in August (the U.S. House is tentatively scheduled to vote on the bill in late September)! We were successful in getting a number of our priorities funded in the bill, including: 

• $55 billion for clean water infrastructure: This funding is necessary to upgrade wastewater infrastructure and prevent sewage overflows, replace lead service lines that provide drinking water to our homes, and treat drinking water for emerging contaminants, such as the “forever chemical” known as PFAS.

• $1 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI): The GLRI has been a success in cleaning up toxic hot spots, fighting invasive species, and driving economic development, but there is still a lot of work to be done and this additional funding is greatly needed. Our Associate Executive Director Brian Smith stood with our clean water partners and Senator Charles Schumer at a press conference in August and called the funding a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to catapult Great Lakes restoration forward once and for all."

• $106 million for Long Island Sound restoration programs. This historic funding level for LI Sound will support critical aquaculture research, water quality monitoring, habitat restoration and citizen science throughout the LI Sound watershed, so that improvements in LI Sound can continue for generations to come. Last month, we joined Senator Charles Schumer in New York and Senator Richard Blumenthal in Connecticut for press conferences to celebrate the passage of this bill in the Senate and the inclusion of this critical funding for Long Island Sound.

• $4.7 billion to plug abandoned oil and gas wells: New York has identified at least 2,400 orphaned oil and gas wells in the state, although state agencies estimate there may be as many as 34,000. These wells leak methane (a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change) and toxic chemicals that pollute groundwater. This funding will allow New York to plug and remediate all the documented orphan wells in the state, while creating thousands of jobs!

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Happenings

Vote Yes For Clean Water and Air! 

This fall, New Yorkers will have the historic opportunity to establish the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment into the Bill of Rights of the New York State constitution. We have joined the Vote YES for Clean Air and Water coalition to establish the highest legal protection available under law to protect public health and the environment. This election season, registered voters across New York State will be able to vote YES to guarantee: “Each person shall have the right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” Voting YES on environmental rights will create legal safeguards for New Yorkers to secure clean air and water for generations to come. And we’ll need your help to get the word out to voters from the Adirondacks to the Great Lakes to Long Island Sound and everywhere in between. Click here to learn more about the campaign and pledge to vote YES for clean water and air! 

Offshore Wind in New York Hits New Milestones 

August was a big month for offshore wind in New York. The state has already selected five offshore wind farms, which together, will get NY halfway to its goal of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035. Each of these five projects will go through a full environmental review, including public comment. Over the last two months, we hit some big milestones for these important projects: 

• Draft environmental review of new wind energy areas off New York shores.

• Final environmental review for the South Fork Wind Farm.

• Kick off of the review process for Empire Wind off the south shore of Long Island.

• Kick off of the review process for Sunrise Wind off of Montauk.

We weighed in on all these projects and will continue to keep you updated on the status of crucial developments on offshore wind. We also want to give a giant thank you to everyone who joined in public meetings and submitted comments in favor of these projects and spoke out on the importance of transitioning from fossil fuels to offshore wind. We are closer than ever to seeing offshore wind in New York, so stay tuned throughout the fall to find more ways you can make your voice heard and say yes to renewable energy!   

Get Long Island Water Quality Updates in Real Time 

We were thrilled joined with Dr. Chris Gobler and his partners at the Gobler Laboratory to announce a new Long Island water quality app. This is an amazing new tool that will allow Long Islanders to find out in real time about water quality, beach closures, and open shellfishing grounds, while encouraging us to get out and safely enjoy our amazing bays, estuaries, and rivers. 

Kicking Butts in Western New York 

In August, we joined with our partners at Tobacco-Free Roswell Park, Buffalo-Niagara Waterkeeper, the Buffalo Sewer Authority, and other members of the Kick Butts Collaborative (KBC) for a press conference on the issue of cigarette butt pollution. Cigarette butts, which are made with plastic and can leak toxic chemicals into our environment, are the number one littered item found in beach cleanups around the Great Lakes. The KBC is educating the public about the problem and working to advance solutions to prevent cigarette butt pollution in our communities. 

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! 

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Upcoming: Lunch and Learn Virtual Series - Learn More about Innovative Proposals to Bring Clean Energy to Downstate New York 

We’ve teamed up with the New York League of Conservation Voters to offer a series of virtual public education forums that will explore clean energy proposals to potentially bring energy to downstate New York. To achieve our NYS goal of 70% renewable energy by 2030, we will need a wide range of large-scale renewable energy projects to deliver power to NYC. We have already hosted one forum on a proposal to bring excess Canadian hydropower to the city and we will be hosting three virtual events on proposed projects throughout September and October. You can learn more, view recordings of past events, and register for upcoming events here. 

Upcoming: What’s Brewing Offshore? 

Join CCE, along with our partners at The New York League of Conservation Voters, Climate Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, Long Island Association, and Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO for a happy hour event celebrating offshore wind in Long Beach on September 13th at 5:30pm. Have a drink while you learn more about the planned offshore wind projects and the labor and job opportunities expected on Long Island in the coming years as part of this emerging industry. Due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions, only those registered for the event will be able to attend, so register today! 

Upcoming: Long Island’s Offshore Wind Supply Chain Conference 

We will be joining many of our #WindworksLI partners for a conference held by Congressman Tom Suozzi on Long Island's Offshore Wind Supply Chain on September 17th.This is a great opportunity to discuss Long Island's growing offshore wind industry with leading suppliers, manufacturers, labor leaders, and environmentalists. You can find out more and RSVP here. 

Fight Climate Change: Support Offshore Wind in New York!

Join us for a virtual meeting on the Sunrise Wind Farm—to be located at least 30 miles off Montauk, Long Island—and speak up in support of offshore wind!

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently kicked off the scoping process for the Sunrise Wind Farm, which was selected by New York State in 2019. This is one of five offshore wind farms that were selected by New York State—each of which will go through a thorough environmental review and have opportunity for public input. The Sunrise Wind Farm will be located at least 30 miles off the coast of Montauk, Long Island, and will power over half a million homes while providing green jobs for New Yorkers. 

The scoping meetings are an opportunity for the public to find out more about the project, speak out on the importance of offshore wind, and weigh in on the upcoming environmental review process for Sunrise Wind. Learn more about this project and register for a virtual public meeting on Sunrise Wind here.

Sunrise Wind Scoping Virtual Meetings

• Thursday, September 16 at 5:30 p.m.

• Monday, September 20 at 1:00 p.m.

• Wednesday, September 22 at 5:30 p.m.

Thank you for joining us!

Sincerely,
Your Friends at CCE

Protect Our Drinking Water

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New York Must Test Drinking Water for Dangerous Emerging Contaminants!

In recent years, high profile incidents of drinking water contamination in New York communities have highlighted the critical need to improve drinking water protection. Emerging contaminants have polluted drinking water supplies in communities across New York State, often at levels above federal health guidelines. Unfortunately, due to a lack of testing, residents have been left in the dark when dangerous chemicals are lurking in their drinking water. Every New Yorker deserves the right to know if there are dangerous emerging contaminants in their drinking water! 

New York State Must Act to Protect our Drinking Water!
New York has made strides in identifying and setting strong drinking water standards for a limited number of emerging contaminants (i.e. PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane) but little has been done to address the ever-growing number of new emerging contaminants that threaten public health in communities across the state.

To address the growing threat of emerging contaminants in drinking water, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed legislation (A.126A/S.1759A) to significantly expand drinking water testing. The legislation would:

• Expand testing of our drinking water for more contaminants by establishing the state’s first list of emerging contaminants and require that every drinking water system test for these contaminants. This bill lists a minimum of 40 emerging contaminants that all New York public water systems must test for in drinking water. The list includes chemicals known to occur in some NY water systems, as well as new and emerging threats, including many PFAS chemicals (e.g. GenX). The NYS Department of Health would also be required to update the list at least every three years to ensure that all communities are testing for the most up-to-date list of emerging contaminants.

• Close the loophole for smaller water systems. Smaller water systems, which serve less than 10,000 residents, would have to test for emerging contaminants. This would help protect the drinking water for an additional 2.5 million New Yorkers.

Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to expand testing of drinking water for new emerging contaminants by signing this important bill (A.126A/S.1759A) into law.

Background Information

New Emerging Contaminants Pose a Threat to Drinking Water and Public Health
Industries regularly replace toxic chemicals they use for a newer “safer alternative.” Unfortunately, the alternatives are often just as toxic as the chemicals they replace. This has been the case with a chemical known as GenX, which was used to replace a different PFAS chemical, and has now been found polluting water resources in other parts of the country. New York State must stay ahead of the curve and ensure that all water systems in the state are testing the most up-to-date list of emerging contaminants. Expanded testing is needed to protect public health.

Federal Loophole Leaves Smaller Communities at Risk
Regrettably, the federal Safe Drinking Water Act does not require smaller water systems, serving less than 10,000 residents, to test for many emerging contaminants. This federal loophole puts New Yorker’s health at risk—there are approximately 2.5 million New Yorkers served by smaller water systems that do not test for many emerging contaminants, such as chromium-6, a known carcinogen.

This problem was exemplified in December of 2020, when elevated levels of the contaminant known as PFNA were detected in the small public water supply system for the Village of Mayville, NY. PFNA is a member of the class of chemicals known as PFAS, which have been linked to immune disorders, cancer, and other adverse health impacts. As result, the Department of Health issued a “Do Not Drink” advisory and pallets of bottled water were distributed to residents. 

Prior to discovering the contamination, Mayville residents were unaware that they were regularly being exposed to a dangerous contaminant every time they turned on the faucet. PFNA could have been detected and treated for much earlier if all New York water systems were required to test for certain emerging contaminants. Across New York, there are millions of residents who are being served by water systems that do not test for emerging contaminants. All water systems, regardless of size, should be testing for dangerous emerging contaminants.

Thank you for taking action!

Sincerely, 
Your friends at CCE

Highlights and Happenings: July 2021

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.

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Highlights

Victory! Celebrating Passage of Connecticut’s PFAS Law 

We were thrilled to attend a bill signing ceremony for a new law prohibiting the use of food packaging and firefighting foam treated with toxic PFAS in CT. The law will go a long way to protect human health from PFAS chemicals which can leach out of food packaging, and to prevent contamination of CT waterways from fluorinated firefighting foams. The law also authorizes CT to establish a buyback program to remove stockpiles of PFAS-treated foams that remain in storage at airports, military installations, and firefighting training facilities across the state. 

Victory! Suffolk County, NY Passes Honeybee Protection Bill 

Honeybees are an integral component of our food web, but unfortunately, global populations of honeybees have declined since 2005. We worked with Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski to craft and introduce an important bill to prevent exterminators in Suffolk County from exterminating honeybee hives without first calling a beekeeper. Beekeepers can come to resident’s homes, remove the hive and provide the honeybees with a safe home. 

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Happenings

Voices for Wind 

Offshore wind will play a crucial role in allowing NY to reach our renewable energy targets under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Law. To ensure we meet these important goals, including 9,000MW of offshore wind, we have been working with a diverse coalition of student groups, community stakeholders, elected leaders, environmental experts, labor leaders, and more to voice support for offshore wind on Long Island. We recently compiled short videos from a variety of these prominent “Voices for Wind” in an interactive map, which allows our partners and the public to share why they support transitioning away from fossil fuels to offshore wind in their community. Check out our “Voices for Wind” series today! 

Vote Yes For Clean Water and Air! 

This fall, New Yorkers will have the historic opportunity to establish the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment into the Bill of Rights of the New York State constitution. We have joined the Vote YES for Clean Air and Water coalition to establish the highest legal protection available under law to protect public health and the environment. This election season, registered voters across New York State will be able to vote YES to guarantee: “Each person shall have the right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” Voting YES on environmental rights will create legal safeguards for New Yorkers to secure clean air and water for generations to come. And we’ll need your help to get the word out to voters from the Adirondacks to the Great Lakes to Long Island Sound and everywhere in between. Click here to learn more about the campaign and pledge to vote YES for clean water and air! 

Fighting for Federal Action on PFAS 

We joined with U.S. Senator Blumenthal and our allies at Clean Water Action CT last month for a press conference calling attention to the use of toxic PFAS in many cosmetic products. Putting on lipstick and mascara in the morning should not mean increasing our risk of cancer. We are pushing for the adoption of bipartisan legislation prohibiting PFAS from cosmetics at the federal level. 

Slash Transportation-Section Carbon Pollution 

The transportation sector is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the NY, CT and the U.S. The Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) is a regional approach to addressing the pollution and climate change emissions from the transportation sector. TCI seeks to improve transportation, develop the clean energy economy, and reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector. TCI would provide green jobs, protect the health of communities, help New York meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets and address climate change. However, New York has yet to commit to the TCI-P. We are urging Governor Cuomo to commit New York to the TCI program! Please sign on and urge Governor Cuomo to support an equitable and sustainable transformation of New York’s transportation sector by committing to TCI. 

Fire Island Wastewater Solutions 

In July, we were proud to announce the first ever Fire Island Wastewater Solutions Planning & Engineering Study. This critical process was spearheaded by Suffolk County Legislator Steve Flotteron and CCE Executive Director, Adrienne Esposito. Now we can take the first step towards understanding the extent of the Fire Island nitrogen pollution problem and finding solutions that protect our waterways, fisheries, and community. To learn more about this project, check out our press conference here. 

