SOURCE:
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/new-leader-takes-helm-of-long-island-sound-partnership/
By Charlie Zeeve - September 6, 2026
The Environmental Protection Agency has named Nicole “Nikki” Tachiki as the new director of the Long Island Sound Partnership, placing a longtime agency scientist and program planner at the helm of a regional effort focused on improving the health of the Long Island Sound and the communities that surround it.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Tachiki’s appointment Aug. 27 during a roundtable and press conference at the Port Jefferson Village Center, where federal, state, local and environmental officials gathered to discuss the partnership’s work and the challenges facing Long Island Sound.
“This was important and it was personal,” Zeldin said of the appointment. “We needed to make sure we got the right person to do this.”
Tachiki has worked for EPA Region 2 since 2019 as a life scientist and strategic planning coordinator. She served as acting director of the Long Island Sound Office in 2025 and previously served as acting supervisor of the agency’s Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Section.
She takes over following the retirement of Mark Tedesco, who led the Long Island Sound program for roughly three decades before stepping down in April 2025.
The partnership’s updated 2025 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan provides a 10-year framework for the work. Its four broad themes are clean waters and healthy watersheds, thriving habitats and abundant wildlife, sustainable and resilient communities, and an informed and engaged public.
Tachiki said the partnership is now working to determine where to direct its investments for the coming fiscal year, with technical workgroups developing recommendations before the Management Committee meets in October.
“It’s just a matter of where we’re going to make the investments for this next year,” Tachiki said. “But ultimately, we are committed to each of those priorities.”
Officials highlighted a number of accomplishments from 2025, including the smallest maximum area of hypoxia, or oxygen-depleted water, recorded since monitoring began. The maximum area measured just over 18 square miles.
The partnership also helped install eight nitrogen-reducing wastewater systems throughout the watershed, three innovative alternative septic systems on Long Island and five nutrient-reducing wastewater systems at beef and dairy farms in Connecticut.
Other accomplishments included the removal or prevention of more than 150 pounds of marine debris from entering the Sound, characterization of more than 250,000 acres of seafloor habitat, mapping of more than 2,000 acres of eelgrass, restoration of 421 coastal habitat acres and conservation of 215 acres of open space.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, pointed to the reopening of Hempstead Harbor shellfish beds after a 45-year closure and the recent reopening of Crescent Beach after 17 years as examples of what sustained investment and cooperation can accomplish.
Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY1), co-chair of the Congressional Long Island Sound Caucus, focused on making the economic case for continued federal investment.
Long Island Sound supports fishing, tourism, restaurants, recreational boating and the region’s maritime economy, he said. LaLota added he would like to see more information quantifying the economic return generated by federal investment in the Sound, particularly as Congress considers future funding.
Zeldin recalled that when he first entered Congress, federal funding for Long Island Sound was in the range of $3 million to $4 million. Years of bipartisan advocacy helped push that figure into the tens of millions, with funding now approaching or exceeding $40 million.
“We Long Islanders know that we need good, clean, safe drinking water and a great environment, and that comes with a responsibility,” LaLota said.
Zeldin also emphasized what he called “cooperative federalism,” saying federal agencies should recognize the expertise of states and local communities when decisions are being made about local land, water and infrastructure.
That philosophy came up when Zeldin was asked about the potential growth of data centers on Long Island, which can place significant demands on the electrical grid and water supplies.
Zeldin said EPA’s concerns include electricity costs, impacts on the power grid and water consumption. He pointed to closed-loop water systems and the agency’s Water Reuse Action Plan as potential tools for reducing water demands.
At the same time, he said EPA does not have a position on any individual Long Island data center proposal and would carry out its statutory responsibilities while respecting state and local decision-making.
The partnership’s technical workgroups are now developing recommendations for specific research and on-the-ground projects, which will be brought to the Management Committee for discussion in October.
The process is deliberately collaborative, Tachiki said, with the committee reaching consensus on where the partnership should focus its efforts and investments in the coming fiscal year.
One area where Tachiki said she is already encouraged is the latest water quality data collected by Save the Sound, an organization she called an “incredible partner.”
Save the Sound runs the partnership’s Unified Water Study, which collects data used in the organization’s report card and grades for waters and beaches throughout the Sound.
“That data that they collect informs things like the report card and the grades for all of our waters and beaches,” Tachiki said. “It informs a lot of our monitoring work and our next steps and kind of where to tackle different pollutants and improve water quality.”
The positive grades are welcome news, she said, but they also help identify where additional work is needed.
“Having good grades is something we’re always going to be excited for,” Tachiki said. “Focusing in the areas where grades can see more improvement is always going to be a priority for us.”
Shellfish restoration is another area where Tachiki said the partnership remains active. Many of those investments are distributed through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund, a competitive program that uses EPA funding to support local projects throughout the watershed, according to Tachiki.
“We certainly are pretty active in supporting shellfish restoration projects,” Tachiki said, adding that “a lot of our investments in that area go through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.”
The partnership is also working with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection on a hydrodynamic water quality model expected to be completed this fall. Tachiki said the model will help the partnership better understand nutrient movement in the Sound and establish new targets for reducing those pollutants.
Sea Grant representatives also described programs aimed at helping communities prepare for flooding and other challenges, including resilience planning workshops, technical assistance and projects designed to make coastal areas more accessible. The partnership has also supported environmental education, teacher and mentor training, internships and citizen science.
As the new director begins her tenure, Tachiki will be working to turn the partnership’s 10-year plan into specific investments while maintaining the broad coalition that has made the program possible.
“Not a single leader or a single organization drives the success of this program,” Tachiki said. “It’s the hundreds of hours of work each member puts into the program each year.”