West Babylon trash hauler Winters Bros. is dropping plans for a proposed Yaphank waste transfer station project that was seen by local officials as critical to managing Long Island's future trash removal needs but drew opposition from local residents and others, a company spokesman told Newsday on Friday.
Audubon CT & NY, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, The Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Save the Sound and SoundWaters today announced the formation of a new coalition that will work to advance coastal resiliency projects that preserve the ecological integrity of Long Island Sound’s coastlines.
Norwalk, CT – Audubon CT & NY, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, The Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Save the Sound and SoundWaters today announced the formation of a new coalition that will work to advance coastal resiliency projects that preserve the ecological integrity of Long Island Sound’s coastlines.
The announcement of the new Coastal Restoration Coalition comes during National Estuaries Week, a celebration highlighting the importance of ecosystems like Long Island Sound. The coastal habitats of estuaries, like the salt marshes and sand dunes that line the coasts of Connecticut and New York, provide natural benefits to our communities, including protecting people from storm surge and vital waterways from dangerous pollutants.
Member organizations will collaborate to advance coastal resiliency projects that preserve the ecological integrity of Long Island Sound’s coastlines.
NORWALK, Conn. — A newly established coalition will work to progress coastal resiliency projects to preserve the ecological integrity of Long Island Sound’s coastlines.
The creation of the Coastal Restoration Coalition was announced on Wednesday. It includes Audubon CT & NY, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, The Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Save the Sound and SoundWaters.
The future of a bill to enhance protections for horseshoe crabs in New York waters is unclear, but advocacy around the issue is heating up.
If signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), the bill would prevent the taking of horseshoe crabs for commercial or biomedical purposes in New York. The bill was passed by the state Assembly and Senate June 7, and though it has not yet been called up by the governor for consideration and potential signature or veto, advocates for and against the bill have been working hard to make their voices heard.
We are witnessing devastating results of climate change throughout our nation. Here on Long Island, we are particularly vulnerable. In the next Congress, our representatives from Suffolk and Nassau will have an important role to play in ensuring protections for our coastal communities, local economy, emerging industries, and environmental resources.
This event will feature short, 15-minute “chats” with six candidates running for Congress to answer questions on climate change, energy, and sustainability from a panel of experienced environmental leaders. This event will be open and free to the public.
Date: Thursday, October 17
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Register: Get the Zoom link for the free event here
Candidate Interviews with:
• NY-01: Congressman Nick LaLota
• NY-01: John Avlon
• NY-02: Congressman Andrew Garbarino
• NY-02: Rob Lubin
• NY-03: Congressman Tom Suozzi
• NY-03: Mike LiPetri
Thank you for joining us!
Sincerely,
All of us at CCE
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.
Photo by Vlada Karpovich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-walking-on-the-sidewalk-at-the-park-9968508/
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.
Celebrating our Equinox Gala
We had a great night celebrating 39 years and our special honorees at our annual Equinox gala in September. We honored Ørsted to celebrate New York’s first offshore wind farm and Assemblyman Fred Thiele for a lifetime achievement award. Thank you to everyone that attended and helped to make this night a success. Stay tuned for more pictures and video of our fabulous event!
Now is the time—Governor Hochul must protect horseshoe crabs!
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 are being depleted and one contributing factor is the commercial fishermen who catch them and chop them up for use as bait. Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web. 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—Governor Hochul must act to sign the bill into law before the end of the year. Email Governor Hochul today and urge her to sign the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act into law!
ACE NY Clean Energy Award!
A heartfelt thank you to the Alliance for Clean Energy New York for awarding us the 2024 Energy Advocate Award! We are proud of our work to bolster renewable energy in NY and are grateful for the recognition. Thanks for hosting a great panel discussion last month with other key energy leaders. Let’s keep working together to transition away from dirty polluting fossil fuels to clean renewable energy!
Suffolk County Clean Water Ballot Referendum
We have launched a public outreach campaign to ensure Suffolk County residents know to vote on a Clean Water Ballot Referendum this November. The initiative would 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. Now we need Suffolk residents to turn out to vote on clean water this year, so if you live in Suffolk—remember to flip your ballot and vote on Prop 2!
We will be hosting a free community meeting on October 8th at 7:00pm at South County Ambulance in Bellport. We will be joined by Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and Suffolk County Legislator Dominick Thorne to discuss this important program. Make sure to register today if you would like to attend and learn more about Prop 2.
Traveling to Chicago to Collaborate on Great Lakes Protection
As one of the state leaders in New York State for the Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition, we work closely with partners from all eight Great Lakes states to collaborate on efforts to advance federal protections of our lakes. In September, we headed to Chicago for the coalition’s annual conference—developing a plan to advance restoration in 2025! At the top of our priority list is a campaign to get Congress to extend the successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative—email your Senators and U.S. House representatives in support of this critical legislation today!
New Long Island Drinking Water Report
In September, we launched a drinking water report that provides a comprehensive evaluation of the presence of emerging contaminants 1,4-dioxane and PFAS chemicals in drinking water across Long Island. We reviewed existing data from 2024 Annual Water Quality Reports from Long Island public water suppliers. These reports provide a summary of data from 2023. We also created interactive online maps that depict the maximum level detected of 1,4-dioxane and PFAS contamination in each water district. You can check out the new report and interactive maps of 1,4-dioxane and PFAS here.
Transitioning to Offshore Wind
Here’s what was happening with offshore wind in NY in September:
NYSERDA Offshore Wind Solicitation – New York is currently in its fifth solicitation for offshore wind projects. Companies recently submitted their projects for consideration, which will allow New York to pick the next round of offshore wind farms. Continuing to move forward with project selections is crucial to achieving our climate mandates and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. Stay tuned for information on the next round of offshore wind projects.
Fighting for Battery Energy Storage - As part of NY’s transition to renewable energy, especially offshore wind, 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. In August, we urged the Town of North Hempstead Town Board not to approve a 12-month moratorium on battery storage systems. Fortunately, the moratorium did not pass at the August meeting, but the fight is not over as the Board may still pass it in October. The Town of Babylon will also be holding a public hearing on extending their moratorium on battery storage on October 8th and we will be heading to the hearing to oppose the extension. Several other Long Island towns have moratoriums or extensions to existing moratoriums up for vote in the coming months, so stayed tuned for more info on how you can help support BESS.
Environmental Roundtable with NYS Senators
Thanks to Senator Pete Harckham and Senator Monica Martinez for joining us last month for our environmental roundtable. We had a robust discussion on what our leaders in the Senate can do during the next legislative session to protect Long Island’s water for future generations. Thanks to all who participated and thanks again to the Senators for being environmental champions!
Upcoming: Congressional Climate Chats
In the next Congress, our representatives from Suffolk and Nassau will have an important role to play in ensuring protections for our coastal communities, local economy, emerging industries, and environmental resources. We’ll be joining our partners at Students for Climate Action, Renewable Energy Long Island, and Citizens Climate Lobby New York to virtually host Climate Chats 2024 on October 17th at 7:00pm. This event will feature short, 15-minute “chats” with candidates running for Congress in NY-01, NY-02, NY-03, and NY-04 to answer questions on climate change, energy, and sustainability from a panel of experienced environmental leaders. Register here for the zoom link.
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.
The North Hempstead town board will reconsider a one-year moratorium on large battery storage systems in October, nearly two months after a similar vote failed.
In August, the board voted 3-1 on the resolution, with two abstentions. To pass a law in North Hempstead, a majority of four votes is required. North Hempstead became the first Long Island town to reject a proposal for a battery storage site.
FAST FACTS ABOUT SOUTH SHORE BLUEWAY TRAIL PLAN
The water-based South Shore Blueway Trail is designed for kayakers, canoeists and other non-motorized boaters along the South Shore of Long Island. It spans the coastal waterways of Nassau County, connecting scenic spots, nature preserves, parks and other access points between the western part of the county near the Western Bays, extending toward Suffolk County.
A hearing over what would be a key step in bringing a potential casino and resort to Nassau County brought dozens of people to the county's legislative chamber Monday.
The purpose of the hearing is to hear from people in the community about what they would like to see in an environmental study of the Nassau Hub.
A $6 billion casino-resort at the site of the Nassau Coliseum would likely impact water usage, increase vehicular traffic and generate more solid waste, among other environmental impacts, speakers told county legislators Monday night, kicking off a lengthy review of the bid by Las Vegas Sands.
Supporters said they believed Sands would successfully mitigate any concerns while opponents deemed the adverse effects on the Uniondale property would be reasons to deny the Nevada-based company the right to build.
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."
The Western Bays — the waters stretching 10 miles from the East Rockaway Inlet to the Jones Inlet — are in the midst of a much-needed resurgence.
The bays represent a vital sub-region of the South Shore Estuary Reserve, which is a crucial habitat for hundreds of wildlife species along the Atlantic Ocean.
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.
The New York Department of State today announced the completion of the Newbridge Road Park water access point project in the Town of Hempstead as part of the South Shore Blueway Trail Plan. The completion of this new public access point adds a year-round, ADA-accessible recreation destination that connects to the access point at Seamans Neck Park in Hempstead, creating a network of water access points for individuals to experience Long Island’s South Shore.