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! 

Bringing Hydropower to New York 

Thanks to everyone who joined last month’s “Bringing Hydropower to NY Forum” to learn about how transporting excess Canadian hydropower to NYC can help us combat climate change and transition from polluting fossil fuel power plants to renewable energy. The virtual event, co-hosted by CCE and the NY League of Conservation Voters, and featuring experts from Hydro-Québec and Transmission Developers Inc., is available here. 

Telling the Story of a 20-year CCE Career 

We were honored to create a short video for the middle school and high school students of Junior Achievement of WNY as part of their Inspire Career Speaker Series. Check out this video of Brian Smith, CCE’s Associate Executive Director, speak about his two-decade career at CCE! 

Highlighting Smart Irrigation Month 

July is Smart Irrigation month, and we celebrated by joining members of the Suffolk County Legislature to discuss the importance of water conservation on Long Island. Water conservation is a critical component of protecting our sole source aquifer through the use of conservation measures, especially during peak water usage times in the summer months, and the use of smart irrigation systems. You can check out Adrienne Esposito’s remarks on the importance of water conservation here. 

Just Released: Long Island’s “Voices for Wind”

Congressman Tom Suozzi, Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, NY Senator Todd Kaminsky, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and so many other prominent voices provided 30 second video messages on why they support offshore wind!

Check out our new video series and interactive map featuring diverse Long Island voices on why they support offshore wind

New York is a leader in offshore wind development. In 2019, NY passed the nation’s most aggressive climate bill, which mandates 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. To meet these ambitious goals, New York has already selected five offshore wind projects that will power over two million homes in NYC and Long Island. 

We have been working with a diverse coalition of student groups, community stakeholders, elected leaders, environmental experts, labor leaders, and more to voice support for offshore wind on Long Island. We recently compiled short videos from a variety of these prominent “Voices for Wind” in an interactive map, which allows our partners and the public to share why they support transitioning away from fossil fuels to offshore wind in their community.   Check out our “Voices for Wind” series today!

If you would like to submit a video please contact CCE Executive Director, Adrienne Esposito at aesposito@citizenscampaign.org. 

Sincerely, 
Your friends at CCE

Victory: Suffolk County Legislature Unanimously Passes Honeybee Protection Bill

Suffolk County agrees that honeybees must be protected, not exterminated!

Honeybees are an integral component of our food web, but unfortunately, global populations of honeybees have declined since 2005. Massive bee die-off events and colony collapse disorder are putting our ecosystem and food production at risk. 

We worked with Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski to craft and introduce an important bill to prevent exterminators in Suffolk County from exterminating honeybee hives without first calling a beekeeper. Beekeepers can come to resident’s homes, remove the hive and provide the honeybees with a safe home. We are excited that Suffolk is leading the way to protect our agricultural industry, ecosystem, and critical pollinator populations.

Thanks to everyone who wrote their legislators and testified in support – the legislature has unanimously passed the Honeybee Protection Bill! 

And thank you to the Long Island Community Foundation for your support of our work to protect honeybees!

Sincerely, 
Your friends at CCE 

VISIT THE ATLANTIC’S ONLY MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT

Photo By: NOAA

ATTEND A VIRTUAL EXPEDITION INTO THE NORTHEAST CANYONS AND SEAMOUNTS

You are invited to attend a live stream of NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer Expedition into the Northeast Canyons and Seamount National Monument! Join Mystic Aquarium on July 27th for a rare glimpse of the explorer dive into the monument, followed by a live virtual Q & A session with experts from Mystic Aquarium, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Okeanos Explorer. This event is part of NOAA’s 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts Expedition. 

WHEN:  Tuesday July 27, 1:00pm
REGISTER: Click here to register (we’ll email you the link for the live stream, notify you of any delays, and send you a recording afterward in case you missed the live stream)
MORE INFO: Visit the USFWS website 

PLEASE NOTE: Dive schedule subject to change.

About the Monument

The Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is a genuine biodiversity hotspot, located about 130 miles off Cape Cod. Established in 2016, the monument supports a multitude of marine species, including ancient corals, rare fin fish and marine mammals. 

This area plays a critical role in bolstering threatened and endangered species throughout the region, including humpback whales, endangered wright whales, loggerhead sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, and many others. Recent expeditions into the monument have led to incredible advancements in marine sciences—new species have been discovered with each expedition! 

The Biden administration is taking steps to ensure that this national treasure is protected for generations to come. Join the virtual deep dive to learn about what makes this area so important!

Thank you for joining us. Together we make a difference!

Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE