Want to Learn More about Battery Energy Storage?

Join us for a free community meeting on battery energy storage and its role in Long Island’s transition to renewable energy 

New York is a leader in the fight against climate change, with targets of 70% renewable energy by 2030 and carbon neutral electricity by 2040. We are in the process of transitioning from polluting fossil fuels to renewable energy, including wind and solar energy. 

As part of this transition, we will need to use battery energy storage systems (BESS). These systems provide capacity that will reduce our reliance on fossil fuel based generated power, thereby providing significant environmental and public health benefits. They will also help stabilize the energy grid as we move towards achieving our state energy mandates, powering thousands of homes and bringing significant economic benefits to our region. 

Join us and our partners to learn how large-scale battery storage works and the critical role it will play in transitioning us away from polluting fossil fuel power plants. We will have a presentation followed by a Q&A.  Register here

When: Wednesday, June 26th at 7:00 pm

Where: Christ Episcopal Church, 12 Prospect Street, Babylon, NY

Thank you for joining us!

Sincerely, 
All of us at CCE

PROTECT OUR GREAT LAKES!

Pretty lake photo Image by Ilona Ilyés from Pixabay

Tell Congress to pass the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025 

The Great Lakes supply millions of New Yorkers with their drinking water, provide habitat for wildlife, and support billion-dollar industries such as tourism and fishing. To help protect and restore the health of the lakes, Congress established the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in 2010. The GLRI has funded thousands of projects to clean up the lakes—protecting drinking water, cleaning up toxic pollution, fighting invasive species, and more. 

Despite our progress, more work remains to protect and restore the health of our Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025 will extend the successful program for another five years—authorizing $500 million annually. We need our federal representatives from New York State to fight for passage of this critical legislation as soon as possible—email your representatives today!

BACKGROUND

New York’s Great Lakes basin covers 42% of the state’s surface area—second most among all Great Lakes states

The Great Lakes are a natural wonder of the world that hold 20% of the world’s fresh water supply. Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, and the St. Lawrence River comprise over 700 miles of shoreline in NYS. The Great Lakes provide four million New Yorkers with drinking water and support a multibillion-dollar tourism, fishing, and recreation economy.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 
Established by Congress in 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was created to fund projects to protect and restore the health of the Great Lakes—cleaning up toxic pollution, restoring important habitat, fighting invasive species, reducing pollution from farms, and more. To date, the GLRI has funded more than 7,563 individual projects totaling over $3.7 billion and has greatly improved the quality of life in the region. New York State has received over $270 million to support hundreds of restoration projects. 

The GLRI is not only restoring the health of our Great Lakes, but it is also providing major economic benefits. Throughout the Great Lakes region, every dollar invested in restoration provides $3 in economic returns to the regional economy. In Buffalo, where the GLRI is supporting the cleanup of the Buffalo River and other important projects, the return is even higher—providing a 4-to-1 return on investment!

Threats to the Great Lakes Ecosystem Remain
Despite progress to protect and restore the Great Lakes in recent years, the health of Great Lakes remains threatened. Examples include:

• Toxic legacy pollution: Only one of New York’s six toxic hot spots (known as Areas of Concern), which were identified back in 1987, has been cleaned up.

• Invasive species: Invasive carp sit on the doorstep of the Great Lakes. If established in the lakes, they would decimate the ecosystem and the multibillion-dollar fishing industry.

• Emerging Contaminants: Emerging toxic pollutants, such as PFAS “forever chemicals,” are being found in Great Lakes waters and contaminating drinking water.

Congress Must Continue Progress to Restore the Great Lakes
The GLRI program is authorized through 2026, and unless action is taken by Congress, the program will expire in 2027. Recently introduced in the Congress, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2025 would reauthorize the GLRI program for an additional five years. The GLRI Act of 2025 would provide $500 million annually, from 2027-2031. 

Thank you for taking action.

Sincerely,
All of Us at CCE

PROTECT HORSESHOE CRABS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

  Urge Governor Hochul to Sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into Law!

Horseshoe crabs have existed for over 350 million years, having shared this planet with the dinosaurs. Sadly, the species is now vulnerable to local extinction unless action is taken soon. Horseshoe crab populations have been depleted largely due to commercial fishermen who catch them and chop them up for use as bait. Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web—a decline in their population is harming the ecosystem and threatening bird species that depend upon the crabs for food. Currently, New York is woefully lagging in horseshoe crab protection.

In order to save the horseshoe crab, and the species that depend upon them, the New York State Legislature passed a bill to ban harvesting of horseshoe crabs. We can’t afford to wait any longer—New York must act now. Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into law!

Background

Why are Horseshoe Crabs Important?
Horseshoe Crabs are an integral part of the ecosystem and act as a keystone species in the food web. Each spring, horseshoe crabs travel from deep Atlantic waters to the shore for their breeding season. Beaches are stormed with mating horseshoe crabs, with females laying tens of thousands of eggs at a time in clusters buried under the sand. Every year, horseshoe crabs lay their eggs on beaches at full and new moon high tides from April to June.

Millions of shorebirds stop along our Atlantic beaches to nourish themselves on horseshoe crab eggs. These eggs are the single most important food source for migrating shorebirds, including threatened birds, such as the Red Knot. Experts predict that the Red Knot may become extinct in the coming years, unless more protective measures are undertaken to protect horseshoe crabs. Furthermore, sharks, sea turtles, sportfish and other species also feed on horseshoe crabs, making them a critical component of the food web.

Biomedical Uses
The blood of horseshoe crabs contains a critical component, Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate, known as LAL. This unique compound clots when exposed to bacteria or bacterial endotoxins. Some medical equipment and devices such as IV tubing are also tested with LAL. Currently, scientists have found synthetic compounds that reproduce LAL, which are now being used by Pfizer, Eli Lilly and other leading pharmaceutical companies. There have been NO permits issued in over a decade for the harvesting of horseshoe crabs for medical uses in NY waters. All the permitted harvesting of horseshoe crabs is for fishing, not biomedical purposes. However, as other states prohibit taking for biomedical uses, pressure to permit the practice may increase in NY if action is not taken to protect horseshoe crabs.

Horseshoe Crabs Under Threat
For decades, horseshoe crabs were looked upon as unimportant to our waters. They are slow to mature and therefore are susceptible to harvesting pressures. Horseshoe crabs were once used as fertilizer and livestock feed, which almost led to their populations being wiped out in the 1940s. In the 1970s, the populations recovered only to see resurgence in their use as bait for eel, conch, and whelk fisheries. The horseshoe crabs are chopped up and used as bait by commercial fisherman.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission reported horseshoe crab stocks have been in decline for at least 15 years. Horseshoe crab populations were rated as “good” in 2009 but declined to “poor” in 2019. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed horseshoe crabs as vulnerable to local extinction in our region. The importance of horseshoe crabs to our ecosystem and the growing threat to the survival of the species had led other states, including Delaware, Connecticut, and New Jersey, to implement policies banning the taking of horseshoe crabs. 

New York State Needs a Ban on Horseshoe Crab Harvesting
This year, the New York State Legislature passed Horseshoe Crab Protection Act (S.3185A / A.10140), which prohibits the taking of horseshoe crabs for commercial and biomedical uses. This legislation will allow New York to restore the population of horseshoe crabs and ensure the survival of this species for future generations. Neighboring states, including Connecticut, have already enacted similar legislation. It is time for NY to step up and ban the harvesting of horseshoe crabs! We need Governor Hochul to sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into law.

Thank you for taking action!

Sincerely, 
All of us at CCE

2024 New York State Legislative Session Wraps Up

Image by Aida from Pixabay

We’re celebrating major victories—while continuing to fight to address unfinished business

This past weekend, the New York State legislature finished up the 2024 legislative session, which began back in January. Thanks to your support, we led successful efforts to protect clean water, safeguard the public from toxic chemicals, save vulnerable species, fight climate change, save taxpayers money, and more. 

The Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, which will allow a Suffolk County ballot referendum to allow the creation of a fund to upgrade sewers and septic systems in order to protect clean water, is a priority bill that passed and was signed into law by the Governor. 

While the following bills still need to be signed by the Governor to become law, passing these important bills in NYS Senate and Assembly is a major accomplishment:

✔ Horseshoe Crab Protection Act: While horseshoe crabs have been around for over 350 million years, having survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, their numbers are now dwindling due to overharvesting. Not only is this a problem for this keystone species, but also the threatened and endangered bird species that depend upon horseshoe crab eggs for survival, such as the Red Knot. We led efforts to get legislation passed that will ban harvesting of these crabs for commercial and biomedical purposes.

✔ Climate Superfund Act: We know that the burning of fossil fuels is causing the climate crisis, yet fossil fuel companies have not taken responsibility for the damage this is causing, until now. Rather than forcing taxpayers to pay for damage, this legislation will hold these corporations accountable—fossil fuel companies will pay into a fund that will help New York adapt to climate change. It would generate about $3 billion annually to fund projects to keep communities safe from flooding, protect vulnerable infrastructure, pay for damage from extreme weather, and much more.

✔ Ban on Fracking with CO2: While we fought to ban dangerous fracking that uses water to extract gas (hydraulic fracking) years ago, there was interest in circumventing the ban by extracting gas using carbon dioxide instead. Since this would be just as dirty and dangerous as hydraulic fracking, we supported legislation to ban CO2 fracking.

Unfinished Business

While we successfully advocated to pass some critical bills, other priority bills didn’t make it past the finish line. After major campaigns by CCE and our coalition partners, the following bills passed overwhelmingly in the NYS Senate. While we secured more than enough votes to pass the bills in the Assembly, Assembly leadership failed to allow the bills to come up for a vote. We’ll work to get these bills passed as soon as possible, which may be a special session later this year or next legislative session:

• Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act: This groundbreaking legislation would reduce wasteful plastic packaging by 30%, while also increasing recycling, banning toxic chemicals in packaging, and saving local taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. This is the most important thing we can do to help solve our solid waste crisis in NYS, and we won’t stop until we get this bill passed into law!

• Ban on PFAS in Household Products: This legislation would ban the use of harmful PFAS “forever chemicals” in products that New Yorkers use every day, including children’s products, cleaning products, rugs, ski wax, and more. Not only would this reduce our daily exposure to these dangerous chemicals, but it would also reduce the amount of PFAS chemicals that are polluting our environment and our water supplies throughout the state.

Let’s Not Forget Our Success in the State Budget!

While it was passed a couple months back, we can’t forget what we accomplished in this year’s state budget. After a proposal to cut clean water funding by 50%, we successfully led efforts to have full funding restored in the final budget at $500 million. This will ensure that we continue progress to stop sewage overflows into our waterways, remove toxic contaminants from drinking water, replace dangerous lead drinking water pipes, and more!

The NYS Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) was also at risk of being cut, and we worked with our partners to ensure program funding was fully restored to $400 million. We worked to ensure that priority programs within the EPF, including those that help to protect and restore our Great Lakes, ocean, and South Shore Estuary Reserve, were fully funded and not cut.

These bills and budget priorities represent just some of what CCE worked on throughout the legislative session. Visit our website for more information on our 2024 NYS legislative agenda. 

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
All of us at CCE

Highlights and Happenings: May 2024

Image by Ulrich Hummel 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! Governor Hochul Signs Suffolk County Clean Water Bill 
We were excited to join Governor Kathy Hochul as she signed the Suffolk County Clean Water Referendum Bill. This bill would allow Suffolk County residents to vote on a ballot referendum this November. The initiative would create a unified wastewater management district and allow sales tax to be increased by 1/8 of one penny to create a reliable funding stream dedicated to protecting water resources by expanding and upgrading sewers and installing upgraded nitrogen-removing septic systems. The next step is passing it through the Suffolk County Legislature, which is holding a public hearing on the bill on June 4th. As Newsday editorial board stated, “The stars finally are aligning for clean water in Suffolk.” 

Fighting to hold manufacturers—not taxpayers—responsible for their waste 
We have been spending lots of time in Albany working to pass one of our top NYS priorities, the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. We have been fighting for a strong policy that will reduce product packaging, eliminate toxins in packaging, increase packaging recyclability, prevent plastic pollution, and save taxpayers money—it is estimated the policy would save local governments across the state $420 million annually! We will continue to fight to pass this critical legislation this year, but with just a few session days left we need your help in urging the NYS Legislature to pass the bill. Please send an email urging your representatives to support this bill. 

Turn Off the Tap to Dangerous PFAS Chemicals Now!
Toxic PFAS chemicals can be found in many of the products that we use every day. As a result, drinking water sources across NYS have been contaminated by these 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. New science indicates that there is no safe level of exposure to PFAS in our drinking water and we must do more to protect public health from this growing threat. In May, we joined our partners in Albany for a press conference and lobby day in support of legislation that will ban the use of PFAS chemicals in a host of everyday products. Take action today and urge your elected representatives to support passage of this critical legislation today! 

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Happenings

Weighing in on the Future of Great Lakes Restoration 
EPA recently released a draft five-year plan (2025-2029) to oversee federal investments to restore and protect the Great Lakes. In comments submitted to the EPA with our partners at the Healing Our Waters Coalition, we applauded the agency for the plan’s focus on community health and ecological health; commitment to community engagement; solutions that confront climate impacts; importance of local workforce development and economic revitalization; actions to benefit communities hardest hit by pollution and environmental harm; and equitable access to restoration benefits. The plan is expected to be finalized by the start of the federal government’s next fiscal year, which begins October 1. 

Long Island Sound High School Summit 
At the 2024 Long Island Sound High School Summit, which was held in May, high school students from around Long Island showcased their projects and research focused on protecting Long Island Sound. The topics the students covered include stormwater runoff, water quality, marine life, and plastic pollution. It was great seeing the next generation of Long Island Sound stewards come together to share their research and discuss solutions. We were impressed! Thanks to our partners at the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Friends of the Bay for co-hosting for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation for hosting us and giving us a tour of their fish lab. 

Transitioning to Offshore Wind 
As always, lots going with offshore wind in NY. Here’s what was happening in May: 

• Building Support for Offshore Wind—Sign the Petition – Take action today to show your support for offshore wind! As New York’s offshore power kicks into action, it’s a critical time to come out strong for a clean energy future. Join us in urging Governor Hochul's administration to grow New York's renewable energy, including offshore wind! Sign the petition today!

• What’s Brewin’ Offshore – We joined the NY League of Conservation Voters, Climate Jobs NY, and Community Offshore Wind for the latest installment of “What’s Brewin’ Offshore” to discuss the importance of offshore wind and transitioning off fossil fuels. We had a fun educational evening networking and discussion at Strong Rope Brewery in Red Hook, Brooklyn. 

• Vineyard Wind Open House – We headed to Long Beach for an open house by Vineyard Wind last month, who is proposing an offshore wind project approximately 24 miles off the coast of Long Island. We had some great discussions on the potential project, thanks to all who joined. 

• Oyster Shore Energy Storage Open House – As part of our transition off of fossil fuels, we will need renewable energy including offshore wind, solar, and hydropower—as well as battery storage. Battery storage will allow these renewable technologies to deliver clean, renewable energy when it is needed most, especially in high energy demand areas like New York City and Long Island. Last month we attended an open house for the proposed Oyster Shore Energy Storage project in Glenwood Landing on the north shore of Long Island, which will convert and remediate a former petroleum terminal to a battery storage facility. To learn more about battery energy storage and the role it plays in transitioning NY to renewable energy, check out our webinar here. 

Clean Water Symposium: Global Challenges and Local Solutions.
We joined the North Shore Land Alliance and The Nature Conservancy to co-host a conference bringing together leaders in the field of water science in May. Leading experts updated attendees about the condition of local water, including surface water and drinking water. There was also robust panel discussion focused on solutions that both municipalities and homeowners can use to address the protection of Long Island’s critical natural resources. The event was a huge success, thanks to all who came out. 

Skip the Stuff in Suffolk County 
Last year New York City’s Skip the Stuff law successfully went into effect, which requires restaurants to provide plastic utensils, condiments, napkins and other single-use foodware to take-out and delivery customers upon request. Suffolk County is now considering similar legislation to reduce plastic pollution in our waterways and reduce solid waste on Long Island. Last month, we testified in support of the bill with many of our environmental partners. We are fighting to get this common-sense legislation to combat single-use plastics passed in Suffolk this summer. 

Understanding the Health Risks of 1,4-Dioxane on Long Island 
Yale Superfund Research Center has crafted a study to better understand the impact of 1,4-dioxane exposure on Long Island residents. Last year, we launched our partnership with Yale to provide education and outreach to inform Long Islanders about this new, exciting program. If you live on Long Island and are interested in participating and finding out if you have been exposed to 1,4-dioxane, you can find out more here. The Yale Superfund Center will be contacting potential participants in the next few weeks to participate in the study over the summer, so stay tuned. 

NEW YORKERS DESERVE CLEAN WATER

New York State Must Continue to Invest in Clean Water Infrastructure!

Much of New York’s wastewater and drinking water infrastructure is aging and failing, putting public health and our environment at risk. New York State has made significant investments to upgrade water infrastructure in recent years, however, much more needs to be done to provide clean water for all New Yorkers. CCE leads efforts to fight for clean water infrastructure funding in New York State and will continue this work in the years ahead!

Why should New Yorkers be concerned about the state’s wastewater and drinking water infrastructure?

• The American Society of Civil Engineers gave New York’s drinking water infrastructure a grade of C- and its wastewater systems a grade of D+.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that there are at least 494,000 lead drinking water service lines in New York, the sixth highest of all states in the nation. Lead is a toxic heavy metal—there is no safe level of exposure to lead in drinking water, especially for infants and children. All lead pipes must be replaced.

• According to reports generated by New York’s Sewage Pollution Right to Know law, there are 5 overflows of raw or partially treated sewage into New York waters every day. Sewage overflows make people sick, close beaches, kill fish, and hamper economic development.

• Nearly 550 public drinking water systems across New York, which serve millions of New Yorkers, contain at least one PFAS “forever chemical” at levels considered to be too high by EPA. Communities across the state are struggling to afford and install the costly treatment technology needed to filter these toxic chemicals from drinking water.

• Across the nation, there is a water main break every two minutes, and an estimated six billion gallons of treated water is lost each day. Water main breaks not only threaten access to clean drinking water, but also close schools and businesses, cause sink holes that damage roads, and hurt local economies.

What will it cost to upgrade New York’s water infrastructure?
While repairing and replacing New York’s clean water infrastructure is imperative, it is also costly. The state has conservatively estimated that it will cost about $80 billion to upgrade our wastewater and drinking infrastructure over 20 years.

What is being done to protect clean water and what is needed next?
Since 2017, New York State has appropriated $5.5 billion into the state’s Clean Water Infrastructure Act, which is helping to upgrade sewage treatment plants, filter toxic contaminants out of drinking water, replace lead drinking water pipes, upgrade failing septic systems, protect drinking water at its source, and more. This is helping to make drinking water safe and affordable, protect our environment, and create good jobs in every community across the state (every million dollars invested is creating 17 jobs—extrapolated for the full $5.5 billion appropriated thus far, the program is expected to create 93,000 jobs).

While progress is being made, New York has a long way to go to meet its $80 billion clean water need. Governor Hochul and the legislature must continue to invest in the Clean Water Infrastructure Act in order to provide clean and affordable water for all New Yorkers!

Support us so we can continue to fight for clean water in New York State!

Help Protect Horseshoe Crabs Before It’s Too Late

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/engel9-641086/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5227337">Chris Engel</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5227337">Pixabay</a>

Tell NYS legislative leaders to pass the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act—there are only a few short days left to act this legislative session!

Horseshoe crabs have existed for over 350 million years, having shared this planet with the dinosaurs. Unfortunately, the species is now vulnerable to local extinction unless action is taken soon. The NYS legislature must act to protect horseshoe crabs before session ends on June 7!

Horseshoe crab populations have been drastically depleted largely due to commercial fishermen who catch the crabs and chop them up for use as bait. Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web—a decline in their population is harming the ecosystem and threatening bird species that depend upon the crabs for food. Currently, New York is woefully lagging in horseshoe crab protection.

The Horseshoe Crab Protection Act (S.3185A / A.10140) would prohibit the taking of horseshoe crabs from NY waters for commercial and biomedical uses. Taking horseshoe crabs for commercial fishing is the main contributor to population losses in NY. Connecticut already banned the taking of horseshoe crabs, with other states considering similar action. This will add more pressure to harvest horseshoe crabs in New York, unless action is taken by the legislature!

Email Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. As leaders of the Senate and Assembly, urge them to bring the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act to the floor for a vote this legislative session!

BACKGROUND

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has reported horseshoe crab stocks have been in decline for at least 15 years. Horseshoe crab populations were rated as “good” in 2009 but declined to “poor” in 2019. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed horseshoe crabs as vulnerable to local extinction in our region. 

The species has faced a steady decline mainly due to over-harvesting by commercial fishermen to be used as bait for eel and conch fishing operations. Additionally, these crabs’ blue blood is used in biomedical research, however, New York is not currently providing permits for the taking of horseshoe crabs for biomedical purposes (although as other states prohibit taking for biomedical uses, pressure to permit the practice may increase in NY).

Horseshoe crabs act as a keystone species in the food web. The significant decline in the number of horseshoe crabs laying eggs on New York beaches subsequently threatens many bird species. Many migratory birds depend on the horseshoe crab eggs for survival, including threatened birds, such as the Red Knot. Experts predict that the Red Knot may become extinct in the coming years, unless more protective measures are undertaken to protect horseshoe crabs.

The Horseshoe Crab Protection Act will prohibit the taking of horseshoe crabs for commercial and biomedical purposes, addressing the main stressors to this vulnerable species and further protecting threatened species such as the Red Knot.

Thank you for taking action. Together we can make a difference!

Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE