Ten Long Island water districts have an excessive amount of two toxic PFAS chemicals in their drinking water, according to the advocacy group Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
Harckham and environmental advocates urge Gov. Hochul to enact vital water protection legislation
Riverkeeper and allies call for Governor to sign stream protection bill passed by New York State Legislature
Albany, N.Y. – New York State Senator Pete Harckham and representatives from a number of important environmental groups held a press conference in the New York State Capitol Tuesday, December 6, urging Governor Hochul to enact vital legislation that protects streams and drinking water throughout the state.
NYS must increase safeguards on toxic PFAS in drinking water
Riverkeeper and its partners deliver message to Department of Health in support of stronger drinking water protections
Members of the public spoke up this month to urge New York State to protect drinking water through stronger, science-based limits on toxic PFAS chemicals. We would like to thank all of our members and supporters who joined Riverkeeper and our partners in submitting letters to the Department of Health through our action alert page.
New Map Shows Level Of 'Forever Chemicals' In LI Drinking Water
The map shows just how widespread PFAS are in Long Island's water. But the group behind it says the problem can be solved.
LONG ISLAND, NY —The Long Island environmental advocacy group Citizens Campaign for the Environment has just released a new map that shows residents how much PFAS are in their drinking water.
Advocacy group: Toxic chemicals in LI water need better screening, standards
More than 1 million Long islanders are ingesting at least trace levels of highly toxic chemicals every time they drink water from the faucet, according to new data from local water providers analyzed by a Farmingdale-based environmental group.
How safe is the tap water on Long Island? New map shows amount of toxic chemicals
Hochul Announces Construction Starts on Canada-to-NY Clean Energy Transmission Line
The 339-mile transmission line will deliver enough hydroelectricity to power over a million homes
What to Know
The project aims to deliver hydroelectricity from Hydro-Québec in Canada to New York City
The transmission line's construction will create $3.5 billion in economic benefits to New Yorkers
It is expected to create 1,250 megawatts of clean energy upon its 2026 completion
USDA says it will end ‘double taxing’ of residents who got septic grants
Governor Hochul Announces Start of Construction on 339-Mile Champlain Hudson Power Express Transmission Line to Bring Clean Energy to New York City
Major Project Labor Agreement Executed with New York State Building and Construction Trades to Ensure Line is Constructed by Union Workers
Infrastructure Development Expected to Bring $3.5 Billion in Economic Benefits to New Yorkers and Create Nearly 1,400 Family-Sustaining Jobs
Accelerates Progress to Achieve New York's Goal of 70 Percent of Electricity Statewide from Renewable Sources by 2030 on Path to a Zero-Emission Grid
Governor Hochul Announces $2.25 Million in Federal Funding to Improve Long Island Water Quality and Reduce Pollution
Feds: Suffolk septic grants should be tax-exempt
Manorville residents seek state aid for hook-up to public water
Suffolk County homeowners say shuttered naval weapons site is to blame for polluted well water
After Riverhead, SCWA miss out on state grant funding, residents rally once more for clean water
Calverton residents demand clean water from Gov. Hochul
SCHUMER REVEALS: ISSUE OF ‘DOUBLE TAXING’ FOR SUFFOLK SEPTIC GRANTS SEES SUCCESS WITH USDA AGREEING LI’ERS SHOULD NOT GET A TAX BILL
Calverton-Manorville residents to rally for clean water Wednesday, after state denied grant funding for public water extension
Governor Hochul Announces Approval of Major Long Island Offshore Wind Transmission Line
Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the New York State Public Service Commission approved a transmission line that will deliver electricity from the Sunrise Wind Farm, a proposed wind farm off the coast of Long Island, to the existing electrical grid in New York State. The 25-mile offshore/onshore transmission line will carry electricity from the wind farm to an existing substation in Brookhaven, Suffolk County.
Does Your Drinking Water Contain Toxic “Forever Chemicals”?
In recent years, many communities across New York State discovered their drinking water sources are contaminated with harmful PFAS 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. Unfortunately, we are seeing widespread PFAS contamination in drinking water throughout Long Island. New York State must do more to address this water quality crisis.
CCE compiled the 2021 data from every Long Island water district and created an interactive map of PFAS levels in drinking water. Some key takeaways of our findings:
The Good News: 450,000+ Long Islanders (out of 2.7 million served by public water) have drinking water below the detection levels for PFAS chemicals.
The Bad News: 570,000 Long Islanders’ drinking water exceeds the current standard of 10 ppt for PFOA/PFOS.
What could be done to help protect our water: If the state lowered the drinking water standards from 10ppt to 2ppt for 6 PFAS chemicals, over 800,000 more Long Islanders would be protected from these toxic chemicals.
What else could be done to help protect our water: NYS is considering a combined PFAS standard of 30ppt for six PFAS chemicals. If the state opted for a combined drinking water standard at 20ppt, similar to what is being done in states like Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, 112,000 more Long Islanders would be protected.
Background and how you can help:
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of manufactured chemicals that have been used by industry and in consumer products for many decades and are now found in waterways throughout the country. These chemicals are highly toxic and persistent in the environment. Based on a growing body of new science, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently updated its drinking water health advisory for two types of PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA. The EPA significantly reduced the health advisory from 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for both PFOA and PFOS down to a mere .004 ppt for PFOA and .02 ppt for PFOS. This means that there is essentially no safe level of exposure to these chemicals in our drinking water.
The New York Department of Health has proposed regulations to adopt drinking water standards, known as Maximum Contaminant Levels or MCLs, at 10 ppt for four additional PFAS chemicals: PFDA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFNA. The DOH is keeping existing MCLs for PFOA and PFOS at 10ppt. The state is also proposing to set a combined standard of 30 ppt for these 6 PFAS chemicals. These proposed standards are not adequate to protect public health and must be strengthened!
CCE is advocating for New York to strengthen drinking water standards by:
Lowering the existing MCLs for PFOA and PFOS from 10ppt to 2ppt
Lowering the proposed MCLs for PFDA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFNA from 10ppt to 2ppt
Lowering the proposed combined MCL for six PFAS chemical from 30ppt down to 20ppt or lower
Click here to take action and urge New York State to strengthen its proposed regulations!
Thank you for taking action
Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE
