ALBANY, New York, January 30, 2024 (ENS) – New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law first-in-the-nation legislation to protect birds and bees from toxic neonicotinoid pesticides used on outdoor ornamental plants and turfs, and the seeds of corn, soybeans and wheat. This law is the first in the United States to limit neonicotinoid coating on seeds.
ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES DESCEND: Environmental groups held a forum on cleaning up fuels in the transportation sector, pushed back on Hochul’s proposed cut for water infrastructure funding and advocated for lawmakers to include a Superfund-style program targeting fossil fuel companies.
In fall of 2023, New York State selected additional offshore wind farms as the winners of the state’s third competitive offshore wind solicitation. Combined, these new projects will generate 4,032 MW of electricity—enough to power 2 million homes. Once online, they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by seven million metric tons annually and provide billions of dollars in health benefits by transitioning New York off of fossil fuels.
Join us to learn more about these new offshore wind projects and what benefits they bring to New York. Our forum will provide presentations from:
Attentive Energy—developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power, and Corio Generation
Excelsior Wind—developed by Vineyard Offshore
Community Offshore Wind—developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and National Grid Ventures
There will be an opportunity for Q & A with our panelists after the presentations.
Date: Monday, February 5, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
This zoom event is free and open to the public. Make sure you save the date and register today.
Thank you for joining us!
Sincerely,
All of us at CCE
For more information, contact:
Adrienne Esposito, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, 631-384-1378, aesposito@citizenscampaign.org
Brian Smith, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, 716-831-3206, bsmith@citizenscampaign.org
Rob Hayes, Environmental Advocates NY, 314-518-1454, rhayes@eany.org
A recording of the press conference can be viewed here.
Albany, NY—Today the chairs of the Senate and Assembly Environmental Conservation Committees joined with unions and members of the New York State Clean Water Coalition as they laid out their 2024 clean water agenda, which includes support for a $600 million investment in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act (CWIA). The CWIA program has been funded at $500 million annually since 2019, yet the Governor has proposed to cut funding by 50%, down to $250 million, in her SFY 2024-25 executive budget proposal. New York State agencies have conservatively estimated that the state will need to invest $80 billion to upgrade and maintain wastewater and drinking water infrastructure over 20 years.
Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said: “Clean water is a necessity, not a luxury item that should be sacrificed to help fill budget gaps. The Clean Water Infrastructure Act has been a resounding success for our environment and economy, but we have so much more work to do to ensure safe and affordable water for all New Yorkers. Cutting funding now will only set us further back in our efforts to prevent sewage overflows, filter toxic contaminants from drinking water, and avoid costly water main breaks. We commend Senator Harckham and Assemblymember Glick for their leadership to protect clean water, and we look forward to working with the legislature to ensure increased clean water funding in the final state budget.”
Senator Pete Harckham, Chair of the NYS Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, said, “We need to build upon the important progress made statewide since enacting the Clean Water Infrastructure Act seven years ago, and not go backwards with underfunding and misdirecting resources. Protecting New York’s fragile drinking water supplies and upgrading delivery systems, filtration facilities, sewage treatment—all of this is critical to safeguarding public health and ensuring economic growth. If we don’t make these proper investments now, it may soon be too late. I thank the New York State Clean Water Coalition for its advocacy and support in this regard and for raising an alarm: our clean water is key to our future posterity.”
Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick, Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, said, “This critical funding stream has made great progress in updating New York’s aging water infrastructure in every corner of the state, because all New Yorkers deserve access to clean, safe drinking water. Regrettably, in too many communities we still have contaminants in drinking water, and it is vital to filter those out for New Yorkers’ health. Additionally, we must move aggressively to remove lead service lines and protect our infrastructure especially during flooding and storm surges. Now is not the time to let up on this essential work. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to ensure the Clean Water Infrastructure Act is appropriately funded in the final budget agreement.”
Jenny Ingrao, Executive Director for the New York Section American Water Works Association, said, “As the organization that represents the state’s drinking water professionals, the New York Section of the American Water Works Association (NYSAWWA) is keenly aware that access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water is one of the most basic pillars of our society. The state’s drinking water suppliers are ready to meet the challenges before us but without funding and support from our state legislators we run the very real risk that water will become simply unaffordable for many New Yorkers.”
Rob Hayes, Director of Clean Water with Environmental Advocates NY, said, "Governor Hochul's plan to cut clean water funding in half this year is misguided and shortsighted. Our research has documented the overwhelming demand for funding to fix our pipes, a demand which continues to grow. With key clean water programs oversubscribed every year, New York needs to increase, not decrease, its investment in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act to ensure shovel-ready projects get the funding they need. New York needs more work crews out on the street protecting clean water, not fewer. We look forward to working with Senator Harckham, Assemblymember Glick, and the entire State Legislature to secure at least $600 million for clean water in the final state budget."
Khristopher Dodson, Executive Director of the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA), said, “As the organization that represents wastewater treatment professionals throughout the state, NYWEA strongly supports increased funding for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act in the 2024-25 state budget. Much of the state’s wastewater infrastructure is aging and in dire need of repair. Cuts in funding threaten clean water, hamper economic growth, and increase costs to local ratepayers. We look forward to working with Senator Harckham, Assemblymember Glick, and the full legislature to support increased clean water funding in the final state budget.”
“The Nature Conservancy thanks Environmental Conservation Committee Chairs Senator Harckham and Assemblymember Glick, and members of the Senate and Assembly from both sides of the aisle for uniting around protecting clean water for New Yorkers. Funding for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act is essential for the health, safety, and well-being of communities throughout the state. We cannot afford to cut this funding, and in fact need to increase it given the significant needs across New York. We urge the Legislature to include at least $600 million for clean water projects in this year’s state budget,” said Jessica Ottney Maher, policy and strategy director for The Nature Conservancy in New York.
"Simply put, all lead service lines in New York State need to be removed and replaced. Aggressive action is needed and that starts with securing funds in the 2025 fiscal year budget," said Joan Leary Matthews, Senior Attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). "Instead of going backwards and cutting funding for safe, clean water, New York State needs to double-down and invest big time to protect residents from dangerous lead exposure."
"We do not accept a glass half full when it comes to funding for clean water infrastructure,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “Cutting $250 million per year for two years will do little to make the state whole financially, but it will jeopardize public health, the environment and the jobs created by infrastructure projects to fix our pipes and deliver safe drinking water to our families. Everyone deserves clean water and we urge Governor Hochul not to short change New Yorkers on this fundamental right.”
“The Governor's budget plan to cut the Clean Water Infrastructure Act by fifty percent means fewer investments in aging sewers and wastewater treatment plants, and fewer communities accessing grants for drinking water protection projects,” said Riverkeeper President Tracy Brown. “New York’s water infrastructure needs critical updates to drinking water and wastewater systems that affect the health and safety of our residents. Since these needs escalate every year, reducing an already insufficient amount of funding by half will worsen these challenges and make it more difficult for local governments to access the funding they critically need to provide clean drinking water and clean up local waterways.”
“We’ve seen a tenfold increase in Harmful Algal Blooms in lakes across the Adirondacks in recent years, making it more important than ever for the State to fully invest in Clean Water infrastructure projects.” said Raul J. Aguirre, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council. “State grants, made directly to the small, rural communities of the Adirondack Park, make upgrades to clean water infrastructure affordable so that all New Yorkers can benefit. Without these funds, most projects are simply not possible.”
David Ansel, Vice President of Water Protection, Save the Sound: “Governor Hochul’s proposal to spread $500 million for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act over two years is a major step backward at a time when we can least afford it. Our investments must match the moment. Scaling back weakens our position to leverage the available federal funding necessary to ensure our local municipalities can afford to take on these expensive infrastructure investments to reduce wastewater pollution. We have billions of dollars’ worth of work to do to protect clean water in the Long Island Sound region alone. There would be an environmental and economic opportunity cost to such a reduction.”
Not only has the CWIA helped to protect clean water in every community across the state, but it has also created good jobs and supported economic growth. The state estimates that every million dollars invested in clean water infrastructure generates 17 jobs.
John J. Murphy, international representative of the United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada and member of the Clean Energy Jobs Coalition-NY, said "Inadequate water infrastructure jeopardizes the health and prosperity of New York. It is imperative for New York’s leadership to reconsider the value of strengthening water system safety with a $600 million commitment or more. This not only protects public health but energizes economic growth through the creation of skilled, family-sustaining jobs for years to come."
The CWIA supports a number of programs that work to protect clean water, from its source to the tap. This includes, but is not limited to, upgrading outdated sewage treatment plants, installing advanced treatment technology to filter emerging contaminants from drinking water, lead pipe replacement, replacing failing septic systems, acquiring land critical to protecting source water, reducing pollution from farms that impact water quality, and more. The state has appropriated $5 billion to the CWIA since its inception in 2017.
The New York State Clean Water Coalition, which was established in 2017 and is led by Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE), includes environmental organizations, wastewater treatment operators, drinking water suppliers, and other clean water stakeholders. Today the Coalition publicly released their Shared Agenda for Clean Water in 2024, which outlines this year’s top agreed upon priorities for protecting clean water.
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A state Supreme Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit to block construction of a solid waste transfer station in Yaphank to haul trash off Long Island.
A state Supreme Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the state NAACP and an environmental nonprofit that aimed to block a proposed Yaphank solid waste transfer station that would ship construction trash off Long Island by rail.
An NAACP spokesman and Farmingdale nonprofit Citizens Campaign for the Environment said they would appeal.
The battle over the proposed Nassau County casino in New York continued Thursday during an occasionally heated public meeting attended by over 300 people.
SOURCE:
January 19, 2024
Experts studying the environmental impact of Las Vegas Sands’ proposed $4 billion casino resort in Uniondale told Hempstead Town officials Thursday they would survey traffic patterns and the possible impact on air quality of the project. Their comments came during a town hearing attended by hundreds of supporters and opponents of the project. The session was among the largest public hearings held on the project since Sands announced it would apply for a state gaming license for a casino resort on the Nassau Coliseum site. Candice Ferrette reports on Newsday.com that Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, testified Thursday in favor of the casino project. “Frankly, no matter what we put there, we are going to have more traffic, we are going to use water, we’re going to have energy consumption and we’re going to have waste generation,” Esposito said. “The question is, are we going to develop that area with a company that believes in environmental stewardship or are we going to develop that area that doesn’t care about environment?”
Hundreds of Long Islanders sounded off at Thursday's public hearing on plans to build a casino and resort at the Nassau Hub in Uniondale. The $4 billion project drew supporters excited about the revenue and job opportunities, and detractors who raised concerns that a casino would bring crime, traffic and pollution.
UNIONDALE, Long Island (PIX11) — Developers behind a casino project on Long Island say it would bring jobs, pull the community together, and attract world-class entertainment.
Developers also state the projects would improve the environmental status of the place where the complex, called the Nassau Hub, would be built. People critical of the project warn that it could harm the communities that it is meant to serve, in a variety of ways. Both sides voiced their opinions in a big way at a pair of hearings on Thursday.
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- More than 300 Nassau County residents packed the ballroom at the Uniondale Marriott on Thursday to have their voices heard regarding a proposed $4 billion resort casino.
Some are demanding independent traffic, air, water and noise studies.
Dive Brief:
The Brookhaven Landfill on Long Island, New York, may get two extra years of life to accept incinerator ash, newly elected Town Supervisor Dan Panico told Newsday last week. Panico is seeking an extension of the landfill’s permit that would allow it to remain open until 2027 or 2028, rather than its current permit expiration on July 11, 2026.
Local leaders are working to find alternative disposal capacity for incinerator ash from the Covanta-run facility in Westbury that handles much of Suffolk County’s waste. Panico also confirmed the landfill would stop accepting C&D waste — which constitutes 65% of the waste accepted at the landfill annually — by the end of the year.
The permit extension will buy extra time for private industry solutions to press forward. Carlson Corp., a longtime Long Island C&D and organic waste processor, has applied for federal permission to construct a rail terminal to process and ship waste off the island. Winters Bros. has also floated a proposal for a rail terminal adjacent to the Brookhaven Landfill.
New York is a leader in addressing climate change. NY passed the nation’s most aggressive climate bill, which mandates 70% renewable energy by 2030 and a carbon neutral economy by 2050. We will not achieve these goals without offshore wind. There has been a lot going on with offshore wind, including the selection of three new offshore wind projects that will power millions of homes—this is an opportunity to catch up on the latest news on offshore wind.
Join NYSERDA, New York State agencies, offshore wind project developers, and other industry partners to find out more about the ongoing work to develop offshore wind to advance the critical clean energy needed to meet New York’s Climate Act goals. These events are a great opportunity to get the latest offshore wind updates and to ask your questions to experts. The events are free, open to the public, and registration is not required.
Upcoming NYSERDA Open Houses:
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Location: Hofstra University, Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, Hempstead, NY 11549
Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: Long Beach Public Library, 111 W Park Ave, Long Beach, NY 11561
Thank you for joining us!
Sincerely,
All of us at CCE
Today Governor Hochul released her SFY 2024-25 Executive Budget Book, which indicates that her executive budget proposal will provide $500 million over two years for the Clean Water Infrastructure Act. Last year, the program was funded at $500 million for one year. Since 2017, New York has provided $5 billion for this important program, which has provided significant results for New York’s environment and economy. In response to the proposed cut, Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director at Citizens Campaign for the Environment, issued a statement.
