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Long Island Sound Protection

Long Island Sound is a vital recreational, tourist and economic resource to New York and Connecticut, generating over $5.5 billion in annual revenue for the local economy. The health of the Sound is important to the livelihood of the communities that surround it. There are over 20 million people that live within a 50-mile radius of Long Island Sound—that’s 10% of the United States population! Although monitoring data indicate that there have been slight improvements in water quality over the past decade, some new problems such as lobster die-offs and some persistent problems such as beach and clam bed closures illustrate the need for continued educational and policy campaigns.

Photo courtesy of NASA

Long Island Sound

Pollution comes from many sources, including run-off from our lawns and city streets and leakage from old, failing sewage pipes. This has a great impact on the Sound due to the lack of coastal lands and wetlands that would act as a buffer, or filter, for dirty water before it reaches the Sound. These environmental stress factors are limiting the full recreational and economic potential of this nationally recognized and locally cherished resource.

Over the past 18 years, CCE, with the support of its members, has advocated for the protection of the Long Island Sound by securing funding and advancing stronger policy. The Long Island Sound Study (LISS) was the starting point in the early 1990s, identifying sources of pollution and developing a plan for cleanup. By 1994, the plan called the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was completed, which identified six problem areas having the greatest impact on water quality and wildlife in the Sound.

Nitrogen has been identified as the priority contaminant, since high concentrations have resulted in a condition of low oxygen, called hypoxia, which suffocates marine life. A goal of reducing nitrogen loading by 58.5% will require reduction from many sources contributing to pollution problems. Nitrogen enters the Sound through three primary sources: sewage from treatment plants and sewer overflows, polluted runoff from lawns and streets and atmospheric deposition from fossil fuel burning power plants and automobile exhaust.

CCE worked to secure state funding in 1996 to help upgrade sewage treatment plants through the passage of the Clean Water / Clean Air Bond Act. A federal authorization of $200 million will be used to complete a federal, state and local partnership, enabling communities around the Sound to make improvements to sewage treatment plants and reduce nitrogen loading. CCE will continue to advocate for significant appropriations under the federal authorization.

CCE has worked to defend the Coastal Non-Point Source Pollution Control Program as part of the Coastal Zone Management Act. CCE has also worked to fund the program at a level that allows New York and Connecticut to completely implement their coastal clean up plans that will reduce nitrogen and pathogens polluting the Sound.

Another large source of nitrogen loading to the Long Island Sound is Acid Rain, which delivers almost 20% of the total nitrogen pollution when it rains and snows. CCE is working to advance Acid Rain Control Legislation, which would reduce nitrogen emissions from power plants by 70%. This, along with other nitrogen reduction efforts, will have a substantial impact on water quality of the Long Island Sound.

Click here to visit CCE’s Aquatic Invasive Species Page to learn how various introduced organisms impact estuaries, such as Long Island Sound, and how to take action to stop these ecologically harmful invasions.

For more information on Long Island Sound, link to:

U.S. EPA, Long Island Sound Study Management Plan: www.epa.gov/region01/eco/lis/plan.html

Long Island Sound Study:
www.longislandsoundstudy.net